Buzz
When we consider the surveillance methods used by governments and major corporations, we typically imagine computers, smartphones, and perhaps surveillance cameras. But, as you will soon discover, these are far from the only tools that can be employed to monitor us.
Items that appear harmless, like toothbrushes, headphones, and children's toys, can easily be transformed into powerful spying devices. This should come as no surprise, given that nearly every manufacturer aims to connect their products to the Internet today. Big Brother (or at least big business) is keeping an eye on us.
10. Robotic Vacuums
While robot vacuums are undeniably useful, they can also serve as tools for spying. For instance, the Roomba iRobot i7+ has been caught snooping, as has the Dongguan Diqee 360.
The iRobot i7+ can create a map of your home while cleaning. Roomba claims this is necessary for the vacuum to navigate its way around. The map also comes in handy if you want the vacuum to clean a specific room. However, Roomba has revealed that the iRobot i7+ shares this map with other smart devices. Why does a vacuum need to share a map of your home?
While Roomba didn't clarify, it's easy to guess why, especially since the vacuum was developed in partnership with Google, the tech giant known for its surveillance. Google argues that the sharing is simply to allow integration with Google Assistant, but it's hard not to wonder if they're finding ways to profit from this data.
One robot vacuum that is clearly spying on us is the Dongguan Diqee 360, made in China. It features Wi-Fi and night-vision-capable 360-degree cameras. What's worse, hackers can break into the Diqee 360's cameras to spy on you, even when Dongguan isn't doing so itself.
9. Cars
Our cars are spying on us, and it's not just the smart, self-driving models we’re talking about; even regular cars are in on it. They may not be ‘smart,’ but they’re far from ignorant.
Nearly every vehicle manufactured today is equipped with an event data recorder (EDR). This device collects data about the vehicle, such as its location, average speed, road conditions, and the driver's preferred route. This data is automatically transmitted back to the automaker.
Automakers claim that they use this data to analyze vehicle performance during accidents and to make improvements. The information is also shared with law enforcement to help determine the cause of accidents. However, this doesn't mean that automakers won't utilize this data for other purposes.
For starters, we don’t even know how much data carmakers are collecting from cars. We also don’t know who owns this data—the car owner or the manufacturer? Additionally, most car owners aren’t aware they’re being tracked. Automakers and salespeople tend to keep this information under wraps, so the surveillance continues.
8. Headphones
You may be wondering how headphones could spy on us. The answer is simple—they're essentially microphones. Headphones and microphones operate on the same principle; the only difference is that headphones turn electrical signals into sound, while microphones turn sound into electrical signals.
Interestingly, they can easily be reversed to function the other way around. By simply plugging headphones into the dedicated microphone jack of a computer or the combined headphone-microphone jack in phones and laptops, they can be transformed into microphones. Speak into them, and they become microphones.
This technology can be exploited to turn headphones into covert microphones—whether a corporation, law enforcement, or government spy agency is already using it. Security experts at Ben Gurion University in Israel even developed malware that converts headphones into surveillance microphones.
The malware, named Speake(a)r, works by turning the computer’s output jacks into input jacks. This allows headphones to eavesdrop on conversations whenever they are connected to the computer.
7. Toothbrushes
Toothbrushes are gradually transforming from simple plastic handles with soft bristles into high-tech gadgets. As with many modern devices, these too are being connected to the Internet to spy on us. In 2014, Oral B launched a smart toothbrush that syncs with specialized Android and iOS apps via Bluetooth.
The toothbrush tracks every stroke and presents a summary at the end of each brushing session. It offers tips on improving brushing techniques and can even send the data to the user's dentist. In fact, dentists can use this data to develop customized brushing programs for their patients.
Kolibree also introduced a similar toothbrush around the same period, boasting that it could help users 'outsmart their dentist.' It further claimed that users could share their brushing data with 'dentists and family.' But why should we share such details with family? There were also concerns that this data could be shared with advertisers in the dental product industry.
6. Alexa
Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa, is spying on you. You might not be aware, but Amazon employs thousands of individuals to listen to voice commands made to Alexa. These reviewers work nine hours a day, analyzing more than 1,000 audio commands each.
These reviewers have heard voice commands users never thought Alexa—or anyone—could hear. They’ve eavesdropped on bank details, private conversations not intended for Alexa, and at least once, even a woman singing in the shower.
Two reviewers once overheard what they believed to be a sexual assault and reported it to Amazon. However, Amazon's higher-ups claimed it wasn't their responsibility to intervene. Some of these incidents occurred while Alexa was supposedly off, suggesting that Alexa either turned on by itself or reacted to a sound resembling an activation command. These occurrences have raised significant concerns about privacy and surveillance with Alexa.
Amazon, however, denies calling this spying. The company asserts that it only reviews voice commands to enhance Alexa's performance. Amazon stated, 'We use your requests to Alexa to train our speech recognition and natural language understanding systems.' Yet, the company never clarified that real humans—not just artificial intelligence—are involved in training Alexa.
Although Amazon claims that commands are analyzed anonymously, this is not always the case. Reviewed recordings often include the user’s first name, account number, and even product serial numbers, which could potentially be used to identify individuals.
5. LED Lights
Believe it or not, 171 LED lights at Terminal B of Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey serve more purposes than just lighting the space. They are equipped with sensors and linked to eight video cameras, enabling them to monitor individuals in and around the terminal.
The terminal is managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. They claim that the cameras are solely used to monitor long airport lines, vehicle license plates, and detect suspicious activity. However, it’s clear that the system could serve additional purposes. The Port Authority stores any data collected by these lights and could hand it over to the authorities upon request.
4. Home Security Cameras
Security cameras are meant to deter burglars from targeting our homes. Yet, we've learned that they can—and often do—spy on us as well. The mere thought of being surveilled by these cameras has raised privacy concerns among their owners, and even those considering buying them. The level of unease has led to the creation of a security camera that turns to face the wall whenever you're home, keeping your privacy intact.
The issue of spying arises because these security cameras have the capability to secretly record videos, take pictures, and capture audio, all of which are uploaded to the cloud. The ability to record audio is particularly concerning, as these cameras could inadvertently capture private conversations that are meant to remain confidential.
There’s also a significant flaw in how the uploaded data is managed, as a spouse could use it to monitor their partner while they’re away from home. Law enforcement could also demand that the cloud service provider release the recordings, all without your knowledge or consent.
Currently, we’ve caught Ring, a security and doorbell camera company owned by Amazon, spying on users through their cameras. Ring insists it doesn’t spy on anyone and only uses video footage to improve object recognition, a claim similar to what Amazon made with Alexa. Yet, its reviewers have come across private videos of people engaging in intimate moments, committing crimes, and even shooting guns.
3. Smartwatches And Fitness Trackers
Smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other smart wearables are rapidly becoming part of the spy gadget category. These devices are so advanced that they can gather various data to identify the wearer and can even detect whether the wearer is walking, running, or using transportation like cars, trains, or buses.
It’s hardly surprising that these wearables can also track hand movements, allowing them to figure out if the wearer is entering sensitive information like pin numbers or passwords. These devices can correctly guess the pin number or pattern used to unlock a cell phone 64 percent of the time, an ATM pin 87 percent of the time, and computer passwords up to 96 percent of the time.
2. Computer Mice
We all know our computers have the ability to spy on us, but many people overlook the spying potential of peripherals like keyboards and mice. That seemingly harmless mouse could actually be monitoring your actions. In fact, this has already happened in Singapore.
In 2012, reports surfaced that employers in Singapore were using a variety of gadgets to spy on their employees, including calculators, alarm clocks, and—surprisingly—computer mice. These special mice appeared just like any other mouse, but they were equipped with microphones and SIM cards. When the employer made a phone call to the mouse, it would start recording any conversations within a 10-meter radius (33 feet).
1. Toys
Children often treat their toys as if they were real people, which can sometimes lead to the unintentional sharing of personal details. This becomes a growing concern with the rise of smart toys, which are equipped with cameras and microphones. These devices can sometimes transmit data to servers controlled by the toy manufacturers.
Genesis, a toymaker from Hong Kong and Los Angeles, was exposed for spying on children through its doll, My Friend Cayla. The doll had the ability to transcribe conversations into text and send that data to third parties. Strangely, when children asked the toy, 'Can you keep a secret?' it would always respond, 'I promise not to tell anyone; it’s just between you and me.'
Hackers can also exploit these toys to spy on children, steal photos, videos, and audio recordings, or even pinpoint the child’s location through GPS coordinates. The Smart Toy Bear from Fisher-Price (a subsidiary of Mattel) was also found to have a security flaw, which allowed researchers from Indiana University to access its camera.
