Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
Britain: Met Police Using Mass Surveillance System to Monitor Mobile Phones
October 31st, 2011Via: Guardian: Britain’s largest police force is operating covert surveillance technology that can masquerade as a mobile phone network, transmitting a signal that allows authorities to shut off phones remotely, intercept communications and gather data about thousands of users in a targeted area. The surveillance system has been procured by the Metropolitan police from Leeds-based […]
Syria Using U.S. Made Web Surveillance and Censorship Systems
October 29th, 2011These boxes are probably rooted by NSA. The Syrians are clueless enough to have allowed them to phone home, so, my guess is that Uncle is on board too. Via: Cnet: Blue Coat Systems has confirmed that its devices were being used by Syria to censor the Web and said it is investigating how they […]
NYPD Monitors Everyone in City Who Changes Their Name
October 29th, 2011Via: AP: For generations, immigrants have shed their ancestral identities and taken new, Americanized names as they found their place in the melting pot. For Muslims in New York, that rite of assimilation is now seen by police as a possible red flag in the hunt for terrorists. The New York Police Department monitors everyone […]
And Now: The Rogue Websites Bill Introduced in U.S. House
October 27th, 2011The “Stop Online Piracy Act” would target foreign websites for take down. I wondered what this actually meant, from a technical perspective, so I gave the proposed legislation a very quick look. It turns out that the government wants to force U.S. Internet service providers to block access to the sites. There would be a […]
Coming Soon: Web Ads That Use Your Webcam and Display Content Based on Biometric Data
October 24th, 2011Yeah, whatever, buddy. No webcam: Check. Multiple, independent filters prevent crap (by source and by type) from even reaching my computer in the first place: Check. Besides, what idiot would voluntarily allow an ad on a website to turn on his webcam? Give me a break. Wait. Never mind. Don’t answer that. Via: Economist: IMAGINE […]
Researchers Crack W3C Encryption Standard for XML
October 23rd, 2011Via: Ars Technica: There’s new reason to be leery about relying on Web-based services to handle sensitive data. A pair of German researchers revealed at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security in Chicago this week that they have discovered a way to decrypt data within XML documents that have been encrypted using an […]
MIT Develops New Radar Technology: Military Could See Through Walls
October 21st, 2011Via: ABC News: Looking through walls is no longer something we read about in comic books or watch in Superman movies. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory has presented new radar technology that would allow humans to see through a solid wall.
Nasdaq Hackers Spied on Company Boards
October 21st, 2011Via: Reuters: Hackers who infiltrated the Nasdaq’s computer systems last year installed malicious software that allowed them to spy on the directors of publicly held companies, according to two people familiar with an investigation into the matter. The new details showed the cyber attack was more serious than previously thought, as Nasdaq OMX Group had […]
Department of Homeland Security Deployed on Tennessee Interstates
October 20th, 2011Via: NewsChannel5: You’re probably use to seeing TSA’s signature blue uniforms at the airport, but now agents are hitting the interstates to fight terrorism with Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR). “Where is a terrorist more apt to be found? Not these days on an airplane more likely on the interstate,” said Tennessee Department of […]
Facebook Is Building Shadow Profiles of Non-Users
October 20th, 2011Via: Slashdot: “As noted previously, Max Schrems of Europe Versus Facebook has filed numerous complaints about Facebook’s data collection practices. One complaint that has failed to draw much scrutiny regards Facebook’s creation of Shadow Profiles. ‘This is done by different functions that encourage users to hand personal data of other users and non-users to Facebook… […]
