Posted on 11/02/2022 9:17:34 PM PDT by aimhigh
A research team based out of the University of Waterloo has developed a drone-powered device that can use WiFi networks to see through walls. The device, nicknamed Wi-Peep, can fly near a building and then use the inhabitants’ WiFi network to identify and locate all WiFi-enabled devices inside in a matter of seconds.
The Wi-Peep exploits a loophole the researchers call polite WiFi. Even if a network is password protected, smart devices will automatically respond to contact attempts from any device within range. The Wi-Peep sends several messages to a device as it flies and then measures the response time on each, enabling it to identify the device’s location to within a metre.
Dr. Ali Abedi, an adjunct professor of computer science at Waterloo, explains the significance of this discovery. “The Wi-Peep devices are like lights in the visible spectrum, and the walls are like glass,” Abedi said. “Using similar technology, one could track the movements of security guards inside a bank by following the location of their phones or smartwatches. Likewise, a thief could identify the location and type of smart devices in a home, including security cameras, laptops, and smart TVs, to find a good candidate for a break-in. In addition, the device’s operation via drone means that it can be used quickly and remotely without much chance of the user being detected.”
While scientists have explored WiFi security vulnerability in the past using bulky, expensive devices, the Wi-Peep is notable because of its accessibility and ease of transportation. Abedi’s team built it using a store-bought drone and $20 of easily purchased hardware. “As soon as the Polite WiFi loophole was discovered, we realized this kind of attack was possible,” Abedi said.
The team built the Wi-Peep to test their theory and quickly realized that anyone with the right expertise could easily create a similar device. “On a fundamental level, we need to fix the Polite WiFi loophole so that our devices do not respond to strangers,” Abedi said. “We hope our work will inform the design of next-generation protocols.”
In the meantime, he urges WiFi chip manufacturers to introduce an artificial, randomized variation in device response time, which will make calculations like the ones the Wi-Peep uses wildly inaccurate. The paper summarizing this research, Non-cooperative wi-fi localization & its privacy implications, was presented at the 28th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking.
That is scary.
So the drone can pin point the laptop in house and fire a bullet at it? That will spare the humans behind the wall.
Dusty memory says they also used WiFi signals a couple years ago to create an image of the inside of a building based on what was reflected or absorbed.
Or something like that.
Yet the FBI, CIA, Mossad, MI5, MI6, RCMP, and all their Russian and Chinese counterparts, they all love it.
(FBI agent 1) Hey, she's got nice breasts!
(FBI agent 2) Never mind her, look at HIM....
With more technology, the more reliance on those who produce it, and whoever they’re in cooperation with.
(FBI agent 1) Hey, she's got nice breasts!
(FBI agent 2) Never mind her, look at HIM....
today's fbi...
That’s possible (imaging) with Ultra Wide Band but wi-fi is a totally different thing. This is geolocation based on Time Of Arrival, sorta like using wi-fi signals to locate the device emitting them like passive sonar is used to locate submarines. Maybe useful but the title is BS, probably not written by someone who understands what they’re writing about.
For some reason, this reminds me of a period of my life when I had pillows set up in my bed to look like me, while I slept on the floor under the bedroom window sill with a shotgun.
Xaver 1000
Integrated Augmented Vision System (IAVS) goggles
Google “faraday cage”.
CC
Most people impulsively trade security for convenience, so they won’t install shielded cables for devices.
p
one could set up a magnetron to respond to wifi interrogation by UAVs outside one’s home.
Ooooof!
target shooting will be a national past time once again
Yikes! I’m glad to say I never had that period of my life!
In the 1960s several magazines had back page ads. Some ads were for X-Ray Glasses, permitting the user to view others without their clothing, or at least that was the claim.
This drone may be seen as the modern version of the prototype.
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