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Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:03:12 -0500
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From: "James M. Atkinson" <jm..._at_tscm.com>
Subject: IMMI Auditory Eavesdropping
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http://www.immi.com/dataClctn.html
DATA COLLECTION
Unobtrusive Data Collection
IMMI's passive digital monitoring requires no input from the panel
member, broadcaster, or advertiser. To accomplish this, IMMI designed
and patented a proprietary software platform that runs on
open-architecture cell phones interfacing with a unique server system.
How It Works
The IMMI(SM) phone randomly samples 10 seconds of room audio every 30
seconds. These samples are reduced to digital signatures, which are
uploaded continuously to the IMMI servers.
IMMI also tracks all local media outlets actively broadcasting in any
given designated media area (DMA). To identify media, IMMI(SM)
compares the uploaded audio signatures computed by the phones with
audio signatures computed on the IMMI servers monitoring TV and radio
broadcasts. IMMI also maintains client-provided content files, such
as commercials, promos, movies, and songs.
By matching the signatures, IMMI couples media broadcasts with the
individuals who are exposed to them. The process takes just a few seconds.
Panel Members may sometimes delay watching or listening to a program
by using satellite radio, DVRs, VCRs, or TiVo. IMMI captures these
viewings with a "look-back" feature that recognizes when a Panel
Member is exposed to a program outside of its normal broadcast hour,
and then goes back in time (roughly two weeks) to identify it.
IMMITracks All Audible Media
If a Panel Member hears any programming tracked in the IMMI(SM)
database, we can identify the exposure with greater than 99%
accuracy. Irrelevant information is excluded. Because the
pattern-recognition software only knows what the audio patterns of
predetermined broadcast or media segments look like, any other audio,
such as conversations or street sound, is simply noise that gets
filtered out. What people say is never tracked.
No Special Encoding Required
IMMI can identify audio samples captured by the IMMI cell phone
without any encoding by the broadcaster. That means there are no
limitations on the types of media IMMI can track or where exposure
can be tracked.
Capturing data from Panel Members does not depend on their hearing
certain predetermined programs or on IMMI having pre-existing
relationships with specific venues, like selected stores, sports
arenas and other entertainment facilities.
And as long as there is an audible component, there are no
limitations on the form of media that can be measured. Audio tracks
from Web sites can be interpreted as easily as television programs
and radio shows.
Data Is Carefully Protected
IMMI's processing hardware and data storage are housed in a
high-security facility with 24/7 support. State-of-the-art systems
protect the collected data. All data are secured against unauthorized
access and are not shared with other IMMI clients. Routine remote
backups ensure that data can be retrieved in any kind of disaster scenario.
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/12/auditory_eavesd.html
December 19, 2006
Auditory Eavesdropping
In the information age, surveillance isn't just for the police.
Marketers want to watch you, too: what you do, where you go, what you
buy. Integrated Media Measurement, Inc. wants to know what you watch
and what you listen to -- wherever you are.
They do this by turning traditional ratings collection on its head.
Instead of a Neilsen-like system, which monitors individual
televisions in an effort to figure out who's watching, IMMI measures
individual people and tries to figure out what they're watching (or
listening to). They do this through specially designed cell phones
that automatically eavesdrop on what's going on in the room they're in:
The IMMI phone randomly samples 10 seconds of room audio every 30
seconds. These samples are reduced to digital signatures, which are
uploaded continuously to the IMMI servers.
IMMI also tracks all local media outlets actively broadcasting in any
given designated media area (DMA). To identify media, IMMI compares
the uploaded audio signatures computed by the phones with audio
signatures computed on the IMMI servers monitoring TV and radio
broadcasts. IMMI also maintains client-provided content files, such
as commercials, promos, movies, and songs.
By matching the signatures, IMMI couples media broadcasts with the
individuals who are exposed to them. The process takes just a few seconds.
Panel Members may sometimes delay watching or listening to a program
by using satellite radio, DVRs, VCRs, or TiVo. IMMI captures these
viewings with a "look-back" feature that recognizes when a Panel
Member is exposed to a program outside of its normal broadcast hour,
and then goes back in time (roughly two weeks) to identify it.
These cell phones are given away to test subjects, who get free
service in exchange for giving up all their privacy.
I'm sure the company will claim not to actually eavesdrop on in-room
conversations, or cell phone conversations. And just how different
are these special phones, anyway? Can the software be installed on
off-the-shelf phones? Can it be done without the owner's knowledge or
consent? The potential for abuse here is enormous.
Remember, the threats to privacy in the information age are not
solely from government; they're from private industry as well. And
the real threat is the alliance between the two.
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World Class, Professional, Ethical, and Competent Bug Sweeps, and
Wiretap Detection using Sophisticated Laboratory Grade Test Equipment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James M. Atkinson Phone: (978) 546-3803
Granite Island Group Fax: (978) 546-9467
127 Eastern Avenue #291 Web:
http://www.tscm.com/
Gloucester, MA 01931-8008 E-mail: mailto:jm..._at_tscm.com
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We perform bug sweeps like it's a contact sport; we don't play fair, we
take no prisoners, and we give no quarter. Our goal is to stop the spy.
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