privacy
Video Surveillance Cameras: The Good, The Bad, And The Hype – Lessons From Boston
We hear it again and again. Video surveillance cameras can accomplish what humans can’t. There’s simply no way, we are told, in a situation like the Boston Marathon bombing, with all the thousands of people in attendance, to be able to track suspects without video footage of the scene. To try to rely merely on eyewitnesses in that case is just too difficult, if not impossible, a real case of sensory overload. The problem is that it’s not entirely true. Law enforcement, through video surveillance footage, clearly narrowed down who the suspects were. However, part of the reason they could identify them was because one of the injured, a man who lost both legs to the bomb, clearly identified an individual putting down a bag just before the blast. With the help of a sketch artist and subsequent video footage, a suspect was clearly identified. Instead of being able to plan another attack, the two brothers were suddenly on the run, and in a matter of couple of days one was dead, another captured. However, it was the combination of human intelligence and video surveillance technology that made this possible, not exclusively one or the other. After this terrible tragedy, some have asked, “But does this now mean that cameras will now be everywhere? What about privacy?” It’s hard to believe that in the year 2013 that question is still being asked. The reality is: cameras more and more are everywhere. Try to walk through any major metropolitan area […]
Source www.sdmmag.com
ACLU: More Surveillance Cameras Don’t Make You Safer
video.surveillance.205×205.jpg Big images below. In a post last month , we told you about a new website called CommunityCam , which planned to use crowd-sourcing techniques to document and map all the security cameras in public areas throughout Denver and other nearby areas . The site’s founder mainly portrayed such surveillance devices as good things — no surprise, given that his main company sells and markets them. But the ACLU of Boulder’s Judd Golden doesn’t equate more cameras with more safety and is concerned about other possible infringements on personal privacy as they proliferate. Golden isn’t new to this issue. Back in August, he talked with us about license-plate readers , which he said had the technical capability of allowing authorities to track every driver in Boulder and beyond . So it’s no surprise he looked at the CommunityCam concept with a critical eye. Here’s a CommunityCam screen capture of Colorado from our original post. community.cam.denver.1.jpg Next, take a closer look at Denver metro, with designations for the number of cameras in assorted suburbs, plus Boulder and the city itself: community.cam.denver.2.jpg Finally, here’s a zoom-in of downtown Denver, with icons marking the locations for dozens of cameras, many just steps away from each other: community.cam.denver.3.jpg In the view of CommunityCam’s Josh Daniels, maps like these provide locals with “primarily social benefits — things like being able to plan safer, monitored routes for jogging, biking and walking. Obviously, Denver has a very active outdoor population of people, and this allows […]
Source blogs.westword.com
Department Of Commerce Mulls Privacy Protections For Commercial Use Of Facial Recognition Technology
Published on 10 Dec, 2013 COMPRO Technology Inc., a leading provider of innovative video surveillance solutions, recently launched the HD Pan-Tilt-Zoom cloud network camera TN920W to the market. TN920W offers 2MP HD high quality video imaging, up to 1600×1200 resolutions. It also features 10x digital zoom, 340° pan and 100° tilt and adopting Japan design motor with fast and precise performance. In addition, TN920W supports latest cloud technology and super easy QR code installation. It is an ideal choice for homes, offices, warehouses, restaurants and hotel lobbies. TN920W not only offers unsurpassed image quality but also wide-coverage monitoring. The megapixel resolution and 75° diagonal view angle allow TN920W to capture video from a wide area, effectively reducing the number of cameras required. On top of that, TN920W features a unique design of professional-grade Mechanical IR Cut and IR LEDs for 24/7 surveillance under any kind of lighting condition. When it comes to low-light conditions, the 12 built-in IR LEDs will be switched to additional infrared light that can capture clear images even in complete darkness. As with all TN product series, TN920W is comes with free C4Home cloud app featuring 2-way audio communication, pan/tilt control on mobile phone, preset points setup, Dropbox cloud storage, motion/audio detection, audio alarm and push notification with snapshot, and share video to others. Meanwhile, with the latest version app, you can enjoy new functions as: PTZ and two-way audio controls are now possible for shared accounts Configurable sharing options for the camera owner Support […]
Source www.sourcesecurity.com
Retailers Snooping On Holiday Shoppers Raises Privacy Concerns
PHOTO: A “heat map” shows items in a store, color-coded by how much time customers have spent looking at a given item. Only Santa, maybe, knows if you’ve been naughty or nice. But management at some 1,000 retailers this holiday season knows where you’ve been standing, how long you’ve had to wait in the checkout line, and which sweater or necktie or shovel you admired most while shopping. New technologies for tracking shoppers in-store, in real time, make this possible. Some rely on signals emitted by customers’ smart phones. Another uses images from store security cameras. Prism Skylabs’ technology analyzes security camera images to give retailers “heat maps,” on which hot colors such as red or orange denote the items customers are finding most desirable. The colors are determined, say, by how long a customer has stood in front of an item or how many times the item has been handled. Jules Polonetsky, executive director of the Future of Privacy Forum, a think tank in Washington, D.C., tells ABC News that the past few years have seen more retailers adopt customer-tracking technology. Everyone from malls to big-box vendors to small coffee shops is testing some sort of system, he says. He thinks the situation has reached a turning point this shopping season with Apple’s introduction of customer location-sensing iBeacon technology, which can send a variety of information—including details on products, special offers and events—to shoppers standing near new iBeacon transmitters. Whether a tracking technology qualifies as “creepy” (Polonetsky’s word) […]
Source abcnews.go.com
Microsoft And Google Lead Coalition Demanding Limits On Government Surveillance
Edmond El Dabe Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 11, 2013 Leading California based law firm, El Dabe, is now offering extended legal services on its redesigned website. The improved website is inclusive of several new features like detailed informative blog posts, contact details as well as information on multiple legal practices offered by the firm. El Dabe Law Firm has become an established firm in multiple parts of California and is continually assisting clients in getting favorable results. Over the years, the firm has recovered millions of dollars in client settlements and is considered among the highest rated law firms in the state. El Dabe Law Firm is now offering its expert legal counsel in Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks and Huntington Beach in various practice areas including personal injury, negligence, product liability, vehicle accidents. The firm is also offering legal assistance for clients seeking help with cases of elevator injuries, escalator accidents, chemical burns and funeral home negligence. In the past decade, the firm has been successful in closing settlements favorably for cases involving vehicle accidents, slips and falls, wrongful death, dog bites, burn injuries and defective products. A new highlight of the redesigned website is the detailed blog on Injury Law Central that covers essential details on the latest lawsuits and personal injury cases in the state of California. The website’s personal blog offers informative and detailed articles on understanding personal injury laws in the state and using the right legal counsel to get favorable settlements. The topics […]
Source www.prweb.com
Mechanicsville VA Bathroom Surveillance Cameras Under Investigation
MECHANICSVILLE, VA (WWBT) – Controversy is getting served up at Mechanicsville’s Calabash Seafood Restaurant & Midway Lounge. Owner Dennis Smith installed security cameras in the men’s bathrooms, back in September. Smith says he’s paid heavy costs for repairs after repeated bathroom vandalism. He maintains no privacy laws are being violated, since no guest’s private areas are being recorded. However, the Hanover Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the camera situation. Officers executed a search warrant. The cameras were shut off. Smith says investigators are reviewing the footage. Customer Victor Little says he was shocked to spot the cameras, while having dinner at the restaurant Saturday evening. He took cell phone video of the surveillance camera, situated on the ceiling above a stall. “I was startled… I couldn’t believe there was a camera in the men’s room,” said Little. Smith says the bathrooms have been a target of damage, during the span of the restaurant’s 34 years. Smith describes an incident in August that totaled $1,000. “I had a customer go in the men’s room and tear a urinal completely off the wall, with tile…(then the man) broke a toilet,” recounted Smith of the damage. However, the cameras have caused other problems. One man was charged for ripping out one of the cameras, back in September. He says he believed his privacy rights were being violated. The incident also prompted the Hanover Sheriff’s investigation into whether any privacy laws are being broken. NBC12 legal analyst Steve Benjamin says security cameras are […]
Source www.nbc12.com
EFF Amicus Brief: Video Surveillance Of A Home For A Month Without A Warrant Violates Fourth Amendment
Profile image (Before It’s News) Just because a jogger can see the outside of your home on a public street doesn’t mean you’ve surrendered all your privacy expectations in the home. However, that seemingly obvious concept is being put to the test in a federal criminal case in Washington state, which involves the constitutionality of using a camera mounted on a pole outside a house to allow the police to watch the home for almost a month. Senior District Court Judge Edward Shea invited EFF to submit an amicus brief in the case and Monday we filed our brief , arguing prolonged warrantless video surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment . In United States v. Vargas , local police in Franklin County, Washington suspected Leonel Vargas of drug trafficking and in April 2013, installed a pole camera on a public road overlooking Vargas’ rural home . They did not get a search warrant to install or use the camera, which was pointed squarely at the front door and driveway of the home. Officers had the ability to pan the camera around and zoom in and out all from the comfort of the police station. They watched the outside of Vargas’ home for more than a month, taking notice of who visited him and what cars they were driving. They observed no criminal activity until a month after they began snooping, when officers saw him shooting a gun at beer bottles in what appeared to be target practice. Because the officer had […]
Source beforeitsnews.com
NYPD Wants Stores To Turn Security Cameras Toward Streets
Kevin Samson Activist Post New York City has become the epicenter of a massive apparatus of citizen surveillance, harassment, and control. It’s a place rife with biometrics, a city-wide camera system supplying real-time data to law enforcement, and a militarized physical presence that has turned the city into an armed encampment. New York, in fact, is the testing ground for the implementation of military-level counterterrorism operations on American soil. According to a 60 Minutes interview with Commissioner Ray Kelly , he commands a force larger than the FBI, consisting of 35,000 uniformed officers and 15,000 civilian employees. New York’s surveillance city – aka Ring of Steel – has no rival in the realm of Big Brother worship. But so far this is mostly confined to the center. However, in outlying districts, the surveillance society is yet to be imposed full force. The NYPD is now asking for businesses to cooperate in helping to make that happen. Citing a rise in violent crime in the 32nd Precint, Harlem, Commander Rodney Harrison is proposing a cooperation with local businesses dubbed “Grid Search.” The (disarmed) residents seem to be all for it: Many nearby residents said it was a splendid idea. “You’ve got a lot of these gang members out here attacking people for no reason,” said one neighbor, Dwayne. “They need to just put a lot of cameras up in storefronts to lower the crime rate.” However, the (also disarmed) business owners aren’t embracing the idea as enthusiastically: But some business […]
Source www.activistpost.com
Google Disallows Facial Recognition in Glass Apps
Worried about so-called “Glassholes” automatically identifying the faces of people around them? Google says it doesn’t want that to happen, either. The company tonight posted an update to developer policies […]
American Cities Installing Ominous Surveillance Tech Despite NSA Scandal
American cities installing ominous surveillance tech despite NSA scandal Never mind the negative press the NSA has received in recent weeks after Edward Snowden began leaking top-secret documents to the media pertaining to the United States’ spy group’s broadly scoped surveillance programs. Law enforcement agencies and local leaders in major American cities are nevertheless signing on to install new systems that are affording officials the power to snoop on just about anyone within range. Seattle, Washington and Las Vegas, Nevada are among the latest locales in the US to acquire surveillance tools, the likes of which were both discussed in regional media reports over the weekend that are making their rounds across the Web and causing privacy advocates around the world to raise their voice. Neither West Coast city has announced plans to acquire telephone metadata or eavesdrop on email traffic, and combined their operations likely pale in comparison to what the NSA has accomplished. Civil liberties activists are sounding the alarm regardless, however, after new reports revealed what kind of information city officials could collect using newly installed equipment. In Seattle, a city of around 635,000, the police department recently used a Department of Homeland Security grant for $2.6 million to purchase and put up a number of wireless access devices that together create “mesh networks” which law enforcement officials can connect to and in turn more quickly share large chunks of data, such as surveillance camera recordings and other high-res information. Those access points, or APs, do […]
Source www.scenereleases.eu
What Happens In Vegas Does NOT Always Stay In Vegas With New Recording Street Lights
Wireless street lights can play music, video, interact with pedestrians and have ‘Homeland Security’ applications like video surveillance monitors Las Vegas r esidents worry that the lights are an invasion of privacy – ‘Who’s protecting our rights? Some cities in the UK and Holland have street lights that reprimand pedestrians for minor offenses like littering By Mail Online Reporter PUBLISHED: 12:31 EST, 10 November 2013 | UPDATED: 13:34 EST, 10 November 2013 Las Vegas is currently installing Intellistreet lights to their well-lit city. But Intellistreets are not just any street-lighting system. The wireless, LED lighting, computer-operated lights are not only capable of illuminating streets, they can also play music, interact with pedestrians and are equipped with video screens, which can display police alerts, weather alerts and traffic information. The high tech lights can also stream live video of activity in the surrounding area. But there’s one major concern.These new street lights, being rolled out with the aid of government funding, are also capable of recording video and audio. Neil Rohleder with the Public Works Department told NBC News 3 in Las Vegas that the main reason for installing the new lighting system is not to record anyone or anything. ‘We want to develop more than just the street lighting component,’ Rohleder said . ‘We want to develop an experience for the people who come downtown.’ But some residents worry that the lights, which are currently being tested in and around Las Vegas City Hall, are an invasion of privacy. […]
Source js.dailymail.co.uk