Here's the runs people go on at Diego Garcia - the US airbase.pic.twitter.com/6VDbtwcv6F
Show this thread
-
an addendum to this: back in early 2013 we built a tool to do simultaneous queries on multiple social platforms against v v large geobounded areas. Essentially I could draw a circle around *a country* and wait for *any* geotagged data to appear.
Show this thread
This often led to the same results you see with Strava. In low population countries, or countries with low smartphone penetration, it was often easy to detect Westerners (usually soldiers) in remote areas.
-
-
this usually led to being able to identify bases and other types of things based solely on social data. Iraq, Afghanistan = always easy to find US troops (Instagram being a common sharing tool). Same true of IDF troops in staging areas before invasion of Gaza in 2014.
Show this thread -
and the same true in 2014 with Russian troops in Ukraine. All too easy. Of course the other thing you might be nosey about known military facilities. Social geotagging can give you staff/visitor lists if you persist long enough.
Show this thread -
the difference between this technique and Strava was you could usually quickly deduce first name/last name if you wanted, and infer other social profiles eg LinkedIn -> FB -> FB friends -> work colleagues. Not only that but it was possible to automate.
Show this thread -
And what's even crazier about that: doing a geobounded search around Langley/Pentagon -> save all geotagged content -> create script to detect usernames from social platforms -> infer other platforms / names -> poll FB graph API -> collect list of family members.
Show this thread -
or another use case i examined: identify US aircraft carrier arriving in port -> geobounded queries for photos at tourist sites (crew on shore leave) -> connect to geobounded around carrier/facilities -> run multiple FB graph for friends -> infer carrier's crew list.
Show this thread -
and a technical note when building systems for v v large geobounded queries: don't forget the curvature of the Earth when using multiple overlapping circles across wide areas. If your maths don't factor in the curve there will be gaps in your coverage :)
#flatearthShow this thread -
the name I coined for the tool was The God Machine. Because it felt like you were watching the world from overhead and could deduce all sorts of behaviours by those lowly humans with their devices down on planet Earth lol *imagine* what Google and FB have.
Show this thread -
another use case I did: New staff will often take selfies etc on first day of work -> they will usually geotag as social proof -> geobound query around company buildings -> monitor for new hires -> infer linkedin account -> detect hiring patterns by company/nationality/skillset.
Show this thread -
Bonus: watch the growth of any base if imagery available. This is the US drone/helo/air base in Niamey as it grew from 2010 - 2017.pic.twitter.com/SJu6aDE4YB
Show this thread -
and lastly: the days of satellite imagery being out of date are numbered. We are not long from *realtime* or *near-realtime* high-res satellite imagery of the entire globe, on demand - via apps or API calls.
@planetlabs already refreshes global image coverage *daily*Show this thread -
oh, and:
@Vizlegal (I'm cofounder) is a similar idea to The God Machine, but focussed on all global legal/regulatory data, rather than geo/social data. Ultimately it also requires collection / analysis / anomaly detection / training machines -> drop me a line if curious :-)Show this thread -
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.