Mario Frank isn't a specialist in EEG. He told The Huffington Post via email that his research in Berkeley, Calif., is in computer hacking, including "key-logging, timing attacks, etc." Frank's research group, however, has an interest in the fact that commercial single-channel EEG devices "are becoming increasingly popular in the gaming and entertainment industries." The group has produced a paper that looks at the developing EEG industry as currently defined by players like commercial EEG producer Emotiv.Could these devices allow malicious hackers to gain access to our minds? Yes, according to some. By gaining access to the software used to record and analyze electrical signals picked up by the EEG, hackers could build "brain spyware" apps that could potentially trick users into offering up personal information, Gizmodo wrote in a story on mind-hacking. In email correspondence with The Huffington Post, Frank said he thinks EEG devices present an unique vector for cyberattacks."The experiments have demonstrated that an attacker with access to the raw EEG signal can guess secrets of the end-user significantly better compared with random guessing. This means that, once this technology is used by more people and once there are more apps written by third-party developers, there is the chance that malicious software attacks the user's privacy," Frank wrote.But as malicious as mind reading may seem, EEG devices also have the power to enhance existing technologies that enable humanitarian endeavors. Christine King, a biomedical engineering student at the University of California at Irvine, recently built and tested mind-controlled robotic legs that could eventually succeed in restoring 'brain-controlled ambulation' to the paralyzed. In an email to The Huffington Post, King said she's optimistic about EEG devices' potential to "increase the independence and quality of life" of those with injuries that restrict mobility. The legs are currently in the earliest stages of development, confined to indoor treadmills and tested only on subjects who are not paralyzed, but the latest research from King’s team indicates that paralyzed testers may try the legs in the near future.
Time to break out my good old tin foil and spaghetti strainer hat.
It's a colander??!!!! Crap........I thought the instructions said to use a calendar to stop them from reading my mind. FML!
