Privacy fears stalk Nike+iPod Sport Kit

A group of US academics have created a simple surveillance system that can track users of the Nike+iPod Sport Kit.

The team, from the University of Washington, have shown that users of the wireless exercise and training accessory for the iPod can be identified and tracked thanks to the radio signals being emitted.

So far, 450,000 of the kits have been sold and the team of researchers claimed that not only is it easy to track to people but it could feasibly be used by stalkers to ‘engineer’ encounters.

The Nike+iPod Sport Kit consists of a sensor that is placed in your trainers and a small receiver that plugs into the iPod nano.

During exercise, software on the nano detects your activity levels and records information such as distance travelled and calories burned. This workout information can then be uploaded via iTunes to a Nike site where you can track your progress.

“In the case of the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, our research shows that the wireless capabilities in this new gadget can negatively impact a consumer's personal privacy and safety,” the researchers found.

“As part of our research, we built a number of surveillance tools that malicious individuals could use to track Nike+iPod Sport Kit owners. Our tools can track Nike+iPod Sport Kit owners while they our working out, as well as when they are just casually walking around town, a parking lot, or a college campus. The tracked individuals don't even need to have their iPods with them.”

The researchers claimed that there are simple cryptographic measures that the makers of the Nike+iPod Sport Kit could have used, but failed to.

Security expert and famed cryptographer, Bruce Schneier commented on the experiment: “This is a great demonstration for anyone who is sceptical that RFID chips can be used to track people.

"It's a good example because the chips have no personal identifying information, yet can still be used to track people. As long as the chips have unique IDs, those IDs can be used for surveillance.

“To me, the real significance of this work is how easy it was. The people who designed the Nike/iPod system put zero thought into security and privacy issues. Unless we enact some sort of broad law requiring companies to add security into these sorts of systems, companies will continue to produce devices that erode our privacy through new technologies.”

See also:
Review: Nike + iPod Sport Kit