Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
The Drone Papers
October 15th, 2015Via: The Intercept: The Intercept has obtained a cache of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the U.S. military’s assassination program in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The documents, provided by a whistleblower, offer an unprecedented glimpse into Obama’s drone wars.
If You’re Not Paranoid, You’re Crazy
October 13th, 2015Via: The Atlantic: …we, the sensible majority, owe plenty of so-called crackpots a few apologies. We dismissed them, shrugging off as delusions or urban legends various warnings and anecdotes that now stand revealed, in all too many instances, as either solid inside tips or spooky marvels of intuition.
Who Is Responsible for a Driverless Car Accident?
October 9th, 2015Via: BBC: Volvo says it will accept full liability for accidents involving its driverless cars, making it “one of the first” car companies to do so. It joins Mercedes and also tech firm Google, who have made similar claims. Volvo says it is trying to expedite regulation in the US, where “a patchwork” of rules […]
The Era Of Automatic Facial Recognition And Surveillance Is Here
October 5th, 2015Via: Forbes: ID checks were a common response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but they’ll soon be obsolete. You won’t have to show your ID, because you’ll be identified automatically. A security camera will capture your face, and it’ll be matched with your name and a whole lot of other information besides. Welcome to […]
GCHQ Mass Surveillance: KARMA POLICE
September 26th, 2015Via: The Intercept: THERE WAS A SIMPLE AIM at the heart of the top-secret program: Record the website browsing habits of “every visible user on the Internet.” Before long, billions of digital records about ordinary people’s online activities were being stored every day. Among them were details cataloging visits to porn, social media and news […]
DHS Wants Boeing to Test a Brain Chip in Firm’s Self-Destructing ‘Black’ Spyphone
September 23rd, 2015Via: NextGov: The Department of Homeland Security is funding a Boeing company to create a “brain chip” for its self-destructing Black smartphone that could be adapted for any device, DHS officials say. The technology powering the devices potentially could identify the user’s walking style, for example. Officials would be alerted if the gait does not […]
Cyborg Insects
September 19th, 2015Via: Vice: I asked Anthes why she thought the military was so keen to work with insects. “I’d imagine there are several reasons,” she said. “Firstly those creatures are simpler to work with, biologically speaking. It’s much easier to commandeer an insect’s nervous system than a dog’s or a human’s. But also, for the specific […]
Barbie Wants to Get to Know Your Child
September 17th, 2015I would assume that every utterance from children playing with the dolls will be archived. Check this out: The writers marked important questions with ‘‘flags,’’ and this enabled Hello Barbie’s most unnerving power: She could remember the answers and use them for conversation starters days or weeks later. ‘‘She should always know that you have […]
Federal Court Invalidates 11-Year-Old FBI Gag Order on National Security Letter Recipient Nicholas Merrill
September 15th, 2015Via Calyx Institute: A federal district court has ordered the FBI to lift an eleven-year- old gag order imposed on Nicholas Merrill forbidding him from speaking about a National Security Letter (“NSL”) that the FBI served on him in 2004. The ruling marks the first time that an NSL gag order has been lifted in […]
Online Security Braces for Quantum Revolution
September 11th, 2015Via: Nature: It is an inevitability that cryptographers dread: the arrival of powerful quantum computers that can break the security of the Internet. Although these devices are thought to be a decade or more away, researchers are adamant that preparations must begin now. Computer-security specialists are meeting in Germany this week to discuss quantum-resistant replacements […]
