Huawei and Its Sci-Fi Convenience Vision
July 9, 2020
One of the DarkCyber research team spotted what looked like a content marketing, rah rah article called “Huawei’s 1+8+N Strategy Will Be a Big Success in China As It Has No Competitors.”
We talked about the article this morning and dismissed its words as less helpful than most recycled PR. The gem in the write up is this diagram which was tough to read in the original. We poked around and came across a Huawei video which you can view on the Sparrow News Web site.
Here’s a version of the 1+8+N diagram. If you are trying to read the word “sphygmomanometer” means blood pressure gizmo. The term is shorthand for “smart medical devices”.
The idea is that the smartphone is the de facto surveillance device. It provides tags for the device itself and a “phone number” for the device owner. Burner phones registered to smart puppets require extra hoops, and government authorities are going to come calling when the identify of the burner phone’s owner is determined via cross correlation of metadata.
The diagram has three parts, right? Sort of. First, the “plus” sign in the 1+8+N is Huawei itself. Think of Huawei as the Ma Bell, just definitely very cozy with the Chinese government. The “plus” means glue. The glue unites or fuses the data from the little icons.
The focal point of the strategy is the individual.
From the individual, the diagram shows no phone computing devices. There are nine devices identified, but more can be added. These nine devices connected to an individual are all smart; that is, Internet of things, mobile aware, surveillance centric, and related network connected products.
The 1
The “1” refers to the smartphone.
The 8
The eight refers to the smart devices an individual uses. (The smartphone is interacting with these eight devices either directly or indirectly as long as there is battery and electrical power.)
Augmented / virtual reality “glasses”
Earphones
Personal computers
Speakers
Tablets
Televisions
Watches
Vehicles
The connection between and among the devices is enabled by Huawei HiLink or mobile WiFi, although Bluetooth and other wireless technologies are an option.
The N
The N like the math symbol refers to any number of ecologies. An ecology could be a person riding in a vehicle, watching a presentation displayed by a connected projector, a smart printer, a separate but modern smart camera, a Chinese Roomba type robot, a smart scale for weighing a mobile phone owner, a medical device connected or embedded in an individual, a device streaming a video, a video game played on a device or online, a digital map.
These use cases cluster; for example, mobile, smart home, physical health, entertainment, and travel. Other categories can, of course, be added.
Is 1+8+N the 21st Century E=MC^2?
Possibly. What is clear is that Huawei has done a very good job of mapping out the details of the Chinese intelligence and surveillance strategy. By extension, one can view the diagram as one that could be similar to those developed by the governments of Iran, North Korea, Russia, and a number of other nation states.
The smartphone delivers on its potential in the 1+8+N diagram, if the Huawei vision gets traction.
Observations
The 1+8+N equation has been around since 2019. Its resurfacing may have more to do with Huawei’s desire to be quite clear about what its phones and other products and services can deliver.
The company uses the phrase “full scene” instead of the American jargon of a 360 degree view.
Neither phrase captures the import of data in multiple dimensions. Tracking and analyzing data through time enables a number of interesting dependent features, services, and functions.
The 1+8+N may be less about math and more about intelligence than some of the write ups about the diagram discuss.
Stephen E Arnold, July 9, 2020
Do It Huiwei, Please
July 9, 2020
Believe it or not.
Huawei is a mobile device brand not well known in the United States, but it provides an Android based device to millions of consumers in the eastern hemisphere. Huawai devices are manufactured in China and in May the company held its seventeenth annual analyst summit. Ameyaw Debrah shares the story in the article, “Huawei Analyst Summit: Security And Privacy In A Seamless AI Life-Only You Control Your Personal Data.”
The Vice President of Consumer Cloud Services Eric Tan delivered the keynote speech called “Rethink the Seamless AI Experience with the Global HMS Ecosystem” related to Huawei’s privacy and security related to the cloud, hardware, application development, and global certifications. Tan stated that Huawei abides by GDPR, GAPP, and local laws to guarantee privacy compliance.
Another speaker, Dr. Wang Chenglu spoke about “Software-Powered, Seamless AI Experiences and Ecosystems.” He stated how distributed security builds trust between people, data, and devices to protect user privacy and data:
“He explained that firstly, ensure that users are using the correct devices to process data and Huawei has developed a comprehensive security and privacy management system that covers smart phone chips, kernels, EMUI, and applications. This allows devices to establish trusted connections and transfer data based on end-to-end encryption.
Secondly, ensure the right people are accessing data and operating services via the distributed security architecture which makes coordinated, multi-device authentication possible. An authentication capability resource pool is established by combining the hardware capabilities of different devices. The system provides the best security authentication measures based on authentication requests and security level requirements in different business scenarios.”
Huawei stressed that privacy and security are its MO, but can one believe that “only you control your private life” when. a country-supported company is coding up a storm?”
Whitney Grace, July 9, 2020
Neeva: To the Rescue?
July 2, 2020
After the 2017 scandal involving YouTube ads, Google’s head of advertising left the company. However, Sridhar Ramaswamy was not finished with search; he promised then to find another way that did not depend on ads. Now we learn subscription service Neeva is that promised approach from Ars Technica’s article, “Search Engine Startup Asks Users to Be the Customer, not the Product.” Not only does paying to search through Neeva allow one to avoid ads, the platform vows to respect user privacy, as well.
There are just a couple, fundamental problems. First, will enough users actually pay to search when they are used to Googling for free? Critics suspect most users will opt to accept ads over paying a fee. As for the privacy promise, we already have (ad-supported) privacy-centric search platforms DuckDuckGo and Startpage. Besides, though Neeva’s “Digital Bill of Rights” that dominates the company’s About page sounds nice, the official Privacy Policy linked in the site’s footers prompts doubt. Reporter Jim Salter writes:
“Neeva opens that section by saying it does not share, disclose, or sell your personal information with third parties ‘outside of the necessary cases below’—but those necessary cases include ‘Affiliates,’ with the very brusque statement that Neeva ‘may share personal information with our affiliated companies.’ Although the subsections on both Service Providers and Advertising Partners are hedged with usage limitations, there are no such limits given for data shared with ‘Affiliates.’ The document also provides no concrete definition of who the term ‘Affiliates’ might refer to, or in what context.
We noted:
“More security-conscious users should also be aware of Neeva’s Data Retention policy, which simply states ‘we store the personal information we receive as described in this Privacy Policy for as long as you use our Services or as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected… [including pursuit of] legitimate business purposes.’ Given that the data collection may include direct connection to a user’s primary Google or Microsoft email account, this might amount to a truly unsettling volume of personal data—data that is now vulnerable to compromise of Neeva’s services, as well as use or sale (particularly in the case of acquisition or merger) by Neeva itself.”
Neeva is currently in beta testing, but anyone still interested can sign up to be an early tester on waitlist at the bottom of this blog post. Though Neeva has yet to set a price for its subscription, we’re told it should be under $10 per month.
Cynthia Murrell, July 2, 2020
Smartphones: Surveillance Facilitated?
May 22, 2020
A recent study published in the Journal of Marketing suggests we tend to reveal more about ourselves when we communicate through our smartphones than when we are on our desktops. The research was performed at the University of Pennsylvania by Shiri Melumad and Robert Meyer. Scienmag explores the tendency in, “Why Smartphones Are Digital Truth Serum.” We learn:
“For example, Tweets and reviews composed on smartphones are more likely to be written from the perspective of the first person, to disclose negative emotions, and to discuss the writer’s private family and personal friends. Likewise, when consumers receive an online ad that requests personal information (such as phone number and income), they are more likely to provide it when the request is received on their smartphone compared to their desktop or laptop computer.”
But why would we do this? For one thing, users seem to be subconsciously affected by the challenges inherent in using a smaller device:
“[The smaller size] makes viewing and creating content generally more difficult compared with desktop computers. Because of this difficulty, when writing or responding on a smartphone, a person tends to narrowly focus on completing the task and become less cognizant of external factors that would normally inhibit self-disclosure, such as concerns about what others would do with the information.”
Then there is the fact that most of us keep our phones on our person or near us constantly—they have become a modern comfort item (or “adult pacifiers,” as Melumad puts it). The article explains:
“The downstream effect of those feelings shows itself when people are more willing to disclose feelings to a close friend compared to a stranger or open up to a therapist in a comfortable rather than uncomfortable setting. As Meyer says, ‘Similarly, when writing on our phones, we tend to feel that we are in a comfortable “safe zone.” As a consequence, we are more willing to open up about ourselves.’”
The researchers analyzed thousands of social media posts and online reviews, responses to web ads, and controlled laboratory studies using both natural-language processing and human analysts. They also examined responses to nearly 20,000 “call to action” web ads that asked users for private info—such ads deployed on smartphones were consistently more successful at raking in personal data than those aimed at PCs. So consumers beware—do not give in to the tendency get too chummy with those on the other end of your phone just because you are comfortable with the phone itself.
Cynthia Murrell, May 22, 2020
Survey Says, Make the Content Go Away, Please
May 19, 2020
TechRadar states the obvious—“Want to Remove Information About Yourself Online? You’re Not Alone.” The write-up cites a recent Kaspersky survey of over 15,000 respondents. It confirms people are finally taking notice that their personal data has been making its way across the Web. The findings show a high percentage of Internet users have tried to erase personal information online, and for good reason, but many have met with little success. Writer Mike Moore reports:
“Four in five people (82 percent) surveyed in a major study by Kaspersky said they had tried to remove private information which had been publicly available, either from websites or social media channels, recently. However a third (37 percent) of those surveyed had no idea of how to remove details about themselves online. … [The survey] found that over a third (34 percent) of consumers have faced incidents where their private information was accessed by someone who did not have their consent. Of these incidents, over a quarter (29 percent) resulted in financial losses and emotional distress, and more than a third (35 percent) saw someone able to gain access to personal devices without permission. This rises to 39 percent among those aged between 25 and 34, despite younger internet users often being expected to have higher levels of technological literacy. Overall, one in five people say they are concerned about the personal data that organizations are collecting about them and their loved ones.”
The standard recommendation to protect privacy in the first place has been to use a VPN, but even that may be inadequate. A study performed by TechRadar Pro found that nearly half of all VPN services are based in countries that are part of the Fourteen Eyes international surveillance alliance. Looking for alternatives? Moore shares this link to a TechRadar article on what they say are the most secure VPN providers.
Cynthia Murrell, May 19, 2020
Work from Home: Trust but Use Monitoring Software
May 19, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic keeps offices closed and employees continue to work from home, bosses want to be sure their subordinates are working. According to the Washington Post, bosses are “replicating the office” using webcams, microphones, and surveillance software says the article, “Managers Turn To Surveillance Software, Always-On Webcams To Ensure Employees Are (Really) Working From Home.”
Harking back to the chatrooms of yesteryear, employees log into digital work spaces with customizable avatars and chatroom cubicles with instructions to keep webcams and microphones on all day. The idea of the digital workspace designed by Pragli will encourage spontaneous conversation. Some quickly adapt to the technology change, others have difficulty.
While some companies do not replicate the office with programs, they are using other tools such as always on webcams, check-ins, and mandatory digital meetings. There is the concern that companies are being invasive:
“Company leaders say the systems are built to boost productivity and make the quiet isolation of remote work more chipper, connected and fun. But some workers said all of this new corporate surveillance has further blurred the lines between their work and personal lives, amping up their stress and exhaustion at a time when few feel they have the standing to push back.”
Since the COVID-19 forced the American workforce into quarantine, companies want to confirm their workers’ productivity and report on how they are spending their business hours. There has also been an increase in the amount of time Americans spend working each day.
InterGuard is a software that can be hidden on computers and creates a log of everything a worker did during the day. The software records everything a worker does as frequently as every five seconds. It ranks the apps and Web sites as “productive” and “unproductive,” then tallies a “productivity score.”
Many employees do not like the surveillance software and cite that the need to confirm they are actually working disrupts their work flow. Pragli, on the other hand, says the replication of human interaction brings employees closer and allows them to connect more frequently.
A new meaning for the phrase “trust but verify.”
Whitney Grace, May 19, 2020
Sensors and Surveillance: A Marriage Made in Sci Fi
May 4, 2020
We can expect the volume of data available for analyses, tracking, and monitoring to skyrocket. EurekaAlert!, a site operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, reports, “Tiny Sensors Fit 30,000 to a Penny, Transmit Data from Living Tissue.” The project out of the Cornell Center for Materials Research was described in the team’s paper, published in PNAS on April 16. The optical wireless integrated circuits (OWICs) are a mere 100 microns in size. The news release explains:
“[The sensors] are equipped with an integrated circuit, solar cells and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that enable them to harness light for power and communication. And because they are mass fabricated, with up to 1 million sitting on an 8-inch wafer, each device costs a fraction of that same penny. The sensors can be used to measure inputs like voltage and temperature in hard-to-reach environments, such as inside living tissue and micro fluidic systems. For example, when rigged with a neural sensor, they would be able to noninvasively record nerve signals in the body and transmit findings by blinking a coded signal via the LED. … The OWICS are essentially paramecium-size smartphones that can be specialized with apps. But rather than rely on cumbersome radio frequency technology, as cell phones do, the researchers looked to light as a potential power source and communication medium.”
The researchers have already formed a company, OWiC Technologies, to market the sensors and have applied for a patent. The first planned application is a line of e-tags for product identification. The write-up predicts many different uses will follow for these micro sensors that can track more complicated data with less power for fewer dollars. Stay tuned.
Cynthia Murrell, May 4, 2020
Medical Intelligence Sentinels
April 29, 2020
Analysts at the U.S. National Center for Medical Intelligence were concerned about the novel coronavirus well before most of the country. That is because researchers at the agency are good at their jobs; if only those in charge would listen to them. The Star Advertiser shares the article, “Medical Intelligence Sleuths Tracked, Warned of New Coronavirus.” A division of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the organization has been around since World War II, when it was part of the U.S. Army Surgeon General’s office. The article reports:
“At least 100 epidemiologists, virologists, chemical engineers, toxicologists, biologists and military medical expert — all schooled in intelligence trade craft — work at the medical intelligence unit, located at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. … Most of the information they study is public, called ‘open source’ material. A local newspaper in Africa might publish a story about an increasing number of people getting sick, and that raises a flag because there’s no mention of any such illness on the other side of the country. A doctor in the Middle East might post concerns about a virus on social media. But unlike organizations such as the WHO, the medical intelligence team, part of the Defense Intelligence Agency, also has access to classified intelligence collected by the 17 U.S. spy agencies. The medical unit can dig into signals intelligence and intercepts of communications collected by the National Security Agency. It can read information that CIA officers pick up in the field overseas. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency can share satellite imagery and terrain maps to help assess how a disease, like Ebola or avian flu, might spread through a population.”
The quality and availability of information varies by region. Countries with underdeveloped health systems may not compile good data, for example, while some governments cannot be trusted to admit how serious an epidemic is. In such cases, researchers rely more heavily on reports from the local level. The scientists analyze data from these many sources on infectious diseases, natural disasters, toxic materials, bioterrorism, and different countries’ preparedness for each type of threat. They regularly report their conclusions to military commanders, defense health officials, and policymakers. Constantly on the lookout for threats to our armed forces overseas and our citizens at home, these professionals should really be given the consideration they deserve.
Cynthia Murrell, April 29, 2020
Palantir to Help HHS Track Coronavirus
April 28, 2020
With Peter Theil’s ally in the Oval Office, Palantir Technologies’ fortunes have ballooned. Now, in addition to working with intelligence, military, and law enforcement agencies, the data-mining firm has contracted with the Department of Health and Human Services. The Daily Beast reports, “Team Trump Turns to Peter Theil’s Palantir to Track Virus.” Sources say the company will contribute a major aspect of the HHS Protect Now platform, perhaps even its core element. That element is rumored to be the existing Foundry data integration and management platform. The CDC has been using Foundry to track hospitals’ efforts to cope with the surge in COVID-19 patients.
Reporters Erin Banco and Spencer Ackerman write:
“The HHS Protect Now platform, which is set to be unveiled later this week, pulls data from across the federal government, state and local governments, healthcare facilities, and colleges, to help administration officials determine how to ‘mitigate and prevent spread’ of the coronavirus, according to a spokesperson for the department. HHS told The Daily Beast that the department was working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federal Emergency Management System (FEMA) on scaling the HHS Protect Now project, which became operational on April 10. … HHS said it has 187 data sets integrated into the platform, with inputs that include hospital capacity and inventories, supply chain data from the government and industry, diagnostic and geographic testing data, demographic statistics, state policy actions, and coronavirus and flu-like emergency department data. The spokesperson also said HHS was relying on ‘private sector partner contributions of data.’”
The tool generate models to predict the spread of the disease as well as the impact of decisions by the administration’s task force, state governments, and local leaders.
Cynthia Murrell, April 28, 2020
A Russian System for Citizen Scanning
April 27, 2020
This may simply be propaganda, but it is interesting. Sputnik News tells us Russia is developing a new, frisk-less citizen search tool in its article, “Russian Engineers Working on Total Recall-Style Unobtrusive Screening System.” Under development at a subsidiary of defense contractor RTI Systems, the project should be completed by next year, we’re told. The tool would “discretely” scan people without having to stop them and use AI to recognize objects in real time. The article cites RTI’s Kirill Makarov as it relates:
“The scanning system is envisioned as a ten-meter corridor accommodating three inspection zones. Passing through these zones, a person can be examined remotely, with the computer determining what he or she is carrying or hiding. The system is expected to help authorities scan for carriers of illegal weapons, controlled substances, or other objects. According to the businessman, the institute tasked with creating the system is already in the process of receiving technical requirements from would-be customers, who see the complex’s unobtrusive nature and ability to work clandestinely as huge advantages. ‘At the moment such a thing is not being implemented anywhere else. Only Israel has something similar, but the low resolution with which they’re working does not allow for the use of neural networks for object recognition,’ Makarov boasted. Makarov also promised that between 85-90 percent of the system would be created using domestically-made components. As far as safety is concerned, the businessman pointed out that the complex will be based on non-ionizing radiation, making it safe for humans.
I suppose we’ll just have to take their word for that.
Cynthia Murrell, April 27, 2020
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