NSA granted Net location-tracking patent

Iria · Sep 21, 2005, 10:23 PM

The National Security Agency has obtained a patent on a method of figuring out an Internet user's geographic location.

Patent 6,947,978, granted Tuesday, describes a way to discover someone's physical location by comparing it to a "map" of Internet addresses with known locations.

The NSA did not respond Wednesday to an interview request, and the patent description talks only generally about the technology's potential uses. It says the geographic location of Internet users could be used to "measure the effectiveness of advertising across geographic regions" or flag a password that "could be noted or disabled if not used from or near the appropriate location."

Other applications of the geo-location patent, invented by Stephen Huffman and Michael Reifer of Maryland, could relate to the NSA's signals intelligence mission -- which is, bluntly put, spying on the communications of non-U.S. citizens.
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Read More / Source: News.com

Sep 21, 2005, 10:23 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	NSA granted Net location-tracking patent The National Security Agency has obtained a patent on a method of figuring out an Internet user's geographic location. Patent 6,947,978, granted Tuesday, describes a way to discover someone's physical location by comparing it to a "map" of Internet addresses with known locations. The NSA did not respond Wednesday to an interview request, and the patent description talks only generally about the technology's potential uses. It says the geographic location of Internet users could be used to "measure the effectiveness of advertising across geographic regions" or flag a password that "could be noted or disabled if not used from or near the appropriate location." Other applications of the geo-location patent, invented by Stephen Huffman and Michael Reifer of Maryland, could relate to the NSA's signals intelligence mission -- which is, bluntly put, spying on the communications of non-U.S. citizens. __________ Read More / Source: News.com