Meet this Dual-Use GPS Tracking Technology

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GPS technology has been around for quite some time, ever since 1973 when the US Department of Defense (DoD) created a satellite system that helped to triangulate a person’s position using a tracking device. Since then, there’s been a lot of changes to GPS trackers and the GPS system and now everyone can use the same “covert” technology that the US government does.

Here is an example for this government technology that has made the the way to a commercial product and now turning to the military sector.

A commercial GPS-based product that tracks children for anxious parents will soon be applied also for military uses. Jiobit, a hardware startup, has won some federal R&D contracts for its technology that tracks people and equipment for the military. The company has received a third federal R&D contract for equipment that could be sold to government agencies. 

The company declined to go into much detail, citing confidentiality restrictions, but says it’s developing a product for the U.S. Air Force that involves tracking devices run from a secure, cloud-based software platform, as reported by chicagobusiness.com.

The location monitor supplies accurate, real-time location tracking with maximum coverage. It has strong security protocols. It is equipped with a dedicated security chip that meets the standards set by the US military. The security chip is designed to authenticate users and will additionally reject any software not cryptographically signed to prevent malware. Without the chip, a device can’t access the Jiobit servers, according to wired.com. The security protocol ensures full data encryption to and from the company’s cloud infrastructure, smartphone apps, the Jiobit device, and also data stored at rest.