Walking past a café with an active WiFi network could be enough for you to be identified, even if you are not carrying a cell phone. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have shown that people can be recognized solely by recording WiFi communication in their surroundings, a capability they warn poses a serious threat to personal privacy.
The method does not require individuals to carry any electronic devices, nor does it rely on specialized hardware. Instead, it makes use of ordinary WiFi devices already communicating with each other nearby. As radio waves move through a space and interact with people, they create distinctive patterns that can be captured and analyzed. These patterns are comparable to images produced by cameras, but they are formed using radio signals rather than light. The research team argues that this emerging capability highlights the urgent need for stronger privacy protections.
“By observing the propagation of radio waves, we can create an image of the surroundings and of persons who are present,” says Professor Thorsten Strufe from KASTEL (KIT’s Institute of Information Security and Dependability). “This works similar to a normal camera, the difference being that in our case, radio waves instead of light waves are used for the recognition,” explains the cybersecurity expert. “Thus, it does not matter whether you carry a WiFi device on you or not.”
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