Improving security strategies with mobile phone location intelligence

In today's modern world of ever-evolving sophisticated technology, criminals and terrorists are finding new ways to communicate using various wireless devices and remain undetected by authorities. For example, they are most often using prepaid mobile phones, switching phones regularly, using different phones for calling different people, and switching SIM cards between several mobile phones.

Mobile phones have been involved in the planning and execution of some of the world's most notorious acts of terror. Recently, in the hotel attack in Mumbai, India, that killed 164 people and injured hundreds more, the attackers received their instructions, made plans, and coordinated their movements using mobile phones. It has become imperative for authorities to develop new strategies to counter these kinds of tactics.

The technology and data authorities have come to rely on is changing and becoming unreliable. In the past, authorities could reference call detail records (CDRs) to gain insight into the criminal or terrorist network by analyzing the activities of a target - to find out who that person has been calling or texting on a regular basis. But in this age of all-you-can-eat mobile phone subscription plans and prepaid phones, CDRs are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Additionally, increased bandwidths, faster data speeds, and improved encryption is making traditional lawful interception nearly impossible..

Fortunately, there are systems available that can capture mobile network events, like who called whom, who texted whom, when the communication took place, and most importantly, where these people were when they were communicating. The issue with mobile phones is that by their very nature, the owners could virtually be anywhere. So, the capability to accurately and reliably locate mobile phones is essential.

High-accuracy mobile phone location technology is not new, however. A large-scale wireless location system - based on the Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (U-TDOA) location technology - has been in place in the United States for several years in order to locate people that dial 9-1-1 from their mobile phone. Law enforcement and other government agencies frequently use high-accuracy location information to rescue victims or track down suspects. Until recently, location information has been used primarily in emergency applications or other urgent law enforcement situations. But the same high-accuracy location technology can be leveraged in other mission-critical safety and security applications. With this valuable, actionable intelligence, governments can use it to secure borders, protect critical infrastructure, assist law enforcement and even counter terrorism.

The Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (U-TDOA) location technology is best-suited for these mission-critical safety and security applications. U-TDOA is a network-based location technology that relies on multilateration using highly sensitive location measurement equipments to calculate high accuracy locations of mobile phones. Because it is completely network-based, U-TDOA will work with any type of mobile phone - it does not require any handset upgrades or GPS chips, and it cannot be disabled by the mobile phone user. Additionally, it can locate a mobile phone in any environment - including indoors, in cities with tall buildings, or even inside of a vehicle.

Well-established in the wireless location community, TruePosition combines the high-performance U-TDOA technology with a sophisticated data mining system to deliver new levels of location intelligence. The system locates mobile phones with high accuracy and stores all of the data for both historical analysis and real-time surveillance. The solution, called TruePosition LOCINT (short for "location intelligence") makes it possible to gather location intelligence, do real-time surveillance, and build geofences - invisible barriers of radio frequency energy.

Using TruePosition LOCINT, authorities can gain valuable insight into the criminal network - behaviors, relationships between individuals, and what activities are being planned. It identifies and stores all mobile network events - calls made or text messages sent and received, powering the device on and off, registering on the network, and SIM card switches - and collects numerous pieces of identifying data for each device. It stores the phone number (MSISDN), the SIM card identifier (IMSI), and the hardware identifier (IMEI). While the system does not provide the actual content of the wireless communication, it does provide highly valuable mobile network events information that can be analyzed to create insightful and actionable intelligence.

With this wealth of information, for example, authorities can develop a detailed geoprofile of a mobile phone, and therefore, build profiles for all of the other mobile phones with which it communicates, enabling them to begin to uncover intricate criminal and terrorist networks. Authorities can analyze the mobile network event data to determine where targets are operating, who they are meeting and communicating with, and where they live and work. Because these geoprofiles are so comprehensive, authorities can identify the members of targeted groups even when they switch phones, swap SIM cards, or use multiple phones by comparing activities of new devices to existing geoprofiles and identifying common patterns of behavior.

Location intelligence can also be used to protect sensitive regions or critical infrastructure - such as borders, transportation hubs, energy facilities, government buildings, or the specific sites of major events. One way is to use TruePosition LOCINT for real-time surveillance of a particular area, monitoring mobile phone locations and activities near a designated location to identify suspicious activity. Additionally, it is possible to set a virtual perimeter around a geographic area, known as a geofence, which will act as a tripwire around the area to be monitored. Once in place, authorities can receive real-time alerts any time a mobile phone of a known target enters the area, or they can set a predetermined list of mobile phones allowed in the area and receive alerts any time any unauthorized phone crosses the geofence. Officials are able to act quickly to apprehend unauthorized individuals or prevent them from carrying out criminal and terrorist acts in highly sensitive areas.

Mobile phone intelligence and surveillance have become a critical component to the fight against sophisticated criminal and terrorist networks. National security and defense strategies as a whole are undergoing changes in perspective and approach as a result of the way these criminals and terrorists are operating and the way they are using wireless technology. The ability to gather, store, and analyze mobile phone intelligence, conduct real-time surveillance, and create targeted geofences is changing the way government agencies are defending their nations. This mobile phone location intelligence is providing government agencies with previously unavailable information to gain valuable insight into criminal and terrorist networks and to prevent future devastating criminal and terrorist acts from being carried out.