To its immense credit, the Waterloo team has presented its findings as a security loophole as well as a technical advance. It also made the operative parameters of its tech widely available. Everything depends on technology the experts at Waterloo call “Polite WiFi.” In short, even on password-protected networks, smart devices often automatically connect to any incoming signal. By sending multiple messages and measuring response time, Wi-Peep can map the smart devices in an interior space, yielding a working map of what’s inside (via SciTechDaily).
This technology is extremely accessible. Dr. Ali Abedi, adjunct professor of computer science at the University of Waterloo, worked with his team to put together the Wi-Peep from a standard store-bought drone and $20 of consumer hardware.
In Abedi’s words: “The Wi-Peep devices are like lights in the visible spectrum, and the walls are like glass. 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,” (via SciTechDaily).
Integrating such a fascinating yet potentially dangerous device into daily life will clearly come with challenges. At the same time, given the technology’s accessibility and ease of use, it’s possible it could become part of the daily technological landscape sooner rather than later.
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