The illusion of security

Ambient Intelligence (AmI) offers powerful new technologies for security applications, but it still is undermined. A dark scenario is presented which concerns the theft of personal information held by a data aggregator DMC by three of its employees. The scenario makes reference to several AmI technologies, including biometrics such as the iris scanners, networked sensors or actuators, speech recognition or voice activation, and surveillance technologies. AmI networks are used to compile personal data and profile of would-be visitors and immigrants to help officials assess whether they present a security risk or not. California and some other states in the US have strict laws requiring that companies do inform individuals when their data has been compromised. It is mandatory that designers of new technology should be required to factor in data protection in any new AmI architectures and networks.