iPhones to soon automatically share your location with 911
San Francisco, June 19 : iPhone users in the US who call 911 will be able to automatically and securely share their location data with first emergency responders, beginning later this year with iOS 12.
"Communities rely on 911 centres in an emergency, and we believe they should have the best available technology at their disposal," Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said in a statement late on Monday.
"When every moment counts, these tools will help first responders reach our customers when they most need assistance," he added.
Nearly 80 per cent of 911 calls come from mobile devices but outdated, landline-era infrastructure often makes it difficult for 911 centres to quickly and accurately obtain a mobile caller's location.
To address this challenge, Apple launched HELO (Hybridised Emergency Location) in 2015, which estimates a mobile 911 caller's location using cell towers and on-device data sources like GPS and WiFi Access Points.
According to Apple, it will also use emergency technology company RapidSOS's Internet Protocol-based data pipeline to quickly and securely share HELO location data with 911 centers, improving response time when lives and property are at risk.
RapidSOS's system will deliver the emergency location data of iOS users by integrating with many 911 centers' existing software, which rely on industry-standard protocols.
In keeping with Apple's focus on privacy, user data cannot be used for any non-emergency purpose and only the responding 911 centre will have access to the user's location during an emergency call.
"We are excited to work with Apple to provide first responders a new path for accurate, device-based caller location using transformative Next Generation 911 technology," said RapidSOS CEO Michael Martin.
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21 hours raid fetch nothing for ED, claims Karnataka Cong MLA’s son
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress MLA N A Haris' son Mohammed Haris Nalapad on Tuesday claimed that the 21 hours of search by the ED in his house and other locations did not fetch anything.
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided the premises of the two sons of Haris (Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad), Aqeeb Khan, grandson of ex-Union cabinet minister K Rahman Khan and an alleged crypto hacker named Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki in a crypto currency-linked money laundering case.
More than a dozen premises in the city have been covered as part of the action executed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"My grandfather is 89-year-old. There is not a single bad mark. My father (N A Haris) is a four-time MLA. There is not a single accusation against him. Their only intention was to target myself and my brother. As simple as that," Mohammed Nalapad, who is a former Karnataka Youth Congress president, told reporters.
According to him, the ED officials carried out raids for 21 hours.
"After 21 hours of search, they took away only two mobile phones from our house. They did not get a single paisa. The ED will testify it," the Congress leader said.
Exuding faith in the law, he said he is ready to fight the case in court.
"Me and my father have opted for politics and we are in public life. You can call me whatever you want but I have not done anything wrong," Mohammed Nalapad said.
Regarding his relationship with Sriki, he said he knew him but had no clue what he was doing.
"I have never said that either me or my brother do not know Sriki. But how will I know what he does in his house? Can his crimes be linked to us," he asked.
The money laundering case stems from some Karnataka Police FIRs and chargesheets filed in a 2017 case of hacking of national and international websites, stealing of bitcoins and sale of these 'stolen' virtual digital assets (VDA) through crypto platforms by the alleged hacker Sriki and his associates.
The Nalapad brothers and Aqeeb Khan are alleged to be the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime generated through this alleged crypto-linked crime, the ED said.
