AirTag trackers and travel: Cybersecurity expert weighs in
When Air Canada told Cambridge Ont.’s Nakita Rees her husband’s luggage was lost, she pushed back. She could see the bag was in a processing facility beside the Montreal airport.
The Ontario couple were able to monitor where the suitcase was using the AirTag tracking device they had placed inside, even reporting its eventual location – inside a public storage facility in Etobicoke, Ont. – to police.
The bag was finally returned to the couple on Monday, four and a half months after it went missing. Rees said they would have never got it back if it weren’t for the electronic tracker.
“You should be able to track your own luggage, it’s your luggage,” said David Jao with the University of Waterloo’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute. “The issue is that airlines hate it because it sort of airs out their dirty laundry.”
Jao said monitoring your luggage is prime example of a positive use of an AirTag – but he has concerns about other ways the technology could be employed.
“Someone else can slip an AirTag in your bag, attach it to your car or something like that and they can track you without you knowing it,” Jao said.
Concerns have been raised the technology can enable stalkers.
Jao said AirTags are growing in popularity and more regulations surrounding their use are needed.
“As the technology improves and matures, people will want them, it does have legitimate applications,” he said.
HOW DO AIRTAGS WORK?
AirTags work by pinging nearby Apple devices.
“AirTags are sort of unique in that they do not directly report their own location,” Jao explained.
“It doesn't need to know its own location, it piggybacks on other devices.”
Because of that, the battery last longer and the device is cheaper and smaller than many other trackers.
The device also has speaker, which sounds an alarm when it’s been away from its connected device for more than eight hours.
SHOULD YOU BRING AN AIRTAG ON YOUR NEXT VACATION?
Jao says it’s not a bad idea to pack an AirTag on your next trip.
“It might not always get your bag back to you but for what it costs, I could see people doing that,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.