
3D Images of Taiwan to Be Pulled from Google Maps - Ultramanoid
http://focustaiwan.tw/news/ast/201902230019.aspx
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Ultramanoid
This seems a bit asinine. We will remove your military installations from
view, sure, but that means removing the whole 3D setup for everything. Really
?

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T-A
The alternative is Taiwan notifying Google every time they build or move
something sensitive, which does not seem like a great security model. Even in
the absence of leaks, a would-be attacker would just need to look for flat
patches in the sea of 3D to tell where the interesting stuff is.

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Ultramanoid
I still don't understand. How does it work with normal maps when they blur or
obfuscate sensitive information upon governments' requests ? Surely they don't
remove the whole map.

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T-A
Last year I was jumping around the world in Google Earth VR, standing on
skyscrapers in Tokyo and such, when I decided to go have a look at Washington
DC. Surprise: for miles around the White House, there was no 3D info, just
flat, blurry satellite photos.

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Ultramanoid
Well, yes, and that makes sense. They have an obfuscated area, which is what I
would expect in this case too, instead of removing the option for the whole of
Taiwan. Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan and Taichung are not exactly tiny villages
where only a couple of geeky nerds used 3D, either.

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T-A
No, but in Taiwan's case the concern is not the cities (everybody knows where
those are), it's this kind of thing: [https://thediplomat.com/2014/09/taiwan-
asias-secret-air-powe...](https://thediplomat.com/2014/09/taiwan-asias-secret-
air-power/)

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Ultramanoid
Thank you. Very informative. Can't quite square the 'there's more than meets
the eye' in Taiwan's supposed military might and preparedness from the article
with the soldiers fumbling with missile systems and shooting one across the
strait towards China by mistake a couple of years ago, but hey...

Edit : That one didn't reach the mainland, of course.

