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I'm actually happy about this. The data that has been collected is great (http://content.tfl.gov.uk/review-tfl-wifi-pilot.pdf http://content.tfl.gov.uk/review-
by matthewmacleod 9y ago
I'm actually happy about this.
The data that has been collected is great (http://content.tfl.gov.uk/review-tfl-wifi-pilot.pdf http://content.tfl.gov.uk/review-tfl-wifi-pilot.pdf) and not realistically available in any other way. The only data stored is (hashed) MAC and timestamp. It's taking place on a system where most users are already tracked semi-anonymously using contactless cards or Oyster cards, and is trivially avoidable by disabling wifi.
This seems like a good trade-off.
- monort 9y agoMAC do not contain enough entropy to be usefully one-way hashed. MAC address is 48 bits of which 22 bits is vendor.
- gsnedders 9y agoThe proposal, as it stands, is a salted hash, with the salt discarded once a day. If the salt isn't stored anywhere, then there's enough entropy.
- ZoFreX 9y agoYup, I'm happy with it. Can't see how else you would get this amazing data which is obviously going to be extremely helpful for managing an increasingly overcrowded train system. Even the article says they're using this to assess the value of advertising spots, rather than some of the more nefarious things that _could_ be done with this technology.