Ride the Lightning
Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
IPHONE APPS TRACK SEX OFFENDERS: THE RISE OF SMARTPHONE APPS
October 1, 2009
Courtesy of a CNN report:
The Offender Locater application for the iPhone, which tracks the residences of sex offenders, has made the top 10 most widely downloaded iPhone apps (more than a million downloads) since its debut in June. Photos of the offenders are also provided.
Apps for smartphones is a burgeoning market, with revenues exceeding $4 billion expected by 2013, according to the The Yankee Group Research Inc.
Earlier this year, the FBI worked with a private company to develop a smartphone app that provides updates on the 10 most wanted criminals and terrorists. So far this year, there have been more than half a million downloads in 170 countries.
Quite a number of interesting apps are mentioned in the article. Cynic that I am, I believe these apps will result in three things:
1. The public trying to play cops, with all sorts of consequent misadventures.
2. Misinformation and outdated information from the apps causing all kinds of problems.
3. The criminals will adroitly figure out how to use these apps to their advantage.
As the Chinese say, "May you live in interesting times." We sure do.
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