ABSTRACT
Surveillance technology is an important area in cybersecurity and one of the most representative products of the new century's technological progress. Although the formal definition of surveillance – the monitoring of behavior, information, and activities – is abstract, the applications of surveillance are ubiquitous. From security cameras to cybersecurity software, surveillance technologies have been deployed everywhere for a variety of reasons.
Although the technology has dated as far back as World War II, it has evolved throughout human history and played a major role in monitoring and data analytics of data. For example, in World War II, surveillance technology took the form of spy glasses, recording devices, and radios for spying and espionage. Later in the 20th century, video surveillance such as CCTV was used for public and home security. And in the modern century, surveillance has branched into cybersecurity to identify security threats, vulnerability, mitigate risks and to shield against hacking and malware. In today's world, surveillance is a significant aspect of society, so much so that author Shoshana Zuboff refers to our current time as, “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” [1].
After a brief historical background, this chapter will review how surveillance technology works, discuss the most recent applications of cybersecurity with surveillance, the advantages and disadvantages of surveillance technologies and its use among products.
