Archive for the 'Technology' Category
The Surveillance Catalog
November 24th, 2011Via: Wall Street Journal: Documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal open a rare window into a new global market for the off-the-shelf surveillance technology that has arisen in the decade since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The techniques described in the trove of 200-plus marketing documents include hacking tools that enable governments […]
Malls Track Shoppers with Cell Phone Surveillance Systems
November 23rd, 2011Via: CNN: Attention holiday shoppers: your cell phone may be tracked this year. Starting on Black Friday and running through New Year’s Day, two U.S. malls — Promenade Temecula in southern California and Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, Va. — will track guests’ movements by monitoring the signals from their cell phones. While the […]
Fathoming Amazon: 9 Things to Know
November 21st, 2011Via: Frugal Dad: Source: Frugaldad.com
Berlin Start-Up Aims to Revolutionize Clothes Shopping
November 21st, 2011Via: Spiegel: Two young Berlin entrepreneurs have an ingeniously simple idea for helping the clothing industry break through on the Internet. Their UPcload service measures people with a webcam more accurately than any person could. It could revolutionize shopping for clothes online — if the fashion industry cooperates.
Vast Surveillance System Tracks Everyone Driving Around Washington, D.C.
November 21st, 2011Via: Washington Post: An armed robber burst into a Northeast Washington market, scuffled with the cashier, and then shot him and the clerk’s father, who also owned the store. The killer sped off in a silver Pontiac, but a witness was able to write down the license plate number. Police figured out the name of […]
Protesters Use Spy Drones
November 21st, 2011Via: Wired: The proliferation of drones throughout the military — and into civilian law enforcement — can make it feel like we’re living in an airborne panopticon. But flying robots are agnostic about who they train their gaze upon, and can spy on cops as easily as they can spy on civilians. In the video […]
Congress Fears Chinese Telecom Gear May Phone Home
November 21st, 2011Like U.S. made gear? Via: Wired: Are telecommuniations deals with China good business — or a trojan horse for espionage? Some of Congress’ top intelligence officials are worried it’s the latter. And they’re launching an investigation to find out. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), and the […]
DARPA Wants to Collect ‘Physiological Signals’ at a Distance and Through Walls
November 20th, 2011Via: Office of the Secretary of Defense / DARPA: TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems, Biomedical, Electronics, Battlespace OBJECTIVE: Demonstrate the ability to collect, localize, and evaluate physiological signals (e.g., heart rate) at distances greater than 10 meters, non-line-of-sight, and through solid objects (walls, rock, concrete, etc.). DESCRIPTION: There is a need to remotely detect, collect, and […]
Foreign Hackers Targeted U.S. Water Plant in Apparent Malicious Cyber Attack
November 20th, 2011Related/Update: Hacker Says Texas Town Used Three Character Password To Secure Internet Facing SCADA System Via: Threat Post: In an e-mail interview with Threatpost, the hacker who compromised software used to manage water infrastructure for South Houston, Texas, said the district had HMI (human machine interface) software used to manage water and sewage infrastructure accessible […]
Judge Declares Law Governing Warrantless Cellphone Tracking Unconstitutional
November 19th, 2011The NSA smiles at the part in bold below. Via: Wall Street Journal: In a succinct one-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn N. Hughes of the Southern District of Texas declared that the law authorizing the government to obtain cellphone records without a search warrant was unconstitutional. “The records would show the date, time, […]
