Dear Mr. Rawles,
With the proliferation of smart phones, as well as advanced cameras with GPS [1]s installed, people may be giving away more information than they intend to when they snap and distribute pictures. This can be an operational security (OPSEC [2]) issue.
Embedded in the Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) data [3] on the picture, the GPS coordinates of the picture location may be stored for anyone to access. This is especially a problem as people post these pictures online (for social networking, emailing to friends/family, or for online sales, etc.).
This embedded GPS data can reveal the exact location of your home, work, and enable an individual with nefarious intent to build a profile of your movements. A threat to OPSEC to say the least!
Adam Savage, co-host of the popular television program “Mythbusters” inadvertently did exactly this [4].
Tech gurus and electronics manufacturers are touting it with that famous line – “It’s not a bug, its a feature“ [5]
Accessing the data is exceedingly simple [6] if you know that its there.
At least the U.S. military has recognized the OPSEC threat [7] that this geolocation data represents on phones and cameras.
Stay safe, – Christopher T.