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Eyes on the Street: How Traffic Surveillance Invades Your Privacy
Credit: DreamstimeIs it cutting-edge, or just downright creepy? Surveillance technology is increasingly being implemented in municipalities across the country. But while such gadgets aim to curtail crime and decrease traffic accidents, some people are wondering about the costs to both town budgets and privacy.
“Overall, we wonder if the costs will outweigh the benefits,” said Jay Stanley, a Washington, D.C.-based senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Policy and Technology Project.
Such technology, which includes everything from neighborhood video cameras, red-light cameras and, most recently, parking-space sensors, is popping up faster than mushrooms in a shady forest.
“Over the last several years, traffic-centric surveillance applications Read more…
Atlanta video surveillance center to open
Did you ever get the feeling someone is watching you? If you walk down one of Atlanta’s busy streets, you’re probably right. The police department will keep an even closer eye on the city with a new surveillance camera system they say will help them fight crime.
Monitors stretch from the floor to the ceiling. Police scan every movement on the street in what looks like a scene from a futuristic movie.
It’s the Atlanta Police Department’s new operation shield video integration center, the place where police coordinate and watch more than 100 cameras, mostly downtown, as they keep an eye out for crime.
“When you have an Read more…
Police Can Track Your Cell in Real Time
Source: WCTV
In a case more interesting for its look at the state of modern tracking technology and the brave new world we all live in than for its legal ramifications, a Florida appeals court said Wednesday the police didn’t violate a drug dealer’s rights when they used his cell phone to pinpoint his whereabouts as he drove across the state.
While the legal outcome of the case may catch some people off guard (any idea how close the government can get to your cell phone with GPS?), the legal issue breaks no new ground. The question in the case has already been answered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal said the Read more…
GPS Jammers In Action
North Korean mobile jammers
Hackers may target cars next, McAfee says
(Credit: McAfee/Wind River)Think of it as carjacking for the Digital Age.
The increasingly sophisticated systems running a car may lead to new vulnerabilities, according to a study (PDF) released today from security software provider McAfee in partnership with mobile software provider Wind River and embedded security provider Escrypt. Those systems could allow hackers to take control of the car, track its location, and even access devices that are connected to it, including smartphones and tablets carrying valuable personal data.
The potential threat comes as hackers have increasingly shown a willingness to attack companies, government officials and agencies, and even Hollywood. Hacker groups such as Anonymous have caused headaches as they have stolen and released private information.
Those same threats could arrive in your Read more…
5 Unexpected Places You Can Be Tracked With Facial Recognition Technology
Once people realized that Facebook was basically harvesting biometric data, the usual uproar over the site’s relentless corrosion of privacy ensued. Germany even threatened to sue Facebook for violating German and EU data protection laws and a few other countries are investigating. But facial recognition technology is hardly confined to Facebook — and unlike the social networking site, there’s no “opt-out” of leaving your house.
Post-9/11, many airports and Read more…
Futuristic ‘airships’ planned for North
A British manufacturer hopes to build a fleet of airships for Yellowknife’s Discovery Air to supply remote communities and enterprises in the North, the two companies say.
The futuristic giant blimps from Hybrid Air Vehicles would cost $40 million each, Discovery Air Innovations, a Quebec-based subsidiary of Discovery Air, announced after signing a tentative deal with HAV.
The aircraft use a mix of non-flammable helium and air power to fly and can land on almost any surface, HAV says on its website.
They’ll be able to carry up to Read more…
Tiny Military Surveillance Robot
China tests first helicopter gunship
Less than a month following reports that Pakistan allowed China to view the remains of the top-secret stealth helicopter that SEAL Team 6 left behind at the bin Laden compound, China has begun combat testing of its first home-made helicopter gunship. ITN News on the growing military power’s publicity stunt to unveil the aircraft:
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