New Phone Allows Bosses To Snoop On Staff

tad001 writes "The Japanese phone giant KDDI has developed a way to track users' movements in fine detail. It works by analyzing the movement of accelerometers, found in many handsets. Activities such as walking, climbing stairs, or even cleaning can be identified, the researchers say. The company plans to sell the service to clients such as managers, foremen, and employment agencies."

Comments

It works

[MyLongNickName]

My boss just came into my office and told me to get the hell off of Slashdot and get back to work!

Re:It works

[Brian Gordon]

Next will probably be an application that records audio from the cell phone microphone and tells what you're typing from the sound of the keys. Or even what you're seeing on the screen.

Re:It works

[Z00L00K]

That's a severe invasion of privacy - have you discussed it with your union representative?

It's baffling how much control that some people seems to want to have over their peers.

Re:It works

[TheVelvetFlamebait]

What? How can it do that? Unless wanking creates extreme readings on the accelerometer, I don't see how...

... oh wait, I get it. That doesn't so much make you a wanker, as it does a technophile.

Re:It works

[Anonymous Coward]

But my code's compiling! http://xkcd.com/303/

Re:It works

[Opportunist]

Damn straight! You will pry my cock from my cold, dead hands!

Re:It works

[sjames]

If they turn on the microphone, you've got them. Then, when you're sure they're listening, have a conversation all about the horrific and eventually fatal torture you'd inflict on the managers if you ever got fired or found out they were spying on you. Just act out your own part and the voice of some horrified other person.

Then, they're stuck.

Re:It works

[ArsenneLupin]

Damn straight! You will pry my cock from my cold, dead hands!

Don't worry. What is a straight going to do with somebody else's cock?

Re:It works

[tftp]

What is a straight going to do with somebody else's cock?

There is an obvious, logical answer to that, but of course a Slashdot geek male would never figure it out :-)

Re:It works

[BrokenHalo]

Next will probably be an application that records audio from the cell phone microphone...

I guess that would be doable pretty easily with current technology. It's called a bug. Supposedly not legal without a warrant and all that.

I have been offered company phones at several jobs, and I always turn them down. I would rather pay for my own phone, and retain control over when (or if) I answer it. I have friends who have been carpeted by the boss for not answering their phones when they were in the loo. I would rather be able to tell them to get fucked if I were put in that position.

Well, maybe I wouldn't be so unprofessional as to tell them to get fucked. They could go get professionally fucked...

Re:It works

[BrokenHalo]

My code has been compiling for the last two hours.

Back in the day when I first got into programming, it was not uncommon for compiles to run for 10 hours or more. I sometimes used to take a sleeping-bag into the machine-room with me. If the compile bailed, I would be woken up by the clatter of the core dump being output to a 1600 line/min barrel printer.

Re:It works

[ultranova]

why involve a union, can't fight your own battles?

When fighting against someone far more powerful than you, bring your friends. It's just plain common sense.

Re:It works

[AlecC]

Back in the day when I first got into programming, it was not uncommon for compiles to run for 10 hours or more.

Back in the day? It takes the hardware engineers round here 22 hours to compile their device. If you find a bug in the hardware, come back tomorrow. If the compiler doesn't crash running on a machine with a mere 12Gb of memory,

Wow, a perfect match!

[Statecraftsman]

While this sounds like a great idea, it's going to be quietly retired after someone manages to match up the boss's "cleaning" activities with those of anyone else in the company.

"Wow, look how perfectly these accelerations overlay!"

Re:Wow, a perfect match!

[TheMidget]

Actually happened in my company. Two people were working late, and hmmm, given that they were the only two left in the company at that time of the day, decided it was time to have a little bit of fun together.

They carefully locked the office door, just in case, and let the hot and steamy action begin... completely ignoring the security camera from the parking lot that happened to point directly at their office window!

Next time folks, not only lock the office door, but also close the blinds!

Re:Wow, a perfect match!

[houghi]

And learn where all the inside camera's are as well. However sometimes you might not know.

Re:Wow, a perfect match!

[cerberusss]

True story. My now retired dad had his own company, with about 120 employees. One night he was working late and when closing off, he found the head of the tech design department screwing the cleaning lady. My dad told him the conversation went like this:

Cleaning lady: *moan*
Manager: "Oh yeah!"
Dad: *opens door*
Dad: "Oh hi there!"
Manager: "Get lost, Paul!!"
Dad: *laughs* "Don't forget the lights when you're done!"

link to article

[gront]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8559683.stm is a link to the article, rather than just the BBC

Unintended consequences

[OnePumpChump]

Oh boy, so my boss can tell if I'm leaning or cleaning. I anticipate a spike in workplace injuries and stress related ailments and a general decline in the quality of the work of all manual laborers on whom this technology is used, unless and until managers learn how NOT to use it. Good thing so many states have at-will employment and so few such workers have unions or health insurance, or this could cost a FORTUNE when it hits the US.

Re:If I suspected my boss issued such a phone

[cbiltcliffe]

I'd do shit like holding it, and moving it back and forth while climbing the stairs. Then they'd be wondering "Why the hell is this guy always vacuuming the stairs?"

Either that, or I'd be constantly shaking it, and doing weird shit with it, just to screw up their tracking....

It broke again.

[Zaphod-AVA]

The accelerometer clearly shows me working when this one fell too. I suppose you will have to assign me another one. Well, I'm a team player sir, you can just get me a cheap phone for work use since I seem to be so hard on them.

Re:It broke again.

[zappepcs]

And that is exactly what will happen. They are too easy to break, lose, steal, and then there is the forgot it at home, forgot to charge it, and myriad ways to defeat the system.

A second thought: Do companies actually still pay for cell phones? Is that a perk I should be asking for?

Re:It broke again.

[Barny]

If its part of your job, then usually they do.

For instance on-call workers typically need a particular phone to support their companies dispatch software. A lot of them just use i-Phones because, well, "there's an app for that".

Re:It broke again.

[the_xaqster]

Wouldn't work for me. First time it breaks or is damaged, I get charged 50% of the "Unsubsidised" cost of the phone when issued (£250), then the subsequent times I get charged 100% (£500). The phones are replaced about every 3 -4 years, so in theory I could be charged from £250 to £500 for having a 4 year old phone break on me. This comes straight from my wages as a deduction on my payslip.

My Boss would wonder if I was alive.

[Master Moose]

My Phone always sits on my desk not moving much at all.

Re:If I suspected my boss issued such a phone

[Barny]

Think of 2 stepper motors hooked up with USB and a small gyroscope cradle for the phone. Lego mindstorms should have something that will fit the bill.

"Sir, employee 3392 is doing barrel rolls again!"

Dude...

[LynnwoodRooster]

I am SO swinging that phone from the rooftop... Let them figure that one out! Or tossing it across the road to a friend on the other side. Yes boss, as a matter of fact I can fly!

Re:Dude...

[DigiShaman]

Or you could just flush it. Think of all the turns and strange directions it will be reporting back. Just like the marketing dept...

Re:Dude...

[oever]

Apple might already be using the accelerometer and gps, and in the future thermometer and gas analyzer, to determine what services you are likely to buy and what happened to the device that might void warranty.

Pennsylvania school district

[wisnoskij]

The Pennsylvania school district announces that they plan to end their controversial laptop policy and give harmless cell phones to their students to make up for spying on them.

How about leaving it in a bag or on a bench

[syousef]

Track that you nosey idiots. Unless they're going to stipulate that all employees must WEAR their phones.

Re:How about leaving it in a bag or on a bench

[amRadioHed]

If a company wants to track your every movement throughout the day, how hard is it to imagine they would also require you to wear the tracking device?

This is a good thing

[aussie_a]

If my boss wants to buy this phone, great. They've just given me a big neon flashing sign warning me that they're a control freak. I can now either move to a different department or start looking for a new job.

I'd rather have obvious signs I can't miss that my boss likes to create a hostile work environment, rather than subtle signs I might miss at first. The more blatant they are, the better.

Livestock

[Beelzebud]

Hell if you're going to treat us like livestock, just go all out! How about microchips and ear tags! Maybe the company logo branded on your body.

If I had a boss that tried to make his workers use something like this, I'd quit my job.

Re:Livestock

[Opportunist]

I'd wonder if they're still in business. People who are good at what they're doing tend to find jobs anywhere. People who're bad at what they're doing have to swallow whatever their boss subjects them to.

Guess which group keeps a company afloat and which one sinks it.

Re:Livestock

[RobertB-DC]

I'd wonder if they're still in business. People who are good at what they're doing tend to find jobs anywhere. People who're bad at what they're doing have to swallow whatever their boss subjects them to.

True, in general. But there's an interesting cautionary tale (by the guy who founded HowStuffWorks.com, oddly enough) that posits a corollary -- what if you were bad at doing something once, but an all-knowing never-forgetting system prevents you from *ever* putting it behind you?

As these communication networks between all the different Manna systems built up, things started to get uncomfortable for every worker. For example, the Manna software in each store knew about employee performance in microscopic detail -- how often the employee was on time or early, how quickly the employee did tasks, how quickly the employee answered the phone and responded to email, how the customers rated the employee and so on. When an employee left a store and tried to get a new job somewhere else, any other Manna system could request the employee's performance record. If an employee had "issues" -- late, slow, disorganized, unkempt -- it became nearly impossible for that employee to get another job. Nearly every company with minimum wage employees used Manna software or something similar, and performance records on employees were a major commodity freely exchanged between corporations. A marginal employee got blacklisted in the system very quickly.

- from Manna, by Marshall Brain

Brain's dystopian vision (like most others) is full of glaring flaws -- he completely discounts the ability of people to drop "below the radar" -- but it's an interesting reference whenever another story comes out about how automation is making us "more productive".

Sounds ideal for man-down and the like...

[Gordonjcp]

At the moment you can buy a horrifically expensive option board for some radios that does exactly this. That way you can tell if the HT that is supposed to be clipped to your security guard's belt as he walks around your bonded warehouse has suddenly gone horizontal. Another application is in shopping centres where it's pretty handy to be able to track where cleaners and security guards are - and have been in the past. Why? Nosiness? Spying? No.

Mouth-breathing Chav Scum: "ZOMG I SLIPPED AND FELL OVER ON THAT DROPPED ICE CREAM CONE THERE! THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLEARED UP STRAIGHT AWAY! I'M GONNA SUUUUUUUUEEE!!!"

You: "Well, let's see, the cleaner went past there three minutes ago, so it can't have been like that for long."

MBCS: "But... But... Butt..."

or alternatively:
You: "Right, who's doing the guard tour, oh it's Wee Wullie. That's funny, he's been standing at the same bit for a couple of minutes now, moving around quite a lot though. Wonder if everything's okay?"

<clicky on CCTV console>

You: "Aha, righty. Let's send Big Davie down to give him some 'assistance' there..."

Re:If I suspected my boss issued such a phone

[sjames]

Attach to a drill and give it a spin. Tell them you had a bit of trouble on your way in to work. Let them rack their brains figuring out what happened.

Re:Easy workaround

[sjames]

If they do turn on the mike, the toilet is exactly where you want to take the phone. Especially after eating the mexican food with extra refried beans.

If you play it up right, you could traumatize them for life.

Jailbreak it, sire.

[William Sullivan]

There's an app for that. I mean, seriously. It's called demagnetizing the accelerometer. This basically allows it to either remain at zero, or points within 0 indicating little to no movement. Sort of like your typical EA programmer.

Re:Jailbreak it, sire.

[Mr. Freeman]

Demagnetizing the accelerometer..... I'm not entirely sure you understand how these things work. Seriously, there's no magnets involved here.

response

[commodoresloat]

No, that's all right, we'll just deduct the replacement cost from your pay. That will help teach you to be more responsible with company property.

Re:response

[Anonymous Coward]

No, that's all right, we'll just deduct the replacement cost from your pay. That will help teach you to be more responsible with company property.

No, it'll teach the company about Wage & Labor laws, the hard way.

It's illegal to require, ask, or even accept repayment from an employee for loss, damages, or theft of company products, resources, etc. You can write them up, fire them, file charges for theft, negligence, or intentional destruction, and try to get the money back that way, but you can't just dip into their checks.
For example if you handle cash & it comes up short, they can NOT ask you to repay it or accept payment to avoid a write-up or termination. They can file charges if they can prove it was intentional, and in some cases also if they can show it was grossly negligent, but they can't take that money from your check without a court order.

Marketing fail

[Opportunist]

Seriously, who's the marketing genius and why isn't he fired yet?

Can't you forsee what's going to happen? Unions will be all over it, key employees will complain and go ballistic over it, threatening to quit if they're not let off the leash.

Solution: Market it to overprotective parents. Kids have neither unions nor can they quit their parents.

There are two kinds of employees

[SmallFurryCreature]

Being a boss is easy, there are only two kind of employees. Lazy ones, who will slack of any chance they get and perform at best at a level just above firing, and good employees who take pride in their job.

It will cost a fortune to turn a lazy one into a good one. It will save you money to turn a good one into a lazy one, in the short term. It is easy, just keep cutting benefits, breaks, perks and up the work load while micro-managing them to hell.

But most managers/bosses feel they need to earn their keep by showing they are making the people work the hardest. If you spend the money of those kind of managers and their bag of tricks on salary, you would be able to hire the absolute best and have people fighting to stay with your company. Go ahead, offer a cleaner 50% above average wage. No problems filling vacancies, no need to watch their every move and you get motivated employees who got a reason not to exchange you the moment they a chance. Because even cleaning staff builds up a lot of knowledge you can't easily replace with the Xth temp because your turn-over rate is 100%.

By all means, you go tech to try to manage those who can only earn the lowest wages, I pay a bit more and get the cream. In the end, I know who is more efficient.

Re:If I suspected my boss issued such a phone

[clarkkent09]

Attach it to a long string and throw it out of the window of a very tall building sometimes. After you got them curious, leave a spiderman costume on the floor of your cubicle and when your boss walks by quickly kick it under the desk.

I wonder...

[BrokenHalo]

I wonder how robust those accelerometers are. It occurs to me that it might be possible to permanently screw it up by bribing a construction worker to duct-tape your phone to his jack-hammer for a day...

Re:Dogs can fly too

[dogugotw]

A few years back, the Iditarod added GPS trackers to some of the top drivers sleds so their position and speed could be displayed to users who subscribed to the 'Iditarod Insider' service. One of the guys wasn't too happy about this and gave his tracker to one of the supply aircraft...Lookie... is now going 150 mph, in the wrong direction, at 3000' agl...awesome dog team!

Actually, the experiment went over really well with those who follow the race so this year everyone got a tracker. It's pretty cool to be able to see how everyone is doing in real time. The mushers don't have access to the data so they're still going cross country using old school technology (eyes and brain).

Re:If I suspected my boss issued such a phone

[danielsfca2]

With a name like "clarkkent09" i'm surprised you didn't at least pick a DC superhero to use for that joke, but it was hilarious nonetheless. Too bad I don't have mod points.

Overly Paranoid, In My Experience

[pandrijeczko]

As a Brit working for an American company, all I can say is that all my boss cares about is that he has a pretty graph at the end of each week, month & quarter that shows me and his other guys are utilised as highly as possible and making money for the company.

He's a decent American bloke but constantly stressed out by the managers above him and I wouldn't do his job for all the tea in China (or coffee in Starbucks). Plus he doesn't have either the time or inclination to check up on me any more than he does currently (once a week at most).

If you do work for a company that has managers needing to do this level of granular "surveillance" of staff then it's time to get another job - because if they're going to those depths then they're probably going to get rid of you anyway....

Could there be positive applications?

[Bearhouse]

OK, I guess we're all against the potentially creepy applications of this.
But could there be useful ones? Most people carry cell phones, could this be used to monitor people with known history of health problems, such as heart disease, or the elderly?
If my cell phone detected that I'd just had a stroke, or that one of my parents had just had a fall, and was unconscious at the bottom of a staircase, and informed the emergency services, then that would be the kind of intrusion that I could accept.

Time To Contact The Patents Office...

[pandrijeczko]

...to patent my new design for the "Feline Cellphone Backpack"!

Imagine this is your boss's office as he tracks you on his computer screen:

"Okay, so he's just gone out through his kitchen door... he's climbing the fence into his neighbour's garden... now he's squatting down in their rose bed???"

GREAT! I should have read this earlier...

[cephus440]

... my boss just asked me how my interview went.

If you don't trust your employee.....

[EMR]

Then why did you hire them.