Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
Mastercard and Microsoft Have a Frightening Plan to Create Universal “Digital Identities”
December 4th, 2018Via: FastCompany: Sometimes a business inadvertently drops the pretense and just tells the world its real intentions. We saw this yesterday, when Amazon bragged about how it “allowed” an employee to lose 100 pounds by endlessly delivering boxes. Amazon saw this as a heartwarming tale about how great it is to work for the e-commerce […]
The US Military Is Genetically Engineering New Life Forms To Detect Enemy Subs
December 3rd, 2018Via: Defense One: How do you detect submarines in an expanse as large as the ocean? The U.S. military hopes that common marine microorganisms might be genetically engineered into living tripwires to signal the passage of enemy subs, underwater vessels, or even divers. It’s one of many potential military applications for so-called engineered organisms, a […]
Chinese Government Gets Real Time Location Tracking Data On Electric Vehicles
November 29th, 2018Via: East Bay Times: When Shan Junhua bought his white Tesla Model X, he knew it was a fast, beautiful car. What he didn’t know is that Tesla constantly sends information about the precise location of his car to the Chinese government. Tesla is not alone. China has called upon all electric vehicle manufacturers in […]
Google Pays $1 Billion for Huge Mountain View Business Park
November 26th, 2018“All the better to see you with, my dear.” Via: The Mercury News: In a head-spinning mega-deal, Google has paid $1 billion for a huge Mountain View business park, the Bay Area’s largest real estate purchase this year. It is also the second-largest property purchase in the United States this year, eclipsed only by another […]
Google Patents Reveal Plans to Monitor Our Moods, Our Movements, and Our Children’s Behavior at Home
November 25th, 2018I found myself thinking of a haiku about an imaginary situation in which my father (who died a while back) would be standing in a room, arguing with one of these “smart” speakers and eventually challenging it to a fight with his weapon of choice, a yard-long section of 2×4 lumber. Old man stands bugeyed […]
The U.S. Military Testing Stratospheric Balloons That Never Have to Come Down
November 15th, 2018Via: MIT Technology Review: DARPA, the US military’s research arm, thinks it may have cracked the problem. It is currently testing a wind sensor that could allow devices in its Adaptable Lighter-Than-Air (ALTA) balloon program to spot wind speed and direction from a great distance and then make the necessary adjustments to stay in one […]
How ZTE Helps Venezuela Create China-Style Social Control
November 14th, 2018Via: Reuters: Chinese telecoms giant ZTE is helping Venezuela build a system that monitors citizen behavior through a new identification card. The “fatherland card,” already used by the government to track voting, worries many in Venezuela and beyond. … The card is increasingly linked by the government to subsidized food, health and other social programs […]
After Conquering the World, Smartphone Faces Uncertain Future
November 12th, 2018The last phone I bought was a heavily discounted Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It’s fine. I have no plans to upgrade. I’d consider buying a “modern” flagship-grade phone if it included a 3.5mm headphone jack and an easily removable back and battery. There are no high end phones with easily removable batteries and the 3.5mm […]
Alarm Over Talks to Implant UK Employees with Microchips
November 11th, 2018Via: Guardian: Britain’s biggest employer organisation and main trade union body have sounded the alarm over the prospect of British companies implanting staff with microchips to improve security. UK firm BioTeq, which offers the implants to businesses and individuals, has already fitted 150 implants in the UK. The tiny chips, implanted in the flesh between […]
Windows 10: BitLocker on Self-Encrypted SSDs Blown
November 7th, 2018haha Un-Effing-Believable. Via: ComputerWorld: Reacting to a recently discovered security hole in hardware-based encryption in solid state drives, Microsoft recommends that if you’re using BitLocker to protect a solid-state drive, you switch from hardware to software encryption. Related: Compromised from the Operating System Down to the Silicon
