Securing the Exocortex: A Twenty-first Century Cybernetics Challenge

An exocortex is a wearable (or implanted) computer, used to augment a brain's biological high-level cognitive processes and inform a user's decisions and actions. In this paper, we focus on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), a special type of exocortex used to interact with the environment via neural signals. BCI use ranges from medical applications and rehabilitation to operation of assistive devices. They can also be used for marketing, gaming, and entertainment, where BCIs are used to provide users with a more personalized experience. BCI-enabled technology carries a great potential to improve and enhance the quality of human lives. This technology, however, is not without risk. In this paper, we address a specific class of privacy issues, brain spyware, shown to be feasible against currently available non-invasive BCIs. We show this attack can be mapped into a communication-theoretic setting. We then show that the problem of preventing it is similar to the problem of information hiding in communications. We address it in an information-theoretic framework. Finally, influenced by Professor Wiener's computer ethics work, we propose a set of principles regarding appropriate use of exocortex.