CryptoCam: Privacy Conscious Open Circuit Television

TL;DR

CryptoCam introduces a privacy-conscious CCTV system that encrypts footage at capture and manages access via wireless keys, promoting transparency and control for subjects and viewers.

Contribution

The paper presents CryptoCam, a novel open CCTV system with point-of-capture encryption and wireless access keys, enhancing privacy and control over surveillance footage.

Findings

Prototype demonstrates secure, controlled sharing of video footage.

Encryption and wireless keys enable data equity for subjects.

Framework formalizes open CCTV concept for privacy and oversight.

Abstract

The prevalence of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in today's society has given rise to an inherent asymmetry of control between the watchers and the watched. A sense of unease relating to the unobservable observer (operator) often leads to a lack of trust in the camera and its purpose, despite security cameras generally being present as a protective device. In this paper, we detail our concept of Open Circuit Television and prototype CryptoCam, a novel system for secure sharing of video footage to individuals and potential subjects nearby. Utilizing point-of-capture encryption and wireless transfer of time-based access keys for footage, we have developed a system to encourage a more open approach to information sharing and consumption. Detailing concerns highlighted in existing literature we formalize our over-arching concept into a framework called Open Circuit Television (OCTV). Through CryptoCam we hope to address this asymmetry of control by providing subjects with data equity, discoverability and oversight.