Software tracks suspect cell phones. (Security Beat).

A Montreal-based company has developed a software program that can profile terrorist suspects by tracking their cellular-phone movements. The firm is now trying to market this technology to U.S. government agencies.

The system is based on "passive location tracking," said Alexandre Legendre, president of Profilium Inc. "Just the fact that your phone is on means the network knows where you are." The company had been marketing the technology in recent years as a means of broadcasting advertisements to cell phone users in specific areas.

Using a technique called "geo-profiling," the software assigns anonymous identification numbers to cellular phone users in a given area of the world, and then collects data about movements and activities. That data can then be used to predict potentially unlawful activity. The system does not require specific phone numbers or any other proprietary information owned by the cell phone providers.

According to Legendre, "Geo-profiling can be used to monitor specific activities, in specific areas at specific times. For example, what is a person doing at 3 a.m. in the proximity of a nuclear plant?" Another example of an action that could trigger an alert would he if a person crosses the U.S.-Canada border 10 times in a given month at different boarder crossings, Legendre said.

"As users roam within and between mobile networks, Profilium is able to capture specific movements and convert this raw data into behavioral profiles that describe their movements in the context of the real world," he said.

The tracking system has a 50-meter accuracy, and works indoors, Legendre said.

He acknowledged that there are inherent privacy questions associated with this technology that must be resolved. Meanwhile, Profilium has partnered with Ericcson, Lucent and Siemens, and has plans to move into the U.S. defense marketplace.