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Snap Map Analysis

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Introduction Snapchat defines “Snap Map” as a feature where you and your friends can share your locations with one another, and take a peek into the lives of others around you. While this feature is extremely convenient to let all of your friends know of your whereabouts, what if it isn’t just your friends who have access to your exact location? What about medical devices such as pacemakers that can indirectly provide medical examiners the intensity of activities you were performing at a specific time? Can this information ever be forcibly used against you? In the case of pacemakers, it was for one patient, Ross Compton, who was accused of arson because of statistical evidence on his pacemaker that contradicted his testimony (Wootson). With …show more content…

While magic and luck aren’t the cause, an algorithm that tracks your search history and “likes” may be the reason why. Some major online websites that track users for targeted advertising purposes are Facebook, Google, and Yahoo. Through this, a user’s preferences are easily accessed by major social media and search engine websites. It is also a major reason as to how certain ads know your location and present local advertisements and services, using real-time information stored by your device to track your location …show more content…

For example, in Fitbits, users are easily able to access their health data, such as number of steps taken, number of calories burned, etc. In comparison, for pacemakers, patients are often not allowed to access their data at all, thereby restricting access of personal data to just medical professionals and data collectors. When considering that the user in question cannot access their own private data, regulations are imperative in preventing such data from reaching the wrong hands. In this field, medical devices use encryption to deter hackers or other unwanted visitors from accessing sensitive data (Eramo), but as seen from Mark Gasson, it is not guaranteed to work. By infecting an RFID chip in his hand with a virus, Gasson determined that the virus located in his hand was able to infect external systems (Cellan-Jones). Although medical devices proclaim to be secure, the risk of a virus from another piece of technology infecting these devices is high, with extremely serious consequences. It is imperative to continue pressing for answers regarding the secureness of medical devices and push for more knowledge regarding third party servers that may use medical data for reasons other than

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