[LINK] Stolen Camera Finder

[Roger Clarke]

>http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/

Has anyone checked this to find out whether it actually works?

Most reverse-white-pages / grey-pages are scams.  Could this be too?

The absence of make and model info makes it look strange to me.


At 12:10 +1000 1/5/11, Kim Holburn wrote:
>Good idea but aren't there privacy implications?  Is it possible to 
>easily strip out the EXIF data?

There can be privacy sensitivities.

A person could inadvertantly provide location and tracking 
information about themselves - primarily retrospective, but 
potentially in real time.

For that to happen, *all* of the following would have to be true:
-   data such as the following have been published:
     -   Camera Serial Number
     -   Date and Time
     -   Position, e.g. Lat/Long
-   a link between the Camera Serial Number and a person can be achieved
-   the person did not want to disclose that data

The principle is:  build free and informed consent into the process.

The modest percentage of people who are concerned will make defensive 
decisions, and the modest percentage of people who aren't concerned 
will make less conservative decisions (and of course large numbers of 
people will carry on blithely ignorant of how it all works).


I don't see Camera Serial Number in the EXIF tables.

MakerNote,with its 432 bytes unknown data?

I don't see location data either, although that's presmably being 
achieved through optional fields or semi-standardised kludges?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchangeable_image_file_format#Example
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocoded_photo


This is exactly the kind of thing that suppliers and standards orgs 
need to be taking into account when they draft standards and 
standards-upgrades.

But work on such specs is usually done by tunnel-visioned engineers 
intent on doing good things, and neither the engineers nor their 
business-oriented bosses ever involve consumer and privacy advocacy 
organisations in the process.

Until and unless business and government learn to have consultation 
processes as part of their business model, nasty bruising will 
continue to occur.

______________________________________________________________________

>http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/
>
>>  Is your camera lost or missing? Has your camera been stolen? If 
>>so, stolencamerafinder can help you find out where it is now.
>>
>>  We can help to locate a missing camera by searching for photos on 
>>the web that have been taken by that camera.
>>
>>  There are currently over 1 million camera sightings in our 
>>database and counting...


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University