Earlier this summer, Berlin-based artist and coder Julian Oliver released Glasshole.sh, a simple and free piece of software designed to detect Google Glass and boot it from any local Wi-Fi network. That DIY idea, says Oliver, was so popular among Glasss critics that hes now offering his cyborg-foiling hack to the masses in a much more polished form: an easy-to-use commercial product selling for less than $100.
Later this month, Oliver says hell start taking pre-orders for Cyborg Unplug, a gadget no bigger than a laptop charger that plugs into a wall and patrols the local Wi-Fi network for connected Google Glass devices, along with other potential surveillance gadgets like Google Dropcams, Wi-Fi-enabled drone copters, and certain wireless microphones. When it detects one of those devices, it can be programmed to flash an alert with an LED light, play a sound through connected speakers, and even ping the Cyborg Unplug owners smartphone through an Android app, as well as silently booting those potential spy devices from the network.
Basically its a wireless defense shield for your home or place of work, says Oliver. The intent is to counter a growing and tangibly troubling emergence of wirelessly capable devices that are used and abused for surveillance and voyeurism.
The plug can seek out and disconnect nearby surveillance devices on any network it connects toa more legally ambiguous use of the gadget.
Oliver says hell offer Cyborg Unplug in two versions: A cheaper version called Little Snipper equipped with only an LED blinker alert will sell for around $50. The higher-end version, which hes dubbed the Axe, will sell for about $85 and also include the Android app, an audio connection to any nearby speakers for an audible beeping alert, and a 5G Wi-Fi connection often used by businesses as well as the more common 2.4G connection. The two devices are built from cheap, plug-in Wi-Fi routers made by Qualcomm Atheros and Ralink but with their firmware replaced with Olivers own version of the Linux-based software Open-WRT. Its just modified router hardware, but instead of allowing devices to get to the internet, it does precisely the opposite, he says.
In addition to a default state called Territory Mode designed to defend the users own network, Oliver says Cyborg Unplug will also offer an All Out Mode. With that more aggressive setting switched on, the plug will seek out and disconnect nearby surveillance devices on any network it connects to, including Glasss wireless connection to their owners phones. Thats a more legally ambiguous use of the gadget that Oliver says he doesnt recommend. Please note that this latter mode may not be legal within your jurisdiction, reads a disclaimer on Cyborg Unplugs website. We take no responsibility for the trouble you get yourself into if you choose to deploy your Cyborg Unplug in this mode.
A Google spokesperson declined to comment.
The idea for Glasshole.sh came to Oliver in June after an artist friend complained that a Glass-wearing visitor had potentially uploaded content from a gallery exhibition hed hosted. Oliver soon found that Googles augmented reality headsets used a unique prefix in their MAC addresses that he could easily detect. He quickly wrote and published a free script that could be installed on a cheap Wi-Fi-connected computer like a Raspberry Pi or BeagleBoard to seek out Glass headsets and and use the program Aircrack-NG to send a DeAuth command that cuts their internet connections.
As his idea spread, Oliver says he began receiving requests from restaurants, casinos, and clubs asking how they could implement the DIY script. He soon decided to build and sell the device himself. The dominant enthusiasts were women, says Oliver. They were concerned about guys at nightclubs taking a little bit home for later, or guys across from them on the train looking them up and down. Even if they didnt know if the device was recording, they felt threatened by its presence.
Cutting the Wi-Fi uplink of Google Glass or most other surveillance gadgets doesnt necessarily do much to prevent that sort of snooping, as long as its stored locally on the device. In fact, Cyborg Unplug wouldnt even detect any Glass user who doesnt attempt to connect to Wi-Fi. But Oliver argues that it would at least make it more difficult to surreptitiously stream video or images to a remote location without leaving evidence on the snoops local device. A casino owner, for instance, might catch someone with some device and take it off them, but could never prove they were recording because they were streaming to somewhere else, Oliver says.
Originally posted here:
For Sale Soon: The Worlds First Google Glass Detector
