Can you really be traced from your IP address?

Posted on 28 Mar 2011 at 10:40

In that case, how useful is IP tracking in police investigations? David Wright is a detective constable with Devonshire and Cornwall police, which uses Quova’s IP geolocation database to support its criminal investigations. "This is a valuable tool in almost all e-crime investigations,” he said. “Despite the use of shared internet access or open wireless networks, law enforcement continues to have great success in resolving an IP address back to a suspect. Other traditional policing methods can often be brought into play which further assists in identifying a suspect user, should the need arise."

Unlike anti-piracy cases, however, IP tracking is only ever used as supporting, rather than primary, evidence in a criminal prosecution. “It is useful to track the movement and behaviour and match that to more traditional evidence," said Stuart Scott, solutions engineer at Quova. "The other important information available in IP geolocation is the ISP used by the suspect. The ISP will be able to provide an exact address where the IP address has been used; the primary evidence would be the actual computer used by the suspect."

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Surely to identify an individual you will need their local IP, since most users have a modem and a router, the ISP assigned the IP of the modem, which can or cannot be traced as per article, but within the network, i.e. router - it is virtually impossible to put the blame on any one person since IP to outside world is one for all. also unless setting are changed on the router you local IP may vary every time you connect to it.

By mobilegnet on 28 Mar 2011

IPv6

The bug question. Is it fool-proof that when IPv6 is fully implemented and everyone has a static IP addresses that a user can be traced?

I guess the problem is then proving that the user actually did it. This is where security comes in and who's responsibility it is to make sure your Wi-FI router isn't open or hacked...

By treadmill on 28 Mar 2011

All of this is completely pointless, as IP-identifying techniques doesn't prove without a shadow of a doubt that a particular person was sat downloading on that particular connection. For example, how can it tell that it is me or someone else who lives at my house? Clue: it can't.

By Cecil_EPU on 28 Mar 2011

the idea of static IPv6 addresses need rethought

This is one thing that I'm not to keen on about IPv6.

At least with IPv4, NAT and a Dynamic IP you had a certain degree of privacy through obfuscation. With IPv6 and every device having a static IP this reeks of a Orwellian Big Brother future.

By broccauley on 28 Mar 2011

IP cant even link to a dsl account holder

IAside from all the other flaws in using IP addresses to trace P2P users. Your article misses out some of the most common flaws.

The fact that an IP can hang around as a potential source on most networks long after the user has loged out and even that is no guarentee the file was ever available on that address. Add to that the fact that certain trackers now throw up fake user IPs intentionally to create false positives as a security countermeasure.

But I wa shocked to find after reading a cambridge uni technical report (www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-653.pdf ) that an IP address of a ADSL user can only reliably trace back to the DSLAM in the exchange and not to the subscriber. Read section 3.2.2 of report listed above

By DonDilly on 28 Mar 2011

Regarding static IPv6

The issue of IPv6 addresses being somewhat static or at least relating to the user's MAC address has already been considered greatly and solved. There are well known and supported IPv6 privacy extensions that randomise the host portion of the address and at do this at intervals. This should give you even more privacy than previously on IPv4.

By Eising on 28 Mar 2011

Would an IP address ever be enough?

If I was to share a file via P2P which one of these monitoring services identfied and then logged my IP address unless they actually download the file have I committed an offence? Downloading 5% of a movie file is pretty useless as you've not actually got any data that could be viewed as the movie.

By stuscott1978 on 28 Mar 2011

actual

in reality yes..if they wanted to find you returning the squared differences would im afraid be sufficient....
what have you done wrong that would require this ...i wonder ?!

By promark on 29 Mar 2011

and what does this mean for mobile broadband?

how can one be traced if using a dongle?

I can't see any way for tracing the user if using this method. they are virtually giving dongles away for free - without documenting who has what. One could argue ip-mac association, but this info is only valuable when one registers their dongle.

I eagerly await your comments.

By pentest7 on 23 Apr 2011