WiFi Router Tracking Technology Identified With 99.5% Accuracy
Researchers at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology demonstrated that WiFi routers equipped with beamforming technology can identify individuals with 99.5% accuracy using machine learning analysis of unencrypted feedback signals, potentially enabling covert surveillance without users' knowledge or consent.
What happened
Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology published findings on a WiFi-based tracking method called BFId that uses Beamforming Feedback Information (BFI), a feature introduced in WiFi 5, combined with machine learning to identify individuals within a network's range.
The method analyzes unencrypted feedback signals continuously transmitted between routers and devices to create radio-based 'images' of people moving within range. The researchers tested the technology on 197 participants and achieved 99.5% accuracy in identifying individuals regardless of viewing angle or walking style.
Reported impact
According to researchers, the technology could enable widespread covert surveillance through ordinary WiFi networks, as anyone within router range could be identified without carrying connected devices or knowing they are being tracked.
To link identified individuals with real-world identities, attackers would need to combine WiFi-based tracking data with previously collected device or smartphone information.
Index analysis
The BFId method exploits the unencrypted nature of beamforming feedback signals, which can be passively recorded by any standard WiFi device without specialized hardware or direct network connection.
Governance controls
Researchers suggested that regularly updating router firmware is one of the few available measures to help keep WiFi networks safe.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
This record was researched and written by the Index from original reporting. Its sources are still being verified by an editor, and they are listed here once that check is complete. Until then the record carries no reviewer.