Thread by @lizjosullivan

I’m freaking out about this Amazon Sidewalk mesh network stuff. Here’s why:

1. Amazon is pushing WiFi so you have to send all your traffic through their access points. W/e, no surprises there. But did you know they can track you even if you’re not logged onto their network?

https://twitter.com/lizjosullivan/status/1177068901101756416

2. Businesses can geolocate you simply by the act of your phone probing for WiFi. Regardless of whether you connect, your MAC address touches the device and they know where you are. NBD if this is a small biz, but if it’s Amazon, they can tie this to your user profile. And Name.

3. Cops can tap into live feeds of Ring cameras which can be triggered by things like face rec notifications. And we all know how well that works for POC. Add the mesh tracking and viola... you’ve created a virtually inescapable panopticon that can follow you wherever you go. BUT

4. What’s REALLY scary is that only a fraction of the country needs to opt into this service to create a network with exhaustive coverage of our neighborhoods and streets. This is a BIG DEAL and I wish I saw more in the news about the potential for misuse.

5. Amazon is building the infrastructure to monitor us all. It won’t be long before they package mesh routers into Ring devices to increase the footprint of access. What’s really sad is that they’ll profit from this, while the public eats it up as “just another cool gadget”.

6. I should add, I guess, that Ring only allows cops to access stored recordings, not live feeds. But this is as simple as a policy change and a software update to make real. We need regulation and democratic oversight of surveillance tech to make sure they never do.

7. Since this tweet is going around again I’d like to add that MAC randomization has lessened the ID exposure for modern phones, but plenty of devices are vulnerable. New research in probes plus AI (gait detection) mean the WiFi points are still relevant. people.engr.ncsu.edu/mshahza/public…