Spending hours on Zoom is bad enough, but office workers may soon have to get used to being filmed even more.
New software is being developed to continuously monitor workers at their computers, to improve cybersecurity and be sure only authorised workers have access.
It also has the potential to ‘track the user’s emotions in real time’, a controversial new feature of AI, sending out alerts if someone appears tired or stressed and telling them to take a break, for example.
BT has carried out trials of continuous authentication software at its Adastral Park science campus near Ipswich and it is currently at ‘proof of concept’ stage.
A demonstration of the technology was on display at the company’s annual cybersecurity festival held earlier this month, with some teams able to start using it from next month for continued testing.
The technology is a step up from standard facial recognition, which is already widely used to access internal systems with apps such as Microsoft’s Authenticator.
Instead of only being used when someone first logs in somewhere, the new software would continuously film them with a webcam or front-facing camera and identify if their face lines up with the expected dimensions.
Many will baulk at the idea of more widespread electronic surveillance at work, but BT say cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated, and businesses need to adapt.
The company said it spots 2,000 signals of potential cyber-attacks every second, or over 200 million per day, a number which is on the rise.
With hackers and other cyber criminals early adopters of new tech such as AI, businesses are now in an ‘arms race’ to protect their customers and their data, former British Intelligence Officer Ben Owen warned.
Continuous authentication tech could help companies in multiple ways, such as ensuring that if a laptop was stolen while unlocked, it would still be impossible for anyone to access sensitive systems if their biometrics didn’t align.
But although the video is not designed to be broadcast to anyone else – such as bosses – many workers may dislike being monitored in this way nevertheless.
Even the knowledge they are being filmed at all may make people feel awkward about quickly eating a snack at their desk, failing to suppress a yawn if they slept badly, or simply sitting and typing while being watched, even if by an AI.
Mr Owen told attendees how one of the biggest cyber threats to organisations came from the physical world, such as an employee handing over their pass for cash or due to blackmail, or who simply did not take care to lock their computer while stepping away from their desk.
He said employees working from home was also a weak spot when it came to cybersecurity, as employees could be distracted by home life going on in the background, and do not have the same security procedures such as accessing the building with a badge.
Earlier this month, Business Korea reported that Samsung will trial a facial recognition system for employees working remotely to protect intellectual property, after a series of high profile leaks about their tech.
A labour union objected to the move, saying it treated workers as ‘potential criminals’ and was a violation of privacy to be monitored constantly in this way.
A BT White Paper on the biometrics in 2022 said it would ‘take security to a new level’, saying that ‘even if an attacker could get hold of a device, any ongoing work session would end, locking the device, because their biometrics wouldn’t match’.
Within the office, it could remove the reliance on every employee actively locking their screen each time they go for a coffee in case a disgruntled colleague or cyber spy decides to have a peek at their work.
If the wrong person tries to sit down, if the user steps away from their desk and nobody is there, or if someone appears behind them that they may not be aware of, the software camera can simply automatically lock the machine.
But the emerging technology also has risks, with the ‘emotion recognition’ aspect of the tech a particular concern – though BT says the trials that will take place internally are only about authenticating the user, and not about this aspect of the tech.
In 2022, the Information Commissioners Office warned that emotion analysis technologies could cause discrimination if they lead to ‘judgements about a person that are inaccurate’.
Susannah Copson, legal and policy officer with civil liberties and privacy campaigning organisation Big Brother Watch, said the potential rise of ‘so-called “emotion recognition” technology’ raises serious legal issues, risks of inaccuracy and discrimination, and new threats to workers’ rights.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘The government should act on calls from technology experts and human rights groups around the world and ban this pseudoscientific AI surveillance.’
Big Brother Watch is due to release a major report tomorrow into the rise of workplace surveillance technology such as keystroke logging to see what workers are typing, AI-powered emotional analysis, and software to show bosses their workers’ screens in real time and analyse which programmes they use most often.
Susannah said: ‘Bosses risk breaching employees’ data rights when they use intrusive surveillance technology to spy on staff under the mandate of “efficiency” or “convenience”.
‘Excessive workplace spying also creates a culture of fear, undermining workers’ autonomy, dignity, and mental health. The alarming growth of these practices shows the Government must legislate to protect workers from the harms of Big Brother-style surveillance in the workplace.’
A BT spokesperson said: ‘Cyber security attacks on our network are rapidly growing and the types of attacks are rapidly evolving. Security is therefore a key priority for the R&D team in exploring how we can stay ahead of these emerging threats, to protect our customers.stay ahead of these emerging threats, to protect our customers.
‘The continuous authentication research is one of many security-related programmes within our R&D function. It looks at how technology can provide an additional layer of security by maintaining continuous authentication, ensuring that only the rightful user can access the system, thereby preventing unauthorized access and safeguarding personal data.
‘This is a nascent technology – at a proof-of-concept stage. It is far too early to comment on how this may be commercialised in the future or what this may look like.
‘The objective of BT’s research is to look at how we can use this technology to protect our customers from cyber security threats. Whilst the technology could potentially support employee wellbeing (such as prompting an employee to take a break), BT’s research focus is on the security aspect.’
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