"Researchers Used Wi-Fi Signals to See Through Walls. Game-Changing Breakthrough? Or Privacy Nightmare Waiting to Happen?"
Using Wi-Fi signals, scientists have developed a technology that enables people to see objects and read letters through walls. The system, developed by UC Santa Barbara researchers, traces the edges of objects on the opposite side of solid barriers. In one experiment, the team used the technology to decipher the word "BELIEVE" from the other side of a wall by imaging each letter individually. Three off-the-shelf Wi-Fi transmitters were used to send wireless waves in an area. The receivers were on an unmanned vehicle emulating a Wi-Fi receiver grid as it moved. They measured the signal power, which was then used for imaging under the proposed method. However, the success of this strategy may raise significant privacy and security concerns. Cybercriminals could integrate this technology into an existing attack vector. This article continues to discuss the technology that enables seeing through walls, which could pose security and privacy issues.