Government vehicle surveillance database storing 250 journeys for every motorist
The average motorist has the details of 200 of their journeys stored on the Government’s controversial vehicle surveillance database, new figures have shown. By Jon Swaine [telegraph.co.uk] The records, which include photographs of private cars, can be secretly handed by ministers to the governments of other European countries or the United States. Documents released under […]
Imaging, Spy-Cams and Drones: The New Hi Tech Homeland Security State
by Tom Burghardt [globalresearch.ca] As "gee-whiz" high-tech wonders seamlessly morph into "your papers, please!," more often than not in "new normal" America science and technological innovation are little more than deranged handmaids serving corporate crime and political power. In the interest of "keeping us safe," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled a spiffy new […]
EU auf dem Weg zur „maßgebenden Weltraummacht“
Matthias Monroy Europa hat viel vor mit dem neuen Satellitenaufklärungssystem GMES: "Bekämpfung von Terrorismus und Klimawandel, Förderung einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung, industrielle Erneuerung und Konjunkturbelebung" Die Errichtung eines eigenen EU-Satellitenaufklärungssystems und die Nutzung gewonnener Daten auch durch europäische Sicherheitsbehörden ist in den letzten beiden Wochen ein entscheidendes Stück vorangekommen. In erster Lesung hatte das EU-Parlament am […]
Boeing faces prospect of scaled-back SBInet
DHS recognizes the electronic surveillance system has caused "frustration" By Alice Lipowicz [washingtontechnology.com] Boeing Co. could see its lucrative, but troubled Secure Border Initiative contract scaled back as Homeland Security Department officials consider stopping future construction of the "virtual-fence" security systems along the U.S.-Mexico border. Instead, DHS wants to augment the system with unmanned aerial […]
360-degree surveillance cam sees all
by Tim Hornyak [cnet.com] If you think standard security cameras are an invasion of your privacy, the Department of Homeland Security is testing a surveillance cam that puts others to shame. It gives law enforcement high-def, 360-degree footage of a scene. The feeds are integrated with image-stitching technology. The Imaging System for Immersive Surveillance (ISIS) […]
Nokia-Siemens admits selling surveillance system to Iran: time to regulate Homeland Security exports
Following allegations in the Wall Street Journal last June, Nokia-Siemens Networks has finally come clean and admitted that it sold surveillance technology to Iranian mobile phone operators. The technology was used by the regime in Tehran to track down dissidents during the widespread protests that followed last year’s contested re-election of Mahmud Ahmadinejad. At least 36 […]
Bridge Employees Trained to Spot Suspicious Behavior
[nationalterroralert.com] More than a month after a terrorist attempt was foiled in Times Square, employees from the New York Bridge Authority are being trained to spot and report any suspicious behavior on or around spans crossing the Hudson River. “We’re nine years since the World Trade Center bombing, but we’re only four or five weeks […]
New Zealand Police Join Virtual Global Taskforce
[police.govt.nz] New Zealand Police have today become members of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), an international group that fights online child exploitation. The agreement was signed by Superintendent Win Van Der Velde at the VGT Board Meeting in Rome. The VGT is made up of law enforcement agencies from around the world whose primary purpose […]
Criminal clues at your fingertips
A fingermark left at a crime scene may now provide investigators with details about a suspect’s medications, their diet and even their lifestyle. Thanks to a new technique developed by scientists from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK, the ability to catch a criminal just got a whole lot easier. [cordis.europa.eu] The technology behind the […]
Kommission prüft Einsatz von Sicherheitsscannern auf EU-Flughäfen
Der Einsatz von Sicherheitsscannern auf EU-Flughäfen ist Gegenstand einer heute herausgegebenen Mitteilung der Europäischen Kommission, die damit einer Forderung des Europäischen Parlaments und von Mitgliedstaaten nachkommt. [europa.eu] Nach dem versuchten Terroranschlag auf den Flug Amsterdam‑Detroit vom 25. Dezember 2009 werden Sicherheitsscanner zunehmend eingesetzt und in mehreren EU-Mitgliedstaaten, unter anderem im Vereinigten Königreich, in den Niederlanden, Frankreich […]
TNO, RAND and Israeli Counter-terrorism academy awarded €3 million EC “radicalisation and recruitment” contract
“SAFIRE” is a €3.6 million project funded under the European Security Research Programme, to which the EC is contributing €3 million. The project promises a “Scientific Approach to Fighting Radical Extremism” and has the goal of “improv[ing] fundamental understanding of radicalization processes and us[ing] this knowledge to develop principles to improve (the implementation) of interventions […]
NEWA New European WAtcher
Observing our borders from space NEWA adresses State of the Art in EU Technology and Techniques (T&T) useful for identifying and following moving objects by means of radar satellites, which could be used for smart border surveillance. The security of Europeans is increasingly dependent on space assets for enhanced border monitoring and effective law enforcement […]
Parrot AR Drone: High-Tech-Spielzeug für 300 Dollar
Christian Hieber Anfang Januar hat Parrot mit einer ersten Demo des AR Drone viel Wind gemacht. Der rund einen halben Meter große Quadrokopter lässt sich vom iPhone oder iPod touch aus fernsteuern und überträgt während seiner maximal 12 Minuten langen Ausflüge auf Wunsch auch Live-Videobilder in VGA-Größe an die zugehörige iPhone-App. [ifun.de] Doch damit nicht […]
Polizeiliche und justizielle Zusammenarbeit in Strafsachen in der Europäischen Union nach dem Vertrag von Lissabon
Prof. Dr. Hans Georg Fischer [kriminalpolizei.de] Der Vertrag von Lissabon wurde am 13. Dezember 2007 von den Staats- und Regierungschefs der Mitgliedstaaten unterzeichnet und ist nach Ratifizierung durch alle Mitgliedstaaten am 1. Dezember 2008 in Kraft getreten. Er umfasst zwei gleichrangige, einander ergänzende Vertragswerke: den Vertrag über die Europäische Union (EUV) mit grundlegenden Vorschriften über […]
Report on Military and Homeland Security relations between Spain and Israel
[neoconopticon.wordpress.com] Spanish NGOs Nova (Peace-building and active non-violence) and Centre d’Estudis per a la Pau, Justícia i Pau (Centre for Peace Studies, Justice and Peace) have published an 84 page report on military, homeland security and armaments-based relations between Spain and Israel. The report, written by Alejandro Pozo Marín, contains a critical section on the European Security Research […]
EU instrument for spying on ‚radicals‘ causes outrage
VALENTINA POP Civil rights watchdogs and MEPs have attacked new EU plans to gather data on people who voice or share "radical messages" in a bid to pre-empt terrorist attacks. [euobserver.com] Political activists labelled as "Extreme right/left, Islamist, nationalist or anti-globalisation" may in future find themselves under surveillance in line with a new, so-called, EU […]
Abordnung der Europäischen Union besucht Europäische Polizeiübung in Lehnin
Lehnin – Vertreter des Committees for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management (Ziviles Krisenmanagement der EU, CIVCOM) besuchten heute das Übungsgelände Lehnin, in dem derzeit die Europäische Polizeiübung stattfindet. Der Besuch passte indes gut zur Lage des heutigen Tages, galt es doch für die Übungskräfte den simulierten Besuch der EU-Kommissionspräsidentin im Missionsgebiet abzusichern. Im Rahmen des […]
Government under pressure to open US skies to unmanned drones despite safety concerns
Unmanned aircraft have proved their usefulness and reliability in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. Now the pressure’s on to allow them in the skies over the United States. [chicagotribune.com] The Federal Aviation Administration has been asked to issue flying rights for a range of pilotless planes to carry out civilian and law-enforcement functions […]
Europol wird internationaler Daten-Marktplatz
Matthias Monroy Mitten im Gezerre um das strittige SWIFT-Abkommen fordern US-Behörden Zugriff auf umfangreiche Datensammlungen der EU-Polizeiagentur Europol Nach heftiger Kritik und vorläufigem Scheitern des von der EU-Kommission letztes Jahr vorgeschlagenen SWIFT-Abkommens soll gemäß dem neuen Entwurf zum transatlantischen Finanzdatentausch mit den USA die Polizeiagentur Europol als Vermittlungsstelle fungieren. Damit würde ausgerechnet jene Agentur zum […]
Riot Police End Workers’ Protest at Durban Stadium
By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY DURBAN, South Africa — A World Cup Sunday that began at the soaring new arch of Durban Stadium ended in smoke and shrieks as police officers fired tear gas and what witnesses said were rubber bullets to break up a large group of protesting security guards. [blogs.nytimes.com] The altercation started shortly before […]