Legal
State Senator Wants New Mexico to Consider Biometrics to Curb Voter Fraud
New Mexico State Senator and Minority Whip Bill Payne requested the secretary of state to consider implementing biometric measures, such as iris scans and thumbprint recognition, to curb potential voter fraud in New Mexico’s state elections.
Negligent Security: When Is Crime Your Problem?
This valuable whitepaper, presented by the Federation of Defense and Corporate Council Winter Meeting in March of 2011, is still timely today and shared with the SecurityHive.com community to provide a better understanding on how our companies could be liable for large jury verdicts for not providing proper secure environments. Written by Richards H. Ford of Wicker, Smith, O’hara, McCoy, and Ford, P.A., a Florida law firm, this whitepaper showcases what negligent security conditions can cost an organization via a lawsuit.
N.J. Bill Would Ease Cops? Access to Private Videos
A New Jersey bill designed to make it easier for law enforcement to use private, outdoor video cameras in investigations was approved earlier this week by an Assembly panel. The legislation would let municipalities, through an ordinance, establish a registry that would allow any owner of a private outdoor video surveillance camera to voluntarily register the camera with the local police department.
Viscount Systems Awarded Patent to Increase Security for Schools and Business During Crisis Lockdowns
Viscount Systems (OTCQB:VSYS), a leading provider of IT-based security software and services, has been awarded its third U.S. patent for its Freedom Access Control solution, building on the technology?s already strong intellectual property foundation. U.S. Patent 8907763 B2 outlines the system and method for mustering individuals during an emergency using mobile devices.
IDEX Acquires Patents for Touch Fingerprint Sensors
Fingerprint sensor firm IDEX announced it has acquired a software algorithm and patents from Metadyne Software for US$4.5 million. IDEX said the acquisition will enable the company to deliver significantly improved security and user convenience for mass market fingerprint sensor solutions.
Massena NY Teamsters Agree on Language for Security Cameras
A dispute in Massena, NY, going back to August over the installation of cameras in the Town Hall has been settled. Town Supervisor Joseph D. Gray said that officials wanted to install cameras in public buildings to ensure the safety of employees as well as visitors. But Mickey S. Smith, business agent for the Teamsters Union Local 687, questioned why cameras would be put in areas not accessible to members of the public.
Oregon Lawmakers Propose Bill Allowing Body Cameras, Citizens Recording Police
Oregon lawmakers are working on a bill that would require the state’s police officers to wear small body cameras like the one modeled on a New York City police officer at a news conference, above. Recent high-profile police killings and the double murder of two New York City policemen have made body cameras for officers a popular idea that Oregon legislators are already moving on.
IBM: Patent Issued for Automatically Determining Field of View Overlap Among Multiple Cameras
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has been issued patent number 8913791, according to news reports. The patent’s inventors are Datta, Feris, and Pankanti, Zhai. This patent was filed on March 28, 2013 and was published online on December 16, 2014.
X-Band RADAR Blimps Over Washington DC Tracks Aircraft, Cars, and Boats
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Maryland – After a protracted development program, The U.S. Army is planning to finally deploy by year?s end the first of its new airships designed to aid in air and missile threat detection for the Northeastern U.S. The deployment is highlighting what some in the nation?s defense establishment say is a vulnerability in U.S. homeland protection: the ability to detect a cruise missile targeting a U.S. city.
Drone on Drones: New Court Decision Reflects Shifting Views on Privacy in Public
Whenever drone policy is raised as a topic, privacy concerns follow close behind it as a discussion point. The idea of aerial surveillance that is cheaper, less time-intensive, and requires fewer man hours to get off the ground leads immediately to concerns about the development of a surveillance state, where individuals can be monitored round the clock, and every public action can be recorded for posterity.
Lawsuit Blames San Diego Mall in Shooting Deaths of 3 in Its Parking Lot
A San Diego shopping mall was negligent in not providing better security measures that might have prevented the Christmas Eve shooting deaths of three persons in its parking lot, a lawsuit asserts.
Filed by attorney Daniel Gilleon in San Diego County Superior Court, the lawsuit says that the mall’s owner, Westfield Centers, ?failed to use reasonable care to protect their patrons, guests, tenants and invitees.?
Federal Court Agrees With EFF, Throws Out Six Weeks of Warrantless Video Surveillance
As we have been following on SecurityHive.com, the use as evidence of video surveillance of a camera pointed at the front of a home (or business) from a "public vantage point" is working its way through the courts. Where an Appeals Court had previous allowed such evidence, now a judge has ruled that such evidence gathering activities violates the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As posted on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s website: The public got an early holiday gift today when a federal court agreed with us that six weeks of continually video recording the frontyard of someone’s home without a search warrant violates the Fourth Amendment.
Patent Issued for Object Recognition for Security Screening and Long Range Video Surveillance
News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The present disclosure relates generally to computer vision, and more particularly, to security screening and long range video surveillance using computer vision. “Security screening systems inspect checked and hand baggage, cargo, containers, passengers, etc. for content, such as, explosives, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), firearms, contraband, drugs, etc. They play a key role in the Homeland Defense/Security strategy for increased safety in airports, air and sea traffic. For instance, since August 2010 the government has mandated 100% air cargo screening, with possible extension to sea cargo. State-of-the-art security screening systems require improvement in a number of aspects. This includes (a) efficient and effective automation for improved throughput and focused operator attention and (b) a systems view and integration of various components in screening, e.g., reconstruction, segmentation, detection, recognition, visualization, standards, platform, etc., to achieve an efficient screening workflow.
NZ Terrorism Surveillance Laws Complete Second Reading
Terrorism surveillance laws in New Zealand have completed their second reading and are set to pass into law later tonight under Urgency rules. This may be a tiny island nation in the South Pacific, but New Zealand could be a bell weather item for other countries to adopt similar laws dealing with video surveillance capabilities.
BBB Video Surveillance Cameras Tip of the Week
Many people understand the dangers of hackers accessing webcams. A simple fix is to place a sticker over the pinhole camera lens. Perhaps lesser known is the focus of hackers and thieves on wireless cameras used for security. Internet protocol cameras, also called IP or wireless cameras, are often used to monitor homes and small businesses. Nanny cams are usually wireless also. If set up improperly or accessed in an unsecure manner, video data can become open to the public.
NJ Bill Calling for Police Registry of Security Cameras Coming Into Focus
When a bad guy abducted a woman off the street in Philadelphia a few weeks ago and she was rescued when his car was located in Maryland, I marveled at the black box technology that found the vehicle. Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, D-Essex, NJ, was even more impressed with a nearby store’s video camera that recorded the entire incident and identified the car. So he crafted bill A-3843 permitting a municipality to enact an ordinance establishing a private outdoor video surveillance camera registry, requiring owners of such cameras to register them with police.
Viscount Systems Secures Second U.S. Patent for IT-Centric Freedom Access Control Platform
Viscount Systems (OTCQB:VSYS), a leading provider of IT-based security software and services, announced it has received a second U.S. patent for its Freedom Access Control solution, building on the technology?s strong IP foundation. U.S. Patent 8854177 B2 outlines the system and method for storing user permissions for multiple disparate physical devices in a unified permissions database, connected to a network in common with the products.
Michigan House Commerce Committee Members: NO on H.B. 5189
[EDITOR’S NOTE: It appears that many are still uneducated as to the realities of the value and preventive realities of video surveillance installations.] The Michigan House Commerce Committee will be hearing testimony this morning regarding HB 5189, the Jessica Heeringa law, which requires 24-hour gas stations to install costly surveillance equipment and maintain a minimum of two employees during overnight hours.
Website Views Over 70,000 Unsecured Security Cameras via Default Passwords
One of the major vulnerabilities of these network IP-cameras is that unless the purchaser of said network IP-caemra changes the default username and password of the camera, it can be viewed by anyone in the world. SecurityHive.com has come across a website that streams video from unsecured video cameras that employ default usernames and passwords.
Privacy Rights Group Opposing FBI?s Biometric Database Wins Court Ruling
A privacy rights group concerned about the implications of the FBI?s nationwide biometric database has won a lawsuit against the FBI for the legal costs that led to the disclosure of hundreds of pages detailing the FBI?s Next Generation Identification (NGI) database, which includes biometrics such as iris scans, palm prints, and facial recognition.