Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
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
Chinese-Style ‘Digital Authoritarianism’ Grows Globally
November 2nd, 2018Via: AFP: Governments worldwide are stepping up use of online tools, in many cases inspired by China’s model, to suppress dissent and tighten their grip on power, a human rights watchdog study found Thursday. The annual Freedom House study of 65 countries found global internet freedom declined for the eighth consecutive year in 2018, amid […]
U.S. Intel Budget Soars Under Trump
October 31st, 2018Draining the swamp? Via: AFP: US spending on intelligence has soared under President Donald Trump, figures released on Tuesday showed, as the government stepped up cyber warfare activities and boosted spying on North Korea, China and Russia. Spending on civilian and military intelligence jumped by 11.6 percent to $81.5 billion in fiscal 2018, which ended […]
More Robots to Hit the Aisles at Schnucks Grocery Stores in St. Louis Area
October 30th, 2018Via: St. Louis Post Dispatch: In at least 15 Schnuck Markets stores, the future is now. Aisle-scanning retail inventory robots, known as Tally, will soon be wheeling around in a growing number of locations as the St. Louis area’s leading grocer expands its partnership with San Francisco firm Simbe Robotics. The robot, which moves around […]
TSA Announces “Biometrics Vision for All Commercial Aviation Travelers”
October 27th, 2018Via: Papers, Please: Today the US Transportation Security Administration released a detailed TSA Biometric Roadmap for Aviation Security & the Passenger Experience, making explicit the goal of requiring mug shots (to be used for automated facial recognition and image-based surveillance and control) as a condition of all domestic or international air travel. … It’s a […]
