Privacy World - The WORLD'S SHREWDEST PRIVACY NEWSLETTER
At Newark Airport, the Lights Are On, and They're
Watching You
Visitors to Terminal B at Newark Liberty International
Airport
<topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/newark_liberty_international_airport_nj/index.html?inline=nyt-org
may notice the bright, clean lighting that now blankets
the cavernous interior, courtesy of 171 recently installed LED fixtures. But
they probably will not realize that the light fixtures are the backbone of a
system that is watching them.
Using an array of sensors and eight video cameras around
the terminal, the light fixtures are part of a new wireless network that
collects and feeds data into software that can spot long lines, recognize
license plates and even identify suspicious activity, sending alerts to the
appropriate staff.
The project is still in its early stages, but executives
with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
<topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/p/port_authority_of_new_york_and_new_jersey/index.html?inline=nyt-org,
which operates the airport, are already talking about
expanding it to other terminals and buildings.
To customers like the Port Authority, the systems hold
the promise of better management of security as well as energy, traffic and
people. But they also raise the specter of technology racing ahead of the
ability to harness it, running risks of invading privacy and mismanaging
information, privacy advocates say.
Launch media viewer Hugh Martin, chief executive of
Sensity Systems, says "there is a lot of value, I think, if we do it
right, to this information." Peter DaSilva for The New York Times
Fred H. Cate, director of the Center for Applied
Cybersecurity Research at Indiana University, described the potential for
misuse as "terrifying."
His concern derived not from the technology itself but
from the process of adopting it, driven by, he said, "that combination of
a gee-whiz technology and an event or an opportunity that makes it
affordable." As a result, he said, there was often not enough thought
given to what data would actually be useful and how to properly manage it.
At Newark Airport, the Port Authority will own and
maintain the data it collects. For now, it says, no other agencies have access
to it, and a law enforcement agency can obtain it only through a subpoena or
written request.
What began as a way to help governments and businesses
save energy by automatically turning lights on and off has become an expanding
market for lights, sensors and software capable of capturing and analyzing vast
amounts of data about the habits of ordinary citizens.
The light fixtures are outfitted with special chips and
connect to sensors, cameras and one another over a wireless network. Data that
is collected --- say, a particular car pulling up to the terminal --- can then
be mined and analyzed for a broad range of applications. Systems like the Port
Authority's, developed by a company called Sensity Systems <sensity.com/,
could soon be more widely available. Under a recent agreement, Amerlux <amerlux.com/,
a leading lighting manufacturer, will start using the technology in its LED
fixtures.
"We are opening up an entirely new area in lighting
applications and services," said Chuck Campagna, Amerlux's chief
executive, "including video-based security and public safety, parking
management, predictive maintenance and more."
Other companies, including giants like Cisco Systems and
Philips, are racing to grab a share of that market.
Las Vegas is testing a street lighting system that can
broadcast sound, and plans to use it mainly to control lighting and play music
or to issue security alerts at a pedestrian mall.
Copenhagen is installing 20,000 streetlamps as part of a
system that could eventually control traffic, monitor carbon dioxide levels and
detect when garbage cans are full. Other government agencies and businesses
have begun replacing thousands of lighting fixtures with LEDs, mainly to cut
costs.
The trend is expected to accelerate as the fixtures
become cheaper and more sophisticated. Navigant Consulting, a firm based in
Chicago, has estimated that cities' interest will prompt more than $100 billion
in spending on the technology over the next 10 years.
"More and more what we're seeing is decision-makers
choosing networked lighting controls not just for the energy benefits but for a
whole host of nonenergy benefits," said Jesse Foote, a lighting industry
analyst at Navigant.
Sensity's technology, for example, would allow light
fixtures and sensors to pinpoint a gunshot, sense an earthquake or dangerous
gas, or spot a person stopping at various cars in a parking lot.
Launch media viewer An assembler at Sensity Systems works
on one of the company's sensor-equipped, wirelessly networked lighting
fixtures. Peter DaSilva for The New York Times
Some cities already have more targeted sensors, like the
ShotSpotter gunshot location system in use by more than 70 American cities,
including Boston, Milwaukee and San Francisco. But the Sensity network can
bring them together through existing light fixtures.
The system could, once software is developed, also make
shopping more convenient --- a potential boon for malls losing business to the
Internet. Sensing a shopper pulling into a parking lot, the system could send
an alert to a smartphone, showing empty spaces, or a coupon.
"We see outdoor lighting as the perfect
infrastructure to build a brand new network," said Hugh Martin, Sensity's
chief executive. "We felt what you'd want to use this network for is to
gather information about people and the planet."
But that is precisely what worries privacy advocates.
"There are some people in the commercial space who
say, 'Oh, big data --- well, let's collect everything, keep it around forever,
we'll pay for somebody to think about security later,' " said Justin
Brookman, who studies consumer privacy at the Center for Democracy and
Technology. "The question is whether we want to have some sort of policy
framework in place to limit that."
Even those developing the technology acknowledge the
concerns.
"I'm not saying that I know the exact balance point,
but there is a lot of value, I think, if we do it right, to this information,"
Mr. Martin said, whether that value is heightening
security or helping stores compete with Amazon.
His company has a board that includes Heather Zichal,
President Obama's former energy and climate change adviser, and former
Representative Richard A. Gephardt to help figure out the implications of the
technology.
"I just think we need to be very thoughtful about
the positives and the negatives," Mr. Martin said. He added that the
Sensity network is encrypted and "super secure."
In Las Vegas, officials say they are not interested in
using the video and audio surveillance capabilities of the system they are
testing, called Intellistreets, and are instead looking at the use of audio
broadcasting to enhance ambience and safety in public areas.
In Copenhagen, the emphasis is on efficiency, said Eric
Dresselhuys, an executive vice president of Silver Spring Networks, which
designed the network to connect that system.
Executives say the potential for the advanced lighting is
nearly boundless.
"No one really wanted the smartphone 20 years ago
because they didn't know they could have it," said Fred Maxik, founder and
chief technology officer of Lighting Science Group, which manufactures LEDs.
"And I think the same is true of lighting today: No one knows what
lighting is going to be capable of."
The above by Diane Cardwell
Until our next issue stay cool and remain low profile!
Privacy World
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