Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
FBI Prepares Vast Biometrics Database
December 22nd, 2007I have a running hypotheses that the plan is to physically track each individual’s position on the ground, at all times. In AT&T Invents Programming Language for Mass Surveillance, I speculated that the mobile phone data might be the way that it is being done. Well, there’s no need to speculate about what They want […]
EU Mandates Electronic IDs for Sheep and Goats
December 21st, 2007Beta testing the program for applications on two legged creatures. Via: Register: The European Union has pledged to make life easier for both farmers and putative messiahs by ensuring that goats and sheep will in future be identified electronically. The council of ministers has set December 31, 2009 as “the obligatory implementation date for the […]
Schneier: Microsoft Vista SP1 Includes Random Number Generator that Could Contain NSA Backdoor
December 18th, 2007But since most people don’t know which operating system that they’re using… Via: Bruce Schneier: Dual_EC_DRBG Added to Windows Vista Microsoft has added the random-number generator Dual_EC-DRBG to Windows Vista, as part of SP1. Yes, this is the same RNG that could have an NSA backdoor. It’s not enabled by default, and my advice is […]
Mobile Labs to Target Iraqis for Death Using Biometric Data
December 18th, 2007Years ago, when the news broke that U.S. Forces were collecting biometric data from Iraqis, I was so shocked by the program that I made an effort to archive audio from an NBC news piece about it. Now we know that the data is being used, in part, to draw up execution lists. Remember that […]
Phone and Email Data-Mining Used in War on Drugs, Too
December 18th, 2007The headline should be: Phone and Email Data-Mining Used in __________ (Fill in the blank) Via: Wired: Do not let it be said that the Bush administration forgot the War on Drugs while waging the War on Terror. The Drug Enforcement Agency, for one, continued and expanded the data mining records of phone calls and […]
UK: McDonald’s Security Contractor Uses License Plate Recognition to Fine Slow Eaters
December 12th, 2007Don’t worry. You might be able to pay your fast food parking fine with the carbon credits that you’ll receive from your voluntary sterilization to stop global warming. No? Via: Guardian: The question of just how long it should take to eat fast food is being answered by the burger giant McDonald’s, which is making […]
U.S. Department of Defense Acquiring System to Scan Irises of Many People in a Crowd at Once
December 6th, 2007Wave your stupid sign and smile for the birdy. Congratulations, you’re now f*cked for life. Enjoy your protest, though. Via: USA Today: A growing number of sheriff’s departments are using iris scans to identify sex offenders, runaways, abducted children and wandering Alzheimer’s patients. More than 2,100 departments in 27 states are taking digital pictures of […]
Domestic Spying, Inc.
November 29th, 2007Excellent piece. I highly recommend clicking through to read the entire thing. Via: CorpWatch: A new intelligence institution to be inaugurated soon by the Bush administration will allow government spying agencies to conduct broad surveillance and reconnaissance inside the United States for the first time. Under a proposal being reviewed by Congress, a National Applications […]
High-Tech Drones Joining Miami Police Force
November 29th, 2007Via: Local10: The Miami-Dade police department will begin experimenting with high-tech drones as law enforcement tools beginning next year. Although the military has been using unmanned aircraft systems for years, this will be the first time they are used in law enforcement. … “The capability of the unit is phenomenal,” said Miami-Dade Detective Juan Villalba. […]
Feds Lose Bid for Amazon.com Customer Records
November 29th, 2007Which Feds? The Feds who point the business end of the NarusInsight Intercept Suite at our heads didn’t go to court. Since that program doesn’t officially exist, why would They go to court? So, no, those Feds weren’t in court, requesting sensitive information from Amazon, because those Feds already have it. This story is a […]
