Ubiquitous Security: Privacy versus Protection

In the ambient computing future, security promises to be the foundational design feature that allows pervasive systems to protect personal information privacy. As fledgling pervasive computing systems gain a foothold presence in becoming more flexible and, at the same time, more invisibly interconnected, system users may have to trade privacy and protection to gain full entry into this new information-laden environment. This paper examines the current state-of-the-shelf security components, which predominantly overlay wired and wireless networks that will support next generation pervasive systems with a defense-in-depth approach. Information technology “best practices” are considered, and privacy concerns within typical networks are discussed. An examination of emerging privacy protecting technologies is presented, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and legal concerns are discussed to portray the asymmetry of information flow in pervasive systems that can impact our personal information privacy.