This Google Maps troll has created fake traffic jams in the simplest way
Table of contents:
Although it is an artistic action, the situation is still paradoxical, curious and a little worrisome. And it is that a single man armed with 99 smartphones or smart phones is enough to cause a fake traffic jam on Google Maps. And all that this can entail: altering the proper functioning of the Google maps and GPS application. Artist or Troll?
This is an experiment by Simon Weckert, demonstrating in a simple video how to hack or change the way Google Maps works more or less easily.All he has needed has been to walk the streets of Berlin, even near the Google offices in that city, armed with a cart full of cell phones. Of course they are terminals turned on and connected to the Internet, with their GPS showing the real location
This makes it possible to make Google Maps think that a street is crowded with cars. That is, go from showing green in the traffic concentration view to a worrying red that street. All this at pleasure. And taking into account that may affect the movement of other cars that are using Google Maps to be guided to a specific point.
Why it is so easy to hack Google Maps
The problem or the curious thing about this whole situation comes from the way in which Google collects user data to identify possible traffic jams. You may not know it but Google knows where you are at all times.By using Google Maps and sharing your location with Google, it can also tell if you're moving fast or not Or if there are many people in one spot.
In this case, Google has understood that there are 99 users (from the artist's cell phones) moving slowly along the same street (through the speed at which a cart can be pulled). That is, a full-blown traffic jam. However, although it collects all this data, it is not capable of managing it in a real way, as is the case in this specific case. Of course, there will not be many users dragging carts full of cell phones along the roads, but this shows an interesting vulnerability in a system that is used by a large number of users on a daily basis. Now it's Google's turn to move the piece.
