Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
Texas: Arlington Police Get Federal Approval to Fly Drones Across City
March 20th, 2013Via: Dallas News: Two remote-control helicopters could be photographing crime scenes and searching for missing people in Arlington as soon as next month. Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson announced Thursday that the Federal Aviation Administration has given the city permission to get the rotors turning on the project in late February. Police are quick to […]
Everything We Know About What Data Brokers Know About You
March 19th, 2013Via: ProPublica: Data companies are scooping up enormous amounts of information about almost every American. They sell information about whether you’re pregnant or divorced or trying to lose weight, about how rich you are and what kinds of cars you have. Regulators and some in Congress have been taking a closer look at these so-called […]
The Internet Is a Surveillance State
March 17th, 2013Via: CNN: The Internet is a surveillance state. Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, and whether we like it or not, we’re being tracked all the time. Google tracks us, both on its pages and on other pages it has access to. Facebook does the same; it even tracks non-Facebook users. Apple tracks […]
Oregon Company to Sell Drone Defense Technology to Public
March 16th, 2013Any guesses as to what this is? Maybe… Blind the drones’ cameras with lasers? They would have to be sure they weren’t lasing something with a human pilot, though. Hmm. Via: U.S. News and World Report: Do you want to keep drones out of your backyard? An Oregon company says that it has developed and […]
U.S. to Let Spy Agencies Scour Americans’ Finances
March 14th, 2013Via: Reuters: The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters. The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies […]
34 Civil Liberties Groups Speak Out Against CISPA in Lead Up to Hearings
March 13th, 2013Via: EFF: On Monday, EFF and over 30 other Internet rights organizations sent a letter to members of Congress demanding they vote no on the “cybersecurity” bill known as CISPA. The letter starts off a week in which Congress will hold three different hearings about CISPA and computer and network security. In addition to the […]
Fake Fingers to Fool the Boss at Brazil Hospital
March 13th, 2013Via: AFP: Five doctors at a Brazilian hospital have been suspended after they were accused of covering for absentee colleagues by using fake silicone fingers with their prints to fool biometric machines. Globo television showed footage of a doctor touching her finger to the device, then using two fake digits to do the same for […]
Robobees
March 13th, 2013Via: Harvard: Overview of the Micro Air Vehicles Project INSPIRED by the biology of a bee and the insect’s hive behavior … we aim to push advances in miniature robotics and the design of compact high-energy power sources; spur innovations in ultra-low-power computing and electronic “smart” sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent […]
Pentagon Creating Teams to Launch Cyberattacks
March 13th, 2013Via: Washington Post: The Pentagon’s Cyber Command will create 40 offensive cyber-teams by the fall of 2015 to help defend the nation against major computer attacks and assist combat commands as they plan offensive capabilities, Gen. Keith Alexander testified to Congress on Tuesday. The new teams are part of a broader government effort to shield […]
Facebook Reveals Secrets You Haven’t Shared
March 12th, 2013Via: Financial Times: The increasing amount of personal information that can been gleaned by computer programs that track how people use Facebook has been revealed by an extensive academic study. Such programmes can discern undisclosed private information such as Facebook users’ sexuality, drug-use habits and even whether their parents separated when they were young, according […]
