By MyEngineers
Two Harvard students have exposed a terrifying new privacy threat, demonstrating how readily available technology can be used to compromise personal information.
By utilizing a pair of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and public databases, they created a system capable of instantly revealing individuals’ identities, phone numbers, and addresses.
AnhPhu Nguyen, one of the two students, posted a video showcasing the tech in action that was then picked up by 404 Media.
Dubbed I-XRAY, the tech works by using the Meta smart glasses’ ability to livestream video to Instagram. A computer program then monitors that stream and uses AI to identify faces. Those photos are then fed into public databases to find names, addresses, phone numbers, and even relatives. That information is then fed back through a phone app.
In a chilling demonstration, the students, Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, , successfully identified classmates, their addresses, and even relatives in real time. They also casually approached strangers on public transit, pretending to know them based on information gleaned from the system.
Facial recognition tech has been frighteningly accurate for a while now, and I-XRAY is largely just chaining together a bunch of existing technologies.
It relies in part on PimEyes, which The New York Times described in 2022 as an “alarmingly accurate” face search engine that “anyone can use.”
Concerns around this tech have been heightened since it came out that Clearview AI was using facial recognition to help law enforcement.
What’s new about Nguyen and Ardayfio’s demo is how the tech is being paired with a consumer gadget that is discreet and easy to access.
While the students claim their intention was not to misuse the technology but rather to raise awareness, the demonstration highlights the grave consequences of such tools falling into the wrong hands. The ease with which personal information can be compromised poses a significant threat to individual privacy and security, Verge reports.
“The purpose of building this tool is not for misuse, and we are not releasing it,” Nguyen and Ardafiyo write in a document explaining the project.
In particular, they point out that I-XRAY is unique because large language models (LLMs) enable it to work automatically, drawing relationships between names and photos from vast data sources.
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses used in this demo look just like any other pair of Ray-Bans. While that’s critical for smart glasses adoption, it also makes it harder for people to clock when someone might be wearing a camera on their face.
The Meta glasses do include a privacy light that automatically turns on whenever you’re recording video. However, in our testing, we found that the light is hard to notice when you’re outside in bright lighting and that people often don’t notice when you’re filming — especially in crowded, public spaces.
This is a sobering reminder of how smart glasses can be abused, but there are some steps people can take to protect themselves. In their document, Nguyen and Ardafiyo list reverse face search and people search databases that allow you to opt out. Even so, keep in mind it’s nigh impossible to fully delete your online presence — you can only make your information less available.
As technology continues to advance, it is imperative that individuals and organizations take proactive measures to protect their privacy. This includes being mindful of the information they share online, limiting access to personal data, and staying informed about the latest privacy threats. (Sources: Verge, 404 )