Everyone has heard of Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), but fewer I suspect have heard of Li-Fi (Light Fidelity), a new(ish) standard for the transmission of data over a light source. ANY light source …almost.

The theory is that Wi-Fi is both congested and bandwidth limited, so in areas where you have high concentrations of people (airports, train stations, hospitals etc.), the use of the existing light sources could be a way to supplement the Wi-Fi. You can also expect much higher bandwidth rates, as light has 100,000 times the frequency of radio waves, which is Wi-Fi’s major limiting factor (even for Wi-Max).

Li-Fi has its limitations too; it only works indoors, you must stay in the room(s) it’s available or make it available in EVERY room/corridor/stairwell; and naturally, you need line of sight.  These limitation are why it will only ever supplement Wi-Fi, not replace it altogether, but the combination of the two should alleviate most of the limitations of both.

However, these are the major drawbacks, the first of which is VERY significant:

1. Every mobile device in the world will need a special light sensor and emitter in order to take advantage of it. It’s early days yet, and the existing sensors are hardly what you’d call mobile-friendly, so these would need to be reduced so that they are no more bulky, and obtrusive, than your existing camera sensor
2. It extends the access of data transmission capability dramatically, and as light wave are more secure than radio waves, it becomes much harder to detect in areas where there should not BE any bandwidth other than that provided. Even the PCI DSS has a requirement to perform rogue wireless access point detection, but that’s easy, Li-Fi is going to prove much more difficult to detect (I assume)
3. If ANY lightbulb can be turned into a data transfer device, there are going to be significant privacy issues, and every conspiracy theorist will be now be working in the dark, or using a gas-lamp. OK, so this is only a drawback if you’re one of the paranoid minority, for the rest of us it’s funny.
4. The incidents on ‘bandwidth-rage’ will increase; “Oy, sit the f%$# down, you’re blocking my upload!”

Anyone who’s read my blog before knows where I stand on this; as a lover of innovation and convenience, I can’t wait for the technology to be introduced in the mainstream, but as a security practitioner I will want to see security built in from the ground floor, and not retro-fitted like it usually is.

Innovation and technology around providing always-available bandwidth is approaching national infrastructure levels of importance, right up there with water and electricity, so while I can’t wait to turn my bedside table into a super fast modem, I’ll be doing so only when I’m sure what happens there, stays there.