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Nike+ FuelBand: Possibly a Big Security Hole For Your Life

Posted by Soulskill on from the youtube-generation-wouldn't-even-flinch dept.

MojoKid writes "Nike+ FuelBand is a $149 wristband with LED display that tracks your daily activity, tells you how many calories you've burned, lets you know how much fuel you have left in the tank, and basically keeps track of 'every move you make.' If you think that sounds like a privacy nightmare waiting to happen, it pretty much is. A source directly connected to Nike reported an amusing, albeit startling anecdote about a guy who got caught cheating on his girlfriend because of the Nike+ FuelBand. 'They shared their activity between each other and she noticed he was active at 1-2AM, when he was supposed to be home.' That's just one scenario. What if the wristband gets lost or stolen? How much data is actually stored on these sorts of devices? And remember, you're syncing it to the cloud with an iOS or Android app."

15 of 162 comments (clear)

  1. That's more tracking than intensive probation by NixieBunny · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So... people voluntarily do this to themselves? Weird.

    --
    The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
    1. Re:That's more tracking than intensive probation by jhoegl · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Clearly, the guy who was wearing the band forgot to take it off when he was into his laborous other activities.
      This shows the ignorance people have of technology more than anything else.
      This is how you subjugate a populace... make sure they are ignorant, make sure they get a benefit out of something, and then hide the real reason.
      I mean, it worked for that one guy with the ring in that documentary I saw.

    2. Re:That's more tracking than intensive probation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      *sigh* The Lord of the Rings was not a documentary.

    3. Re:That's more tracking than intensive probation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      I assume that is has something to do with kinetics and motion, more than pulse.

      For most of the people on Slashdot they would need to make sure that choose the correct wrist to place this on. Otherwise they would see a spike during certain online activities.

      "Holy shit, were you being chased by a tiger for 45 seconds?"

  2. what is the point of this article? by YesIAmAScript · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes. It keeps track of what you're doing. You know this because you can see the data it captures.

    And yes, if you share what you're doing with someone else, they might notice you aren't doing what you're supposed to be doing.

    I don't understand the constant alarmism.

    --
    http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
    1. Re:what is the point of this article? by fermion · · Score: 4, Insightful
      This is the most lame privacy concern ever. Anyone who can't explain the could not sleep and went for a run a 1 in the morning either deserves or wants to get caught. So yes if you like to have sex with several different people without one knowing about the other, this is a bad device to have. But really, it does track location, take pictures, or lets you input incriminating text, like "1am, left gf house, picked up a random person, took home, and achieved real satisfaction.", just as a for instance.

      You what is a real privacy and relationship killer. The pager. Can't tell you how many people have gotten into trouble because a partner read a page. Or mail. Can't tell you what receiving a postcard from a friend asking you to join on the next vacation does to a marriage. Or the phone. You never know when a spouse is going to answer by mistake. Or, seriously people, credit card bills. I mean many don't think about it, but credit card bills and receipts have gotten me into trouble on more than one occasion. Also, remember that every cell phone call you make, and Skype call for that matter, is listed in detail for anyone to see. Exactly., When. How long. Who. This is trouble in the making and no one should it. Everyone should be using a burner phone.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    2. Re:what is the point of this article? by jamesh · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Most of these "privacy concern" articles are things that can be handled by simply going home to your wife and kids when you are supposed to. Sounds like a lot of folks with these "privacy concerns" are just trying to hide their marital affairs.

      This is the problem with privacy. People take one very narrow slice of the pie and run with it. If you're cheating on your spouse and exposing him/her to disease etc then you get what you deserve, so I agree with you there, but what if you secretly liked to dress up in women's clothes and go dancing in the middle of the night, or attend late night screenings of Alan Smithee productions? Those are the sort of things that society in general would frown on but are really nobodies business but your own and your right to privacy should be protected.

      That said, if you wear one of these while doing any of the above and then share that information with the world, you're an idiot.

    3. Re:what is the point of this article? by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes. It keeps track of what you're doing. You know this because you can see the data it captures.

      Yes, you can see the data that it captures. What you can't see is all of the things which that data may reveal about you in the hands of someone motivated enough. Don't confuse the forest with the trees - the anecdote about the guy getting caught cheating is not about the risk of getting caught cheating, it is the risk of "20/20 hindsight." In retrospect it is obvious that his data would reveal something like that to a suspicios girlfriend. But at the time it was not so obvious, it isn't like he deliberately uploaded a message that said "having sex with another girl @1am" to the nike website.

      Pervasive data collection is extremely new, we as a society have not figured out all of the risks involved. Contrast that to "living in a small town" - because society has had millenia of experience with that situation we generally have a good understanding of the risks involved. It is going to take a lot of people finding out the hard way what the problems are with pervasive data collection before we, if we ever, come to understand the trade-offs that come along with it.

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  3. This is FUD by DesertBlade · · Score: 5, Informative

    I actually own a Fuelband, unlike to poster and the original story. It is basically a pedometer, sensing motion, nothing else. No or any other thing to guide them to my house. It sends information to the cloud, but has a lot less info than facebook. You can actually sign up for an account its free and see how little is actually stored. I be more worried about the data on my phone or in my wallet, both which will lead someone to my house, than on this thing.

    --
    Half of writing history is hiding the truth.
    1. Re:This is FUD by Nimey · · Score: 5, Funny

      pedometer

      o.0 That's disgusting!

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    2. Re:This is FUD by Sarten-X · · Score: 4, Funny

      Didn't you read the summary? It tracks every move you make, just like GPS vehicle trackers, RFID door keys, and a jingle bell on your kid's shoelace. Clearly this is something worthy of widespread panic.

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    3. Re:This is FUD by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Funny

      Didn't you read the summary? It tracks every move you make, just like GPS vehicle trackers, RFID door keys, and a jingle bell on your kid's shoelace. Clearly this is something worthy of widespread panic.

      Not just every move you make - also (per the summary) it tracks every step you take, every vow you break, and every smile you fake.

      It'll be watching you.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
  4. Re:Just desserts? by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'd pay $150 for a wristband that could ONLY tell me accurately how many calories I've burned.

    Well, this can't do that. In fact, it can't do much of anything.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  5. Wrist activity? by jamesh · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you wear the thing on your wrist and it detects motion then I would have thought that the excuse "I woke up in the middle of the night and was thinking about you" would have been plausible...

  6. Precisely the problem by Sun · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Most of these "privacy concern" articles are things that can be handled by simply going home to your wife and kids when you are supposed to. Sounds like a lot of folks with these "privacy concerns" are just trying to hide their marital affairs.

    Or, the way law enforcement usually phrase this, "if you are doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide".

    While I agree with the original commenter that this story is lame, because people see exactly what is logged, this comment is precisely why privacy matters.

    Giving up privacy means pushing people toward conformity. Everyone are pressured to behave the same, because any deviation from what is normal is immediately shown to everyone. This means complete stagnation.

    I have never cheated on a partner. Furthermore, I have had a partner cheat on me, and the feeling is horrid. Having said that, a society in which cheating is impossible is not one I would like to live in.

    Shachar