Surveillance where you would never expect it
Researchers at Washington University in Devices That Tell On You: The Nike+iPod Sport Kit:
As part of our research, we built a number of surveillance tools that malicious individuals could use to track Nike+iPod Sport Kit owners. Our tools can track Nike+iPod Sport Kit owners while they our working out, as well as when they are just casually walking around town, a parking lot, or a college campus. The tracked individuals don't even need to have their iPods with them.
And Bruce Schneier comments:
Schneier on Security in Tracking People by their Sneakers:
Unless we enact some sort of broad law requiring companies to add security into these sorts of systems, companies will continue to produce devices that erode our privacy through new technologies. Not on purpose, not because they're evil -- just because it's easier to ignore the externality than to worry about it.
That's exactly the point. Many times people do stupid and dangerous things because they don't know any better. Unfortunately when it comes to technology sloppiness and the pressure to get the product out the door easily creates that kind of side-effect. From technologist one should expect to think a bit harder. Unfortunately in almost all cases business people define when something is ready and it's hard to hold something back although there are issues that have not been addressed yet.
Posted by Stephan Schwab on December 13, 2006 3:56:27 PM EST
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