Neural Identity Theft

Definition

Neural Identity Theft examines theft or misuse of neural patterns, models or credentials used to recognise a person within the broader domain of the protection of neural devices, signals, identities and interfaces from attack, compromise and unsafe failure.

Why this matters

Failures concerning theft or misuse of neural patterns, models or credentials used to recognise a person can cause physical or psychological harm, loss of function, privacy invasion, identity compromise, exclusion, coercion or irreversible impact on human agency.

Research questions

Under which conditions can theft or misuse of neural patterns, models or credentials used to recognise a person be delivered, measured or protected reliably, and how do outcomes vary by person, device, duration, context and governance controls?

Hypotheses

A transparent, safety-bounded and person-centred approach to neural identity theft, combining validated measurement, informed consent, privacy and security controls, human oversight and longitudinal monitoring, will improve benefit–risk outcomes compared with opaque or technology-centred approaches.

Proposed methods

cybersecurity threat modelling; penetration testing; signal spoofing simulation; adversarial input testing; device-failure analysis; red-team exercises; incident-response drills; expert and affected-user review; reproducibility testing; methods adapted specifically to Neural Identity Theft

Stakeholders and beneficiaries

neurotechnology users; clinicians; manufacturers; cybersecurity teams; regulators; hospitals; researchers; carers; emergency responders