ByThomas Claburn Posted on 9/9/2014
At the end of the month, foes of Google Glass, wireless webcams, and other network-depended devices associated with surveillance will have a turnkey weapon to deter unwanted spying.
Cyborg Unplug is a wireless network security device developed by Julian Oliver, an artist and developer based in Berlin, Germany, who is among the creators of the Critical Engineering Manifesto. Scheduled for release at the end of September in two versions for less than $100, it is a small box about the size of Apple TV that scans for specified network hardware identifiers. Then, depending which version is being used, the device either displays an alert or automatically disconnects the device from the network.
Cyborg Unplug is a hardware version of Oliver's glasshole.sh script, code released earlier this year that allows Linux devices like a Raspberry Pi to scan for the unique MAC address prefix Google has assigned to its Glass headsets and to force them them off the local network.
Though Google has made an effort to clarify that Glass isn't always recording video, provides a visible indicator of recording (unlike a mobile phone), and is obvious (unlike many video capturing devices), its outreach efforts have failed to win over everyone. Oliver attributes the genesis of his glasshole.sh script to technologist Omer Shapira's dissatisfaction with the presence of someone wearing Glass at a NYU gallery show.
InforWeek/ full article here/ http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/mobile-devices/blinders-for-google-glass/d/d-id/1307055
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Interesting - I think that pervasive video recording is going to become a bigger and bigger issue. With calls for police to wear cameras all the time, and people having their own recording devices, at some point we'll just have to assume we're always on camera when out in public. There are some upsides though, like discovering that CEO who abused the puppy, or Ray Rice's assault on his girlfriend.
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