ABSTRACT
Abstract: An indoor positioning system is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. When it comes to the widespread adoption of indoor positioning and navigation tools among users, technology is not often a barrier, as recent advancements in positioning technologies have produced a number of low-cost accurate embedded positioning devices. However, privacy concerns remain the major consumer pushback for a wider acceptance of such services among users. An indoor navigation service enables smartphone users to navigate indoors and share indoor location-based information. It thus generates a huge amount of potentially sensitive information, including the activities of smartphone users’ movements, information searched by them, and the content they share with their neighboring peers. Even though it is believed that smartphone users are aware that such positioning services are tracking their mobile activities, a large fraction of the smartphone user populations are concerned about their location and other sensitive data generated through such services. Overcoming these concerns is a top priority for both service vendors who provide indoor location technologies to retailers and mobile consumers who are conscious of their privacy when they navigate indoors. In this chapter, we introduce the privacy risks and threats related to indoor positioning systems and the state-of-the-art countermeasures to protect against them. We also discuss the
CONTENTS
11.1 Introduction ................................................................................................228 11.2 Privacy Risks and Attacks ........................................................................230 11.3 Spatial-Cloaking-Based Techniques and Challenges ........................... 231 11.4 Mix-Zone-Based Protection and Limitations .........................................234 11.5 Other Location Privacy Protection Techniques ..................................... 240 11.6 Summary ..................................................................................................... 241 References ............................................................................................................. 241
new challenges in developing privacy-enabling indoor positioning and navigation tools and their merits and demerits.
