H79.2530 Lecture 4 Credits
Instructor(s): Krikorian
Popular culture and current events have focused the public's attention on surveillance. In the movie adaptation of
Minority Report, the protagonist attempts to hide himself around Washington, DC while technology tracks his every move. That future, maybe, is not that far off-the city of London itself has half a million cameras installed for use by the security services. How can one remain in control of one's identity in that future? This class creates a framework to help students not only analyze existing technology, but also to them think more deeply about their own projects. Students review current technologies such as Internet protocols, cellular networks, and RFID; they also get hands-on experience in both using these technologies and hacking them. We all understand why you shouldn't throw out a credit card receipt with the card's number on it without tearing it up, but should we be concerned with clicking on a link on a web page? Sending an instant message? Opening a laptop to sign onto the wireless network at Starbucks? Maybe. Clicking on a web page records your IP address on a web server somewhere, instant messages are usually sent off unencrypted over the network, and opening a laptop usually requires negotiation with a DHCP server that records your computer's unique identifier. Our devices and our online interactions leave a mark as unique as our fingerprints; thus, relevant questions are: how can we turn those tables? What technologies can we create to trace information left by others? Given that openness is a core feature of the networks and technologies we use, what code, regulations, and etiquette make these useable? Weekly classes and assignments are balanced between background survey reading, technical reading, and hands on experience all culminating in a final project.
