Researchers Use Ordinary WiFi Connections to Create Images of Nearby People and Their Surroundings
Science Daily reports: Researchers showed that unencrypted signals routinely exchanged between WiFi devices and routers can be used to create radio-based images of people and recognize them within seconds. In tests involving 197 participants, the system identified individuals with nearly 100% accuracy, even from different angles and regardless of how they walked. "By observing the propagation of…
Researchers have discovered that WiFi signals emitted by everyday devices can be utilized to generate images of nearby individuals and their surroundings. The technique involves analyzing unencrypted "beamforming feedback information" (BFI) signals emitted by connected devices as they communicate with routers, without needing the presence of a WiFi-enabled device on the person being observed.
The system developed by Professor Thorsten Strufe's team at KASTEL, KIT's Institute of Information Security and Dependability, demonstrates nearly perfect accuracy in identifying individuals from various angles and while they walk. Because the method relies on radio waves rather than light, no specific WiFi devices are required for the person to be observed.
Even disabling one's own device would not hinder the system's functionality, as long as other WiFi devices are active in the vicinity. This discovery raises privacy concerns, as it becomes possible to gather visual information about people simply by being in their proximity, using signals that are inherently unsecured.
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