Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
U.S. Government Wants All Providers of Encrypted Internet Services to Implement Key Escrow
September 27th, 2010Wikipedia has an entry on key escrow, if you aren’t familiar with the concept. Via: New York Times: Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of […]
Army Reveals Afghan Biometric ID Plan; Millions Scanned, Carded by May
September 24th, 2010Via: Wired: Scanning prisoners’ irises is just Step 1. In Afghanistan, local and NATO forces are amassing biometric dossiers on hundreds of thousands of cops, crooks, soldiers, insurgents and ordinary citizens. And now, with NATO’s backing, the Kabul government is putting together a plan to issue biometrically backed identification cards to 1.65 million Afghans by […]
Rendell’s Office Releases Content of All Bulletins on Planned Protests
September 21st, 2010Here’s the document dump: PA Intelligence Bulletins. Via: Philadelphia Inquirer: The bulletins, issued to police, public officials, and commercial interests three times a week since October, were prepared by a private contractor that the state Office of Homeland Security hired last year for $103,000 without competitive bidding. Much of their content – such as announcements […]
Street View: Thousands of Germans Ask Google to Blur Their Homes
September 20th, 2010Via: Spiegel: Germans are amongst the most frequent users of Google’s Street View service, but that doesn’t mean they want pictures of their homes on the Internet. At least 100,000, and possibly a lot more, have registered online to have their homes made unrecognizable. Germans may have a reputation for staring at people, but they […]
Boeing Gets $89 Million to Build Unmanned Aircraft that Can Stay Aloft for 5 Years
September 18th, 2010Here’s another one for your “Unblinking Eye” file folder. Via: Network World: One of the more unique unmanned aircraft took a giant step toward reality this week when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) inked an agreement with Boeing to build the SolarEagle, a plane capable of remaining at heights over 60,000ft for over […]
Some of Blackwater/Xe’s Corporate Clients: Monsanto, Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Deutsche Bank and Barclays
September 17th, 2010Via: The Nation: Over the past several years, entities closely linked to the private security firm Blackwater have provided intelligence, training and security services to US and foreign governments as well as several multinational corporations, including Monsanto, Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and banking giants Deutsche Bank and Barclays, according to […]
FBI Forwards Letters to Political Prisoners to Local Law Enforcement Agencies
September 15th, 2010Via: IndyMedia: Recently we began receiving documents in response to a FOIA request we filed with the FBI about Eric McDavid. The documents have uncovered a few alarming pieces of information, but one in particular we felt it necessary to share with the public as soon as possible. For years people have been speculating that […]
Privacy Tool for Iranian Activists Disabled After Security Holes Exposed
September 15th, 2010Via: Wired: A highly lauded privacy tool designed to help Iranian activists circumvent state spying and censorship has been disabled after an independent researcher discovered security vulnerabilities in the system that could potentially expose the identities of anonymous users. Users have been instructed to destroy all copies of the software, known as Haystack, and the […]
Protesters Put on State Terror Watch List
September 15th, 2010Via: Pittsburgh Tribune Review: An activist who believes he was improperly included on a state terror threat list said this morning he is preparing a federal lawsuit. “When people’s civil rights are trampled it’s a federal issue,” said Gene Stilp of Harrisburg, who holds a Virginia law license but does not practice as an attorney. […]
‘About 90% of Americans are walking around with a portable tracking device all the time, and they have no idea’
September 15th, 2010Via: Time: As long as you don’t leave home without your phone, that handy gadget keeps a record of everywhere you go — a record the government can then get from your telephone company. … It is not hard to imagine that the government could also one day use cell-phone data to stifle dissent. Cell-phone […]
