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Guru3D.com » News » Is it possible for the NSA to Spy through the Xbox Kinect ?

Is it possible for the NSA to Spy through the Xbox Kinect ?

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 07/17/2013 09:10 AM | Source | 53 comment(s)
Is it possible for the NSA to Spy through the Xbox Kinect ?

Okay here's a new theory. Would it be possible for the NSA to Spy through the Xbox Kinect ? So not unlike Kinect, Skype had assured its users that "wiretaps were technically impossible" the company explained  in 2008. And four years later, when hackers accused Skype owner Microsoft of changing the service's backend to facilitate government eavesdropping, the company categorically denied the accusations. Now, it seems like the company could have been lying, or at least had quietly changed its mind. 

Mind you, Microsoft is also denying last Thursday's Guardian report, but the denial is a lot less clear-cut. The company disavows having providing "blanket or direct access" to Skype, but doesn't deny that it provides Skype video or audio to the government upon request. So even if we(consumers) take Microsoft's word that the Kinect doesn't currently upload private conversations to remote servers, can anyone trust that Microsoft won't change that in a future software update?

The Verge on this: You close a laptop when you're not using it. Your phone faces the inside of a pocket, a purse, or lies flat on a table. But the Microsoft Kinect, an always-on camera that will come with every new Xbox One game console, gets a perfect view of your living room. It's always listening for voice commands, even when you turn the Xbox off. It can even read your heartbeat with the right software.

Microsoft says it doesn't plan to abuse that power, and claims it couldn't even if it tried. The company told us that the Kinect's cameras and microphones aren't actually recording or transmitting any audio or video data back to Microsoft's servers without the user's explicit consent, and all ambiently collected data is anonymized. While some voice commands are processed at Microsoft's servers, they're converted to text before they ever leave the machine, and biometric data is translated into numerical values that simply indicate, say, where a player's limbs are during online multiplayer games.







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Tat3
Senior Member



Posts: 11495
Joined: 2006-11-30

#4621078 Posted on: 07/17/2013 09:35 AM
Is it possible for the NSA to Spy through the Xbox Kinect ?

Nope as I dont have one. :)


I read few days ago that MS was talking with NSA about this spying stuff so they could tell people what actually is possible to do. Stuff like direct access to email and so which I think MS said that NSA did not have. Would be nice to clear things up.

Chillin
Senior Member



Posts: 6815
Joined: 2006-01-18

#4621080 Posted on: 07/17/2013 09:42 AM
Here's the answer: Who gives a f!ck?

It's tons easier to spy on you through your friggin cell phone. There is almost not a single thing that the government can do through Kinect that it can't to better through a cell phone, and legally.

Lane
Senior Member



Posts: 6358
Joined: 2005-02-25

#4621081 Posted on: 07/17/2013 09:47 AM
Can NSA do it ? Well, any police have the right to hack a webcam if a judge accept it. so yes should be possible. Do they do it ? i dont think so...

spajdrik
Senior Member



Posts: 1332
Joined: 2006-05-07

#4621085 Posted on: 07/17/2013 10:07 AM
Yes, it's possible. So no masturbating guys at front of kinect!

Pill Monster
Senior Member



Posts: 25218
Joined: 2007-08-23

#4621087 Posted on: 07/17/2013 10:09 AM
Hilbert you sound a bit worried... :P

Funny, all these years I never pictured you as a console gamer.....I mean you do all the game reviews for PC so yeah....

War child
Senior Member



Posts: 320
Joined: 2013-01-03

#4621089 Posted on: 07/17/2013 10:15 AM
Personally I don't care. If they want to spy on me through kinnect while in my Mankini, let them.

Nothing to hide here. /hides explosives

Chillin
Senior Member



Posts: 6815
Joined: 2006-01-18

#4621090 Posted on: 07/17/2013 10:15 AM
Yes, it's possible. So no masturbating guys at front of kinect!


Are you kidding me? If they're watching me through the Kinect, they damn well better suffer through that.

harkinsteven
Senior Member



Posts: 2822
Joined: 2008-11-29

#4621094 Posted on: 07/17/2013 10:25 AM
Can NSA do it ? Well, any police have the right to hack a webcam if a judge accept it. so yes should be possible. Do they do it ? i dont think so...


No they do not, police have as much power as WE grant them. Understand that they are meant to protect you, not serve corporate policy as they do now. NOBODY has the "right" to spy on you. If they spy on you they are collecting evidence AGAINST you, to use to enforce statute rules on you. Do not accept them spying on you to "protect and keep you safe" That is complete bull****. They only protect the state now.

Neo Cyrus
Senior Member



Posts: 8777
Joined: 2006-02-14

#4621108 Posted on: 07/17/2013 10:56 AM
I would be shocked if the Xbone isn't used for government spying.

kosh_neranek
Senior Member



Posts: 341
Joined: 2012-12-31

#4621116 Posted on: 07/17/2013 11:08 AM
The question is.Is it possible to be safe while being online and using a cell?The simple answer is: NO. Democracy is an illusion. You have the freedom once the big brother can listen and read whatever you say or write. Snowden didn't say anything that should be news to us - computer aficionados. The only thing he changed is that now even uninformed people know that our lives are being spied on..

H83
Senior Member



Posts: 2174
Joined: 2009-09-08

#4621121 Posted on: 07/17/2013 11:15 AM
Are you kidding me? If they're watching me through the Kinect, they damn well better suffer through that.


Oh ****, this just made my day! I loled so hard with this one!!!

vbetts
Moderator



Posts: 13551
Joined: 2006-07-04

#4621193 Posted on: 07/17/2013 02:12 PM
Don't watch porn on your xbox then.

StewieTech
Chuck Norris



Posts: 2217
Joined: 2012-02-06

#4621212 Posted on: 07/17/2013 02:46 PM
It could be used to spy, i wouldn´t be surprise, and no way i´m going to let that piece of crap enter my house.

VolkNasty
Member



Posts: 96
Joined: 2011-09-01

#4621234 Posted on: 07/17/2013 03:10 PM
Don't watch porn on your xbox then.


I believe its one of our GOD given rights... I think it was on the third tablet that Moses accidentally dropped on his way down from Mt. Sinai.

Chillin
Senior Member



Posts: 6815
Joined: 2006-01-18

#4621257 Posted on: 07/17/2013 03:56 PM
It could be used to spy, i wouldn´t be surprise, and no way i´m going to let that piece of crap enter my house.


You do realize that your cell phone is used to spy on you a 1000x more effectively.

Exactly who is the target audience for spying through the Kinect2? I don't recall Bin Laden having an Xbox Live account (or any internet for that matter, it's what gave him away ironically). ****ing nerd fantasies that the government wants to spy on them playing Gears of War 263 or crying through Titanic (you know you did).

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