Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
William Binney Talks About NSA Creating Dossiers on All Americans
September 2nd, 2012Via: New York Times / YouTube: The filmmaker Laura Poitras profiles William Binney, a 32-year veteran of the National Security Agency who helped design a top-secret program he says is broadly collecting Americans’ personal data. Related: The Program Research Credit: alvinroasting
Software Meant to Fight Crime Is Used to Spy on Dissidents
August 31st, 2012Via: New York Times: Morgan Marquis-Boire works as a Google engineer and Bill Marczak is earning a Ph.D. in computer science. But this summer, the two men have been moonlighting as detectives, chasing an elusive surveillance tool from Bahrain across five continents. What they found was the widespread use of sophisticated, off-the-shelf computer espionage software […]
Drones Over Britain
August 30th, 2012Via: BBC: This year the US Congress passed legislation giving US airspace regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) until September 2015 to open up its airspace to drones, and Britain is expected to follow suit. The UK’s airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has told BBC Newsnight that large unmanned drones could be flying […]
DHS Will Release ‘Harmless’ Bacteria Into Boston’s Subway Tunnels
August 30th, 2012Via: The Scientist: The Boston subway system will soon host simulated biological weapon attacks as the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) conducts tests of sensors designed to detect the presence of biological agents in metropolitan areas. After temporarily shutting down the transportation system, S&T will release small quantities of harmless and […]
Ray Bradbury FBI File: Sci-Fi Legend Suspected Of Communist Sympathies
August 30th, 2012Via: Huffington Post: Late science-fiction legend Ray Bradbury was actively investigated by the FBI during the 1960s for suspected Communist leanings, according to FBI files released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Huffington Post. Bradbury aroused the suspicion of the FBI due to his outspoken criticism of the U.S. government […]
Lancaster Police Continuously Track Activity with Aerial Video
August 26th, 2012Via: Los Angeles Times: The residents of Lancaster probably didn’t notice it, but a small Cessna aircraft on Friday flew high above the desert city, capturing hours of video and ushering in a new era in law enforcement surveillance. The plane, equipped with sophisticated video equipment, is set fly a loop above the city for […]
Windows 8 Tells Microsoft About Everything You Install
August 25th, 2012Via: Nadim Kobeissi: Windows 8 has a new featured called Windows SmartScreen, which is turned on by default. Windows SmartScreen’s purpose is to “screen” every single application you try to install from the Internet in order to inform you whether it’s safe to proceed with installing it or not. Here’s how SmartScreen works: You download […]
California Approves Location Privacy Act: ‘Get a Warrant’
August 25th, 2012Via: ZDnet: A new bill designed to require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before collecting any GPS or location data from a cellphone or smartphone has been passed by California state legislators. The Location Privacy Bill 2012, which was co-sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), received […]
Mobile Phones: Police Can Activate GPS Location Tracking If It’s Disabled
August 21st, 2012Via: Information Week: Can police access the GPS data on your phone? According to a recent court ruling, they can not only access it, but activate GPS location tracking if it’s disabled.
Mobile Phone Data Used to Predict Where People Will Be Tomorrow
August 20th, 2012Via: WiredUK: A team from the University of Birmingham has won Nokia’s Mobile Data Challenge with an algorithm that can predict where you’ll be in 24 hours. The software, developed by Mirco Musolesi, Manlio Domenico, and Antonio Lima, combines movement tracking with data from the people in your phone book. By looking at how someone’s […]
