Anonymous Device Signals Could Become New Police Tracking Tool -

Security technology company Leonardo has developed SignalTrace, a surveillance system designed to work alongside automatic license plate readers and detect recurring electronic signals from nearby consumer devices.

The system can identify groups of devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches, that regularly travel together and associate their electronic signatures with vehicle records, locations and timestamps. This could allow investigators to search for a recurring pattern even when they do not know a vehicle’s license plate number.

For example, a device repeatedly detected alongside a particular vehicle could later appear near another car connected to an investigation, giving police a potential lead about who may be involved.

Leonardo says SignalTrace does not directly identify people because it collects electronic signatures rather than names. The company says the information must be combined with conventional investigative methods before an individual can be identified.

Privacy researchers argue, however, that a signal does not need to contain a person’s name to become identifying. A recurring device could potentially be linked to a vehicle, residence or other records, allowing investigators to infer who is carrying it.

The technology also raises concerns about associations. A group of devices detected together could represent family members, colleagues or friends, but it could also include people who simply happen to be travelling together. The system cannot determine why individuals were in the same place.

Research into mobility data has shown that repeated movements can make supposedly anonymous information highly distinctive. One study involving 1.5 million people found that four time-and-location points could uniquely identify 95% of individuals in the dataset.

SignalTrace comes amid growing legal debate over government access to digital location information. Recent US Supreme Court decisions have recognised that location data can reveal sensitive details about people’s movements and associations.

The technology is currently a marketed capability rather than an established police practice. Its development highlights a broader shift in surveillance, where investigators can begin with anonymous patterns of movement and proximity and potentially identify people later through other records. – ERMD

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