Privacy
How Police Body Cameras Change Our Perception Of Right And Wrong
There was something about the sudden, near-universal praise for police body cameras that rubbed Seth Stoughton the wrong way. A law professor at the University of South Carolina who has spent his career studying the regulation of law enforcement, Stoughton saw the potential of equipping thousands upon thousands of American police officers with cameras recording […]
Workplace Biometric Technology Outpacing the Law
Whether they’re clocking in to work, trying to enter a secure room or driving a company car, many workers are finding that the procedures for these everyday workplace occurrences are changing. To improve efficiency, combat fraud, and boost employee health and safety, employers increasingly are adopting biometric devices. Biometric technology analyzes the unique characteristics of a person through his or her fingerprints, irises, retinas, hand geometry, facial patterns, voice patterns or DNA information.
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.
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.
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.
Natural Security Alliance Unveils New Privacy Rules Around Biometric Security
According to its announcement, the Natural Security Alliance’s new Privacy Rules help biometric authentication systems dictate an organization’s obligations when collecting and handling personal data. Essentially the new Privacy Rules helps ensure that biometric data is secure and confidential, minimizing the risk of misuse, and that the data subject (ie. the person whose data is stored) has consented to the data collection and that they have some control over their data and its use.
Ex-Lowell MA Library Aide Claims Foul Over City’s Surveillance
Former Pollard Memorial Library Assistant Diane Cloutier says the city of Lowell’s surveillance of her constitutes an invasion of privacy. The city’s hiring of private investigators to covertly track employees suspected of wrongdoing has uncovered fraud and led to disciplinary measures in a number of cases. But for the first time, Lowell’s use of investigators […]
Some Claim Boston Schools Go Too Far With Audio Surveillance Of School Buses
EDITORIAL – Matthew J. Lee, Bostom Globe staff – A new video camera system is installed above the drivers seat in a Boston school bus. Boston’s school department has offered no evidence that incidents of bullying or other misbehavior have increased to the point where both audio and video surveillance of students […]
Next Generation Of Public Surveillance Technology Already Here
CCTV is everywhere in Britain, but it isn’t as effective as we think. Smile, you’re on camera: the UK is one of the most closely-watched societies in the world. According to Cheshire police, last year there was one CCTV unit for every 11 people in the country and the average person was caught on CCTV […]
White Rock Pub Raises Eyebrows With Video Camera In Men’s Washroom
The security camera at the Sandpiper Pub is aimed at the sinks and hand-drying area of the men’s washroom. Bill Lawrence, co-owner of the pub and a White Rock councillor, says the camera housing is in plain view. The ceiling-mounted camera is not aimed at urinals or stalls. A camera in the men’s washroom at […]
EFF And 31 Other Organizations Call For Privacy Assessment Of FBI’s Biometric Database
The FBI plans to roll out the face recognition component of its massive Next Generation Identification (NGI) biometrics database this summer – but the Bureau has six years of catching up to do in explaining to Americans exactly how it plans to collect, use, and protect this data. Today we called on Attorney General Eric […]
Civil Liberties Groups Reject IBIA Biometric “Best Practices” Recommendations
The International Biometrics and Identification Association (IBIA) recently issued a “best practices” document listing numerous recommendations on how to best deploy biometric technology for commercial situations. The IBIA is participating in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) effort to develop a voluntary code of conduct that specifies how the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights […]
Scapegoating Face Recognition Technology As Privacy Wormhole Doesn’t Solve Anything
Facial recognition technology is facing a blitz of negative media with wormhole-like theories that this technology results in mass surveillance, destroys anonymity, and will forever change the way people behave in public. Advocates of this theory are calling for federal privacy regulation that will give a face a right of privacy it has never had […]
Chicago Security Camera Surge Sparks Concerns Of ‘Massive Surveillance System’
Between traffic-light cameras, blue-light cameras that scan neighborhoods for violent crime, cameras on board city trains and buses —not to mention private security cameras— there are few places you can go in Chicago without being monitored. In the metropolis known as the City of Big Shoulders, it seems Big Brother really is watching. At last […]
Hide From Surveillance By Wearing A Mask Of This Artist’s Face
By Zach Sokol: There’s this really funny scene in Infinite Jest where David Foster Wallace imagines a future where video phone calls make people so self-conscious and insecure that they begin wearing masks with other peoples’ faces on them to assure themselves. While the book was written in 1996, before the public was aware of […]
The New Big Brother: Your Neighbors – Households Urged To Stop Using CCTV To Film Those Living Next Door
Fears of excessive state surveillance are commonplace. But it seems the real spies could be closer to home – the neighbors. Members of the public have been urged to stop using CCTV to film those living next door after a surge in complaints. Tony Porter, the Surveillance Camera Commissioner, appealed to people’s ‘common decency’, saying […]
Branford CT Neighbor Dispute Centers On Property Line, Surveillance Camera
Kamran Farid, owner of the home on the right, is taking the owners of the home on the left (Bob and Michelle DiLieto) to court, alleging the couple’s fence is encroaching on his property. The common property dispute has a twist — the DiLietos are accusing Farid of illegal surveillance, arguing that the camera (mounted […]
The Inherent Conflict Between Security And Privacy
For families, companies, and even nations, there is a struggle between security and privacy. While an individual may have some expectation of privacy or right to safeguard his or her identity, ensuring security relies on monitoring and assessing all activity on a given network or endpoint in order to determine if there is anything suspicious […]