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Posts Tagged ‘Surveillance’

This Vehicle Registration Plate Surveillance System Is a Warning to Us All

July 17, 2011 4 comments

disinfo.com

Knight RiderNo CCTV has teamed up with Privacy International and Big Brother Watch to challenge the legality of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) [also known as ALPR in North America] camera network in the UK. A complaint has been sent to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) against a so-called ANPR “Ring of Steel” that is being constructed around the town of Royston in Hertfordshire — but for Royston read any town in the UK.

Background

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has constructed a network of cameras across the country without any public or parliamentary debate. These cameras record the number plate of each and every vehicle that passes, sometimes taking a photograph of the car and its occupants. The number plate is then compared to a “hotlist” of vehicles of interest, and whether or not the plate is on that list (ie a “hit”), all information gathered is stored for between two and five years. A Hertfordshire Police Authority report reveals the details of the data retention periods:

Currently number plate pictures are held for 2 years. Car pictures are held for 90 days. “Hits” information on text and number pictures are held for 5 years and car pictures are held for 2 years.

[‘Final report of the Topic Group on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Technology use within Hertfordshire Constabulary’, p. 9]

The data collected from number plate cameras can be linked to multiple databases such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) database and the Motor Insurance Database Application System (MIDAS) which in turn can be used to identify the owner of the vehicle. The resulting database of Read more…

Categories: Big Brother Tags: , , , , , ,

Texas will be getting another eye in the sky

July 14, 2011 1 comment

mysanantonio

Second aerial drone is coming to Corpus Christi.
By Gary Martin

WASHINGTON — A second unmanned aerial vehicle soon will be based at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, providing surveillance of the Gulf Coast and the U.S.-Mexico border above Texas, officials said Wednesday.

A third Predator drone maintained in Arizona is used to monitor Texas border areas over the Big Bend region and El Paso.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Kostelnik, who heads the U.S. Customs and Border Protection UAV program, told a House Homeland Security subcommittee the new drone would provide additional surveillance, and “on any given day there could be three or more (unmanned) aircraft in Texas.”

Texas lawmakers on the Homeland Security Committee asked Secretary Janet Napolitano in a letter this year to base in Texas one of two additional UAVs approved by Congress.

“Technology is part of Read more…

Categories: Texas Tags: , , , , , , , ,

MI5 admits to wrongful surveillance of innocent people, new report says

July 6, 2011 Comments off

out-law

The UK’s Security Service wrongly gathered information about innocent telephone users during criminal surveillance, a report into the interception of communications has said.

The MI5 acquired data belonging to subscribers of 134 telephone numbers following a failure in software, Sir Paul Kennedy, Interception of Communications Commissioner, said..

“These errors were caused by a formatting fault on an electronic spreadsheet which altered the last three digits of each of the telephone numbers to ‘000’,” Sir Paul said in his annual review of how law enforcement agencies use legal powers to intercept communications in 2010 (63-page / 2.3MB PDF).

“These unfortunate errors were identified by the Security Service and duly reported,” he said

“The subscriber data acquired had Read more…

Categories: United Kingdom Tags: , , ,

CBP set to deploy new surveillance aircraft

June 14, 2011 Comments off

gsnmagazine

CBP’s MEA

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is set to deploy the first of 30 new patrol aircraft that bristle with passive and active surveillance systems capable of supporting a variety of land and water-based operations.

The CBP’s new King Air 350, twin engine Multi-role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) will replace an aging fleet of surveillance aircraft, providing the Department of Homeland Security with new capabilities to patrol the skies along the nation’s land and maritime borders.

The first MEA is slated for deployment to the southwest border in mid-June 2011 to undergo initial test and evaluation and to conduct missions aimed at enhancing ground tactics and enforcement coordination, said CBP in a June 10 statement.

The aircraft is built by Hawker Beechcraft Corp and modified for CBP missions by the Sierra Nevada factory in Hagerstown, MD. CBP could eventually have up to 50 MEAs patrolling the land and maritime Read more…

Categories: spy, Technology Tags: , , , ,

Rules eased on snooping by the FBI

June 13, 2011 Comments off
WASHINGTON — The FBI is giving significant new powers to its roughly 14,000 agents, allowing them more leeway to search databases, go through household trash, or use surveillance teams to scrutinize the lives of people who have attracted their attention.

The FBI soon plans to issue a new edition of its manual, called the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide, according to an official who has worked on the draft document and several others who have been briefed on its contents.

The new rules add to several measures taken over the past decade to give agents more latitude as they search for signs of criminal or terrorist activity.

The FBI recently briefed several privacy advocates about the coming changes. Among them, Michael German, a former FBI agent who is now a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, argued it was unwise to further ease restrictions on agents’ power to use potentially intrusive techniques, especially if they Read more…

Categories: GOVERNMENT Tags: , , , ,

‘Spy cameras’ are used to target student protesters

May 31, 2011 Comments off

independent.co.uk

Some fear the police are trying to ‘criminalise’ protesting by using CCTV

Police are using CCTV images taken on university and college campuses, sometimes with the collusion of university authorities, to “spy” on student demonstrators as young as 16, it was claimed yesterday.

University lecturers are demanding an independent investigation into the “over zealous” use of surveillance techniques against students during the policing of demonstrations against fees rises and public spending cuts.

A motion tabled for the University and College Union’s (UCU) conference this weekend condemns what it terms attempts to “criminalise protest” through “state surveillance of higher education and further education institutions for elicting intelligence regarding protest activities”.

Cases include the arrest of Read more…

Categories: Big Brother, Protests, United Kingdom Tags: , , , , ,

32 Signs That The Entire World Is Being Transformed Into A Futuristic Big Brother Prison Grid

May 26, 2011 1 comment

endoftheamericandream

Do you want your children and grandchildren to live in a futuristic “big brother” control grid where everything they do is watched, recorded, tracked and tightly controlled?  Well, that is exactly where things are headed.  We witnessed some really bad totalitarian regimes during the 20th century, but what is coming is going to be far more restrictive than any of the despots of the past ever dreamed was possible.  Today, nearly every government on earth is tightening their grip on their citizens.  Paranoia has become standard operating procedure all over the planet and nobody is to be trusted.  Global politicians will give speeches about liberty and freedom even as they undermine them at every turn.  There are very, very few nations on the planet where liberty and freedom are increasing.  Instead, almost everywhere you turn the “control grid” is getting tighter.  Governments don’t want us gathering together and interacting with one another.  Instead, they want us to work our tails off to support the system, they want us enslaved financially and constantly drowning in debt, and they want us addicted to television and other forms of entertainment.  They want us as numb and docile as possible.  Meanwhile, all over the globe they continue to construct a futuristic “big brother” control grid that will ensure that they will always be able to control us.

Sadly, this is not the plot to some post-apocalyptic science fiction movie.

This is really happening.

When you read the list below, each of the 32 signs may not seem to be all that significant individually.  However, when they are all taken together, they paint a truly frightening picture….

#1 The days of the free and open Internet are slowly coming to an end.  Many nations around the world have implemented strict Internet censorship and many other nations are moving in that direction.  With each passing year the level of freedom on the Internet diminishes.

Regulation of the Internet has even become a primary topic of discussion at G-8 meetings.  According to The New York Times, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is leading the charge for a more “civilized Internet”…. Read more…

Categories: Big Brother, World Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Feds to Mandate Black Box on all New Cars

May 24, 2011 Comments off

infowars

The feds will mandate next month that all new cars be fitted with a black box, according to news reports. So-called black boxes record information about speed, seat belt use and brake application.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been involved in the use of black boxes since their introduction. In 2006, the safety administration encouraged but did not require automobile manufacturers to install the systems and also did not set a single standard for the way data would be recorded, according to the New York Times.

In February, NHTSA administrator David Strickland said the government was considering making the technology mandatory in the wake of recalls of millions of Toyota vehicles. Strickland made the disclosure to a subcommittee hearing by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Now they will make the installation of these device mandatory under federal law. If we are to gauge the reaction of the corporate media, this story is not very important. Outside of industry and technology publications, the story was not reported.

Computer chip manufacturer Intel showed off its event recorder last year following the Toyota recall. “With new vehicles, there will very likely be video cameras inside and outside,” said Intel’s chief technology office, Justin Rattner, in a July, 2010, interview. “It’s not particularly new or stunning, but when you combine the cameras with GPS, you’re geo-tagging the video.”

In other words, your car – like your smart phone – may soon become a surveillance device and high-tech snooping will be mandated by the federal government.

Categories: Coming Events, GOVERNMENT, United States Tags: , , , , ,

Now, a spy plane that can be flown with or without a pilot!

May 12, 2011 Comments off

sify

A new intelligence and surveillance aircraft that falls into the category of an Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV) with its ability to be flown robotically or with a human pilot on board was unveiled recently.

It is claimed that the Firebird will allow the U.S. military to simultaneously gather real-time high-definition video, view infrared imagery, use radar and eavesdrop on communications, reports the Daily Mail.

Incredibly, it has an interface like a memory stick that can be plugged into a PC without the need for additional software.

Measuring 34ft-long and 9.7ft-high, the twin-tailed plane can reach a maximum altitude of 30,000ft and has a maximum flying time of between 24 and 40 hours, depending on its configuration.

Its wing span is 65ft and it has a pushed-propeller at the rear of its fuselage.he Firebird, which performed its first flight in February 2010, was designed and built in California’s Mojave Desert by Scaled Composites and unveiled yesterday by U.S. aero defence firm Northrop Grumman.

The aircraft was designed with the certainty of cuts in U.S. defence spending in mind.

“Firebird addresses future budgetary constraints by combining the best of our piloted and unmanned systems,” said Paul Meyer, a spokesman for Northrop Grumman.

Rick Crooks, Firebird program manager, described it as an adaptable system that is highly affordable because of the number of different missions that can be accomplished in a single flight.

The Firebird will be demonstrated in public from May 23 to June 3. It is currently unclear how much it will cost. (ANI)

Categories: spy, Technology, United States Tags: , , , , , , ,

Spying on U.S Citizens — Uncle Sam turns his multi-billion dollar espionage network on U.S Citizens

May 10, 2011 Comments off

activistpost

Massive spike in domestic spy operations, over 12,000 “special ops” personnel deployed daily, 100s of thousands of secret surveillance requests rubber stamped by crooked judges, secret illegal spy operations conducted in over 75 countries and over $11 billion spent annually to cover it all up. And this is only the tip of the iceberg that the feds were willing to declassify through various Freedom of Information Requests. Much more still remains classified in the interest of National Security.

Alexander Higgins, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

A series of previously classified documents obtained by The Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy reveals that spy operation against U.S citizens here in the homeland have spiked massively over the last year and so has the government’s cost to cover up their plethora of illegal activities.

But first a little background to explain how America has arrived to this point in the first place.

The Executive Branch of the US Government has found a loophole in the legal system that has effectively abolished the Constitution by allowing our entire bill of rights to be suspended at will. This probably best explains it: Read more…

Categories: Big Brother, United States Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,