'This technology turns every router into a potential means for surveillance': Report claims Wi-Fi devices could 'quietly identify' people with nearly 100% accuracy

Ordinary Wi-Fi networks can reportedly identify people without cameras or consent KASTEL researchers achieved nearly 100% identification accuracy across 197 volunteers tested Wi-Fi signals can reportedly reveal people from different viewing angles A new study suggests that ordinary Wi-Fi networks could be repurposed to identify individuals without cameras, sensors, or their knowledge or consent.

Researchers from KASTEL, the Institute of Information Security and Dependability at KIT, tested the approach on 197 volunteers in controlled conditions.

Their system reportedly achieved nearly 100% identification accuracy regardless of a person's viewing angle or the way that person walked.

A method that needs no extra hardware The technique relies on beamforming feedback information, a type of signal that connected devices routinely send back to a router.

This information is transmitted without any encryption, meaning anyone within range of the network could potentially intercept and read it.

By analyzing these radio signals over time, the system reportedly builds images of people from multiple viewpoints inside a space.

Earlier wireless sensing methods often required specialized equipment, such as LIDAR sensors or detailed measurements of channel state information from a network.

By contrast, the researchers say a standard, unmodified Wi-Fi device is entirely sufficient to carry out this new identification process.

"By observing the propagation of radio waves, we can create an image of the surroundings and of persons who are present," said Thorsten Strufe, a professor at KASTEL, KIT's Institute of Information Security and Dependability.

"This works similar to a normal camera, the difference being that in our case, radio waves instead of light waves are used for the recognition.

A user does not need to carry a phone, smartwatch, or other Wi-Fi-enabled device for the system to work.

Turning off one's own device would reportedly not prevent identification, since other active Wi-Fi devices nearby could still be used.

Privacy concerns extend beyond conventional surveillance The researchers argue that widespread wireless networks could create privacy concerns because they operate throughout homes, offices, restaurants, cafés, and other public environments.

Felix Morsbach noted that intelligence agencies and cybercriminals already have simpler methods, including compromising CCTV systems and connected video doorbells.