Big Brother is watching you on Wi-Fi everywhere!

Big Brother is watching you on Wi-Fi everywhere! - Portugal Business News

Tech News - Big Brother is watching you on Wi-Fi everywhere and you can become a victim of Wi-Fi surveillance even if you do not carry a mobile device like a smartphone, states a European Commission report published by CORDIS on February 12, 2026.

Wi-Fi is becoming an invisible mass surveillance system globally according to experts who state: “All those shops with free wifi networks that you walk or drive past on your way to work or elsewhere could be inadvertent surveillance zones. They have the potential to identify you, generating a complete profile of your movements. And all this without your knowledge or consent.”

1 - Can you become a victim of Wi-Fi surveillance if you do not carry a mobile device like a smartphone?

You can become a victim of wifi surveillance even if you do not carry a mobile device like a smartphone, according to a research paper from Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) named “BFId: Identity Inference Attacks Utilizing Beamforming Feedback Information”, that was published on November 22, 2025.

“By observing the propagation of radio waves, we can create an image of the surroundings and of persons who are present,” explained cybersecurity expert Thorsten Strufe, professor of IT security at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology: “Thus, it does not matter whether you carry a WiFi device on you or not.” He added that a switched-off device doesn’t change anything either: “It’s sufficient that other WiFi devices in your surroundings are active.”

2 – Are we all subject to Wi-Fi surveillance?

The research paper states that we are all subject to surveillance through Beamforming, linked to WiFi 5, that introduces a new information source for WiFi sensing. This leads to privacy threats that have not yet been explored. With WiFi networks being ubiquitous in our everyday lives, the impact of unknown privacy threats is likely severe.

Wi-Fi networks use BFId technology that allows Identity inference attacks through Beamforming feedback information, according to research authors Julian Todt, Felix Morsbach, and Thorsten Strufe.

The report states that wifi networks can identify people with almost 100 % accuracy based on their distinctive movements and physical characteristics:

“If you regularly pass by a café that operates a WiFi network, you could be identified there without noticing it and be recognized later – for example by public authorities or companies.”

“The technology is powerful, but at the same time entails risks to our fundamental rights, especially to privacy,” concludes cybersecurity expert Thorsten Strufe.