Dataminr product is the software that does the scanning. It's Public Sector application is described as this at the web site:
"Through its map-based dashboard, Dataminr delivers customizable real-time alert streams on events as they develop via email, instant messaging and integration into internal warning systems."
The graphic illustrating the use of data mined twitter states the address of problem. The obvious conclusion therefore is that any location information is derived from the tweet itself. Location is vital information. Certainly not always stated by the Tweeter but the key to actionable information. If location is not embedded or referenced in any way in the tweet then how is that critical information to be discovered?
That question leads to pure speculation.
Tweets of interest are most likely to be those originated by cell phones. Tweets are a generic text message but identified by a specific format. If the meta data related to a tweet, such as geographic location was associated to a specific tweet was known then that is critical information. How might location information of the cell phone be obtained? Easy. It is a function of the system to know where the transmission originates. Law enforcement uses Stingray to spoof a cell phone tower but if spoofs it by doing the exact same thing a cell tower does regarding call location information identification to a certain degree of accuracy. A second tweet from the same account gives direction of travel, if mobile. This speculation depends on covert surveillance system structures, of course, if they are designed into the communication system.
Using a tweet example at Dataminr website that states a location might. speculation continues, be an example of "Parallel Construction" That tactic is not just limited to law enforcement but also a disguise as to how information is commercially really obtained by a software product.
The Dataminr software would reveal the source of location if it was derived from Cell Tower meta data. That software is proprietary. If it obtained location from a Cell Tower history data base that link would be the "go to" in the Dataminr software. I doubt that it is open source.
All speculation.
Certain governmental agencies doing certain things have access to cell phone call location. 911 emergency calls for example. Access is built into the system.
Detecting terrorist threats by reading Tweets is important. To do something about it obviously
requires knowing where the tweeter is and they might not say where in the tweet.
Putting a speculative 2 and 2 together I conclude that cell tower location related to a specific tweet of interest is obtainable in real time by law enforcement for a real purpose through the Dataminr software. That requires some serious connection to a communication data base that has this information derived from cell phone towers.
All that is required to get cell phone tweet location is a serious need to know. They are all listed at the Dataminr website:
Is Dataminr product just a commercial spin off of the original application?
Look at the Event Detection Technology graphic and draw your own conclusion as to who might be alert data also go to at some point in a commercial system serving news and finance. That "some point" would be a place that could put the 2 + 2 together to relate a tweet to its location and identify a tweeter.
Is that reasonable speculation?
Doable?
Duh! Yes, of course and that is what BrightPlanet Blue Jay seems to have a connection to.
BrightPlanet sells Blue Jay, described by the subject link blog post as a similar product. The evident connection to a geo-location of a tweet is given here at BrightPlanet link. That link is to Geotime. to get cell tower phone location information to associate with tweets. Tweet latitude and longitude information were used in the Toronto flood situation as a test to determine where they were coming from. So, obviously, tweeters do not put lat. and long. in their tweets but mentioned locations can easily be geocoded. Its cell tower info. or perhaps it is a Twitter API? When did Twitter stop beating its wife? An event time/space detection study here at this link. Geotime uses cell tower data locating cell phones. A Twitter API may generate the location information if it is an enabled thing resident in the Twitter cell phone APP and in the firehose stream.
The Twitter Firehose is explained here at this link
These are GeoTime customers and examples of use at the GeoTime link.
"Deep Web Intelligence™ is the future. At BrightPlanet, the future is now."
Note: Trademarked Intelligence.
Putting 2 + 2 together in the Big Data world pays Big Bucks.
Nice work if you can get it and all that it requires is security access, probable cause a need to know and the keys to the system unlock a fortune.
Pandora's box has been opened to commercial exploitation and extraction.
Nobody ever looks at this blog site except some of my posts get an immediate hit upon publication. One from windows. One from Mac. There must be a key word bar that the post leaps over at two places in the USA. If they were of any importance I would never even know that.
No comments:
Post a Comment