Post by elizabeth on Mar 2, 2014 5:09:18 GMT
The Lights Are Watching
February 28, 2014 | Tom Olago
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Are the lights that illumine your room or current location, doing more than just providing light? Could it be that the lights are also watching you? It would seem that LED light fixtures are now emerging as the latest tools in spying and investigation.
Judy Molland, in a recent article for care2.com describes the light-emitting diode (LED) as ‘one of today’s most energy-efficient and rapidly-developing lighting technologies. Quality LED light bulbs last longer, are more durable, and offer comparable or better light quality than other types of lighting.
LED is a highly energy efficient lighting technology and has the potential to fundamentally change the future of lighting in the United States. Residential LEDs, especially ENERGY STAR rated products, use at least 75 percent less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent lighting.’
Judy also makes reference to a New York Times report that states that ‘the clean, bright light of newly installed LED fixtures illuminating Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport, in New Jersey, are part of a new wireless network that’s watching visitors.
The 171 LED fixtures are apparently the backbone of a system that feeds data into software that can spot long lines, read license plates, identify suspicious activity and alert the appropriate staff…Now, these amazing lights are also being used to track passengers at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The New York Times reports that the new light fixtures are part of a new wireless network that collects and feeds data into software that can spot long lines, recognize license plates and even identify suspicious activity, sending alerts to the appropriate staff.
The project is still in its early stages, but executives with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, are already talking about expanding it to other terminals and buildings.’
The sensors in the lights were reportedly designed by Sensity Systems.
Not surprisingly, the fine battle lines between security requirements and privacy needs are again being redrawn between security enforcement agents and privacy/data security advocates.
Judy cites prior privacy invasion examples such as reports of rubbish bins in London being set to snoop on innocent citizens, and police officers in California wanting to tap into property owners’ private security cameras. Future plans include a street lighting system in Las Vegas that could also be used to issue security alerts at a pedestrian mall.
Judy expounds: “Privacy advocates point out that the installation of these security systems raises the specter of technology racing ahead of the ability to harness it, running risks of invading privacy and mismanaging information, (while) others argue that we should have no expectation of privacy when we go to an airport, other than the restroom. They add that if you don’t want to be observed, you shouldn’t go to an airport; after all, it wasn’t so long ago that planes were used as weapons.”
And these lights are by no means limited to surveillance – apparently they are also now being used to provide useful business marketing information. Writing for popsci.com, Francis Diep explains: “Electronics company Philips is piloting a system in which LED store lamps track shoppers... Shoppers have to download the store's app, first.
Once they do, every lamp in the store is able to communicate with the shoppers' phones using pulses of light the human eye can't detect. Thus, the lamps know whether someone is in the produce section or the peanut butter aisle… and in response, the app can call up killer deals on bananas or jelly, depending.
Philips is testing the system in Europe, but hasn't confirmed which stores will have it, Wired UK reports. This lamp-based customer-tracking scheme is part of an overall drive among companies to come up with ways to track people's shopping habits in stores…Data on where people walk and pause in stores are valuable to the stores, of course. In return, stores offer shoppers targeted coupons.
The Philips app even suggests recipes and a walking route through the store, based on which ingredients users want to buy... In addition, lights are everywhere, as Philips business development manager Gerben van der Lugt explained in a statement about Philips' supermarket tracking.
"The beauty of the system is that retailers do not have to invest in additional infrastructure to house, power and support location beacons for indoor positioning," he said. "The light fixtures themselves can communicate this information by virtue of their presence everywhere in the store."”
It would seem that using supermarket lights to acquire marketing intelligence and to provide a better customer experience may not generate as much controversy as the usage for security surveillance would.
However the question remains: “Are these surveillance equipments excessive and crossing into invasions of privacy? Or are they necessary to keep us all as safe as possible? Are they being used in ways that intrude on privacy unnecessarily?
How safe are these records and do we have any comfort that the information collected will not be used to harm or compromise the privacy of innocent people? Should we be staring nervously at the lights in airport bathrooms or hotel rooms, not knowing how far the snooping can go and where it will stop, all in the name of crime detection and prevention?
Even in the aftermath of the Snowden/NSA revelations it would seem that there still isn’t much by way of assurances to the general public from the authorities, that would inspire high levels of confidence or trust.
Lisa Vaas, writing for nakedsecurity.sophos.com exemplifies in her recent comment the primary privacy and data security concerns: “Sensity, to its credit, has acknowledged the concerns of privacy advocates who say that the tendency is to suck up as much big data as possible first and then worry about securing it later.
The company has gone so far as to create a board to help figure out the technology's implications. The data, in the meantime, is encrypted (though we have no more detail than that) and "supersecure", chief executive Hugh Martin told the NYT. But it's perhaps best to be skeptical of claims that data is secure, let alone "supersecure".
We just marked the end of an epic year for data breaches, with over 800 million records lost. It would be wonderful to believe in the claims that data being rolled up by places like this airport are going to be secure and that nobody's going to get at it without a subpoena or written request.
But there's hope, and then there's reality. Eight hundred million lost records. Goodness gracious, that's a lot of not-so-super security.”
Meanwhile, the lights keep watching.
Source “Fair Use For Educational or Discussion Purposes”
February 28, 2014 | Tom Olago
Share this article
Are the lights that illumine your room or current location, doing more than just providing light? Could it be that the lights are also watching you? It would seem that LED light fixtures are now emerging as the latest tools in spying and investigation.
Judy Molland, in a recent article for care2.com describes the light-emitting diode (LED) as ‘one of today’s most energy-efficient and rapidly-developing lighting technologies. Quality LED light bulbs last longer, are more durable, and offer comparable or better light quality than other types of lighting.
LED is a highly energy efficient lighting technology and has the potential to fundamentally change the future of lighting in the United States. Residential LEDs, especially ENERGY STAR rated products, use at least 75 percent less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent lighting.’
Judy also makes reference to a New York Times report that states that ‘the clean, bright light of newly installed LED fixtures illuminating Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport, in New Jersey, are part of a new wireless network that’s watching visitors.
The 171 LED fixtures are apparently the backbone of a system that feeds data into software that can spot long lines, read license plates, identify suspicious activity and alert the appropriate staff…Now, these amazing lights are also being used to track passengers at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The New York Times reports that the new light fixtures are part of a new wireless network that collects and feeds data into software that can spot long lines, recognize license plates and even identify suspicious activity, sending alerts to the appropriate staff.
The project is still in its early stages, but executives with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, are already talking about expanding it to other terminals and buildings.’
The sensors in the lights were reportedly designed by Sensity Systems.
Not surprisingly, the fine battle lines between security requirements and privacy needs are again being redrawn between security enforcement agents and privacy/data security advocates.
Judy cites prior privacy invasion examples such as reports of rubbish bins in London being set to snoop on innocent citizens, and police officers in California wanting to tap into property owners’ private security cameras. Future plans include a street lighting system in Las Vegas that could also be used to issue security alerts at a pedestrian mall.
Judy expounds: “Privacy advocates point out that the installation of these security systems raises the specter of technology racing ahead of the ability to harness it, running risks of invading privacy and mismanaging information, (while) others argue that we should have no expectation of privacy when we go to an airport, other than the restroom. They add that if you don’t want to be observed, you shouldn’t go to an airport; after all, it wasn’t so long ago that planes were used as weapons.”
And these lights are by no means limited to surveillance – apparently they are also now being used to provide useful business marketing information. Writing for popsci.com, Francis Diep explains: “Electronics company Philips is piloting a system in which LED store lamps track shoppers... Shoppers have to download the store's app, first.
Once they do, every lamp in the store is able to communicate with the shoppers' phones using pulses of light the human eye can't detect. Thus, the lamps know whether someone is in the produce section or the peanut butter aisle… and in response, the app can call up killer deals on bananas or jelly, depending.
Philips is testing the system in Europe, but hasn't confirmed which stores will have it, Wired UK reports. This lamp-based customer-tracking scheme is part of an overall drive among companies to come up with ways to track people's shopping habits in stores…Data on where people walk and pause in stores are valuable to the stores, of course. In return, stores offer shoppers targeted coupons.
The Philips app even suggests recipes and a walking route through the store, based on which ingredients users want to buy... In addition, lights are everywhere, as Philips business development manager Gerben van der Lugt explained in a statement about Philips' supermarket tracking.
"The beauty of the system is that retailers do not have to invest in additional infrastructure to house, power and support location beacons for indoor positioning," he said. "The light fixtures themselves can communicate this information by virtue of their presence everywhere in the store."”
It would seem that using supermarket lights to acquire marketing intelligence and to provide a better customer experience may not generate as much controversy as the usage for security surveillance would.
However the question remains: “Are these surveillance equipments excessive and crossing into invasions of privacy? Or are they necessary to keep us all as safe as possible? Are they being used in ways that intrude on privacy unnecessarily?
How safe are these records and do we have any comfort that the information collected will not be used to harm or compromise the privacy of innocent people? Should we be staring nervously at the lights in airport bathrooms or hotel rooms, not knowing how far the snooping can go and where it will stop, all in the name of crime detection and prevention?
Even in the aftermath of the Snowden/NSA revelations it would seem that there still isn’t much by way of assurances to the general public from the authorities, that would inspire high levels of confidence or trust.
Lisa Vaas, writing for nakedsecurity.sophos.com exemplifies in her recent comment the primary privacy and data security concerns: “Sensity, to its credit, has acknowledged the concerns of privacy advocates who say that the tendency is to suck up as much big data as possible first and then worry about securing it later.
The company has gone so far as to create a board to help figure out the technology's implications. The data, in the meantime, is encrypted (though we have no more detail than that) and "supersecure", chief executive Hugh Martin told the NYT. But it's perhaps best to be skeptical of claims that data is secure, let alone "supersecure".
We just marked the end of an epic year for data breaches, with over 800 million records lost. It would be wonderful to believe in the claims that data being rolled up by places like this airport are going to be secure and that nobody's going to get at it without a subpoena or written request.
But there's hope, and then there's reality. Eight hundred million lost records. Goodness gracious, that's a lot of not-so-super security.”
Meanwhile, the lights keep watching.
Source “Fair Use For Educational or Discussion Purposes”
