'Internet of Things' an Absolute Goldmine for Big Brother, Admits Top US Spy

DNI James Clappers acknowledges "intelligence services might use the [web-connected home devices] for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment."

by

Jon Queally, staff writer

 

 

Though DNI James Clapper did "not specifically name any intelligence agency as involved in household-device surveillance", reports Spencer Ackerman, "security experts examining the internet of things take as a given that the US and other surveillance services will intercept the signals the newly networked devices emit, much as they do with those from cellphones." (Image: Shutterstock)

Sworn testimony delivered to the U.S. Congress by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper raised eyebrows on Tuesday as he acknowledged publicly for the first time that surveillance agencies are almost certain to exploit (if they aren't already) the increasing number of web-connected devices—also known as the "Internet of Things"—as a way to keep tabs on the population in the coming years.
"In the future, intelligence services might use the [Internet of Things] for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment, or to gain access to networks or user credentials," Clapper said in his submitted testimony (pdf). READ MORE