AYO!
Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have uncovered a chilling privacy vulnerability in Wi-Fi networks, demonstrating how radio waves from everyday routers can be exploited to identify individuals with nearly 100% accuracy-without them carrying a device or even being connected-by intercepting unencrypted beamforming feedback information (BFI) sent between nearby gadgets. This technique, detailed in a forthcoming ACM CCS 2025 paper, uses machine learning to analyze signal propagation patterns, generating multi-angle "images" of people and their surroundings much like a camera but with radio waves instead of light, allowing covert surveillance in public spots like cafés where repeated exposure could enable tracking by authorities or corporations. Unlike prior methods relying on specialized hardware, this works with standard Wi-Fi setups, turning ubiquitous networks into a pervasive, passive monitoring web that threatens fundamental privacy rights, prompting calls for safeguards in the evolving IEEE 802.11bf standard.
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-10-spy-wi-fi-beware-radio.html
Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have uncovered a chilling privacy vulnerability in Wi-Fi networks, demonstrating how radio waves from everyday routers can be exploited to identify individuals with nearly 100% accuracy-without them carrying a device or even being connected-by intercepting unencrypted beamforming feedback information (BFI) sent between nearby gadgets. This technique, detailed in a forthcoming ACM CCS 2025 paper, uses machine learning to analyze signal propagation patterns, generating multi-angle "images" of people and their surroundings much like a camera but with radio waves instead of light, allowing covert surveillance in public spots like cafés where repeated exposure could enable tracking by authorities or corporations. Unlike prior methods relying on specialized hardware, this works with standard Wi-Fi setups, turning ubiquitous networks into a pervasive, passive monitoring web that threatens fundamental privacy rights, prompting calls for safeguards in the evolving IEEE 802.11bf standard.
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-10-spy-wi-fi-beware-radio.html
