14 DAY TRIAL // Google Glass hasn’t even made it to the mainstream market yet and it has already become such a controversial piece of technology, with many non-users fearing for their privacy.
Even more concerning is, however, the idea that the device could be hacked into. While most users have enough common sense not to “spy” on other people and record them without their consent, the possibility of having your device hacked in one way or another constitutes a serious threat.
A pair of graduate researchers from the California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo are bragging that they’ve built the world’s first spyware proof-of-concept for Google Glass, Forbes reports.
Mike Lady and Kim Paterson say that the hidden piece of software will take a picture of whatever Glass is directed at every ten seconds when the device’s display is turned off. The images get uploaded to a remote server without making the wearer suspicious in any way.
All they have to do is get the wearer to say “yes” to a series of permissions. Since they are aware of users’ general habit of ignoring whatever permissions apps request, the two researchers believe that this should be enough, along with hiding the real purpose of the app into a software created to take notes.
On paper, Google Glass bans apps that take pictures while the display is off, but the two graduates have discovered no real restrictions with this purpose.
“The scary thing for us is that while it’s a policy that you can’t turn off the display when you use the camera, there’s nothing that actually prevents you from doing it,” Paterson told Forbes.
While the policy says one thing, Google really shouldn’t rely on the developers’ good intentions and actively put up some blockades to make sure that privacy is respected, especially as it hopes for Glass to be a success.
That’s pretty much the opinion of Paterson as well, as she explains that anyone with the device would want to install more apps and being guaranteed that they wouldn’t be spied on is essential.
On the other hand, Google is unlikely to just let apps roam free on Glass. The dedicated app store, MyGlass, already has a pretty strict set of guidelines and apps that don’t respect various things that Google is adamant about are rejected.
Of course, such apps could still be uploaded to third-party sites, so perhaps blocking off the ability to install tools from anywhere else but the MyGlass store may be the solution to solve this issue before it becomes a real problem.
After all, Google has already done this for Chrome, where it seeks to limit spammy apps that overtake the browser’s capabilities by forcing all users to only download apps and extensions from the Chrome Store.