IT Baseline Protection Manual - The Information Warfare Site

Safeguard Catalogue - Communications Remarks
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S 5.78 Protection against mobile phone usage data
being used to create movement profiles
Initiation responsibility: Head of IT Section, IT Security Management
Implementation responsibility: Users
When mobile phones are used, for technical reasons it is necessary for the
mobile communication partners to be contactable. When one of these partners
establishes a connection, information is given away about his location through
the act of establishing the connection. This location information could be used
by the network provider or service operator, or indeed by a third party, to
create a person- or mobile phone-specific "movement profile".
If the creation of movement profiles due to use of a mobile phone is viewed as
a threat, then if possible both the mobile phones and the SIM cards should be
swapped around among staff more frequently. In this way it is at least more
difficult to associate specific phones and cards with a particular user.
If it is desirable that the whereabouts of the user should be concealed at certain
times, the only way to ensure this is by switching off the mobile phone. To be
quite certain, the battery should be removed.
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IT-Baseline Protection Manual: Oktober 2000