US Justice Department free to track mobile phone users
[theregister.co.uk] The American Civil Liberties Union has revealed that the FBI no longer feels the need for judicial or operator oversight when deploying base station-faking technology to detect mobile phones. This capability is nothing new, but previously it was assumed that a warrant was needed before the FBI started tracking phones and that the network […]
Malaysia: Police force wins international award for high-tech system
KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Police has won the prestigious global Government Technology Awards (Wireless Government) for its implementation of the C4i (command and control, communications and computer integration) system. The force was the sole winner from Malaysia in the FutureGov Summit 2008 in Bali, Indonesia, on Oct 15-17. It beat more than 450 nominations […]
Police vet live music, DJs for ‚terror risk‘
[theregister.co.uk] A dozen London boroughs have implemented a "risk assessment" policy for live music that permits the police to ban any live music if they fail to receive personal details from the performers 14 days in advance. The demand explicitly singles out performances and musical styles favoured by the black community: garage and R&B, and […]
In-flight surveillance could foil terrorists in the sky
CCTV cameras are bringing more and more public places under surveillance – and passenger aircraft could be next. [newscientist.com] A prototype European system uses multiple cameras and "Big Brother" software to try and automatically detect terrorists or other dangers caused by passengers. The European Union’s Security of Aircraft in the Future European Environment (SAFEE) project […]
Coast Guard Wants Drones for Cheap
[blog.wired.com] When the Coast Guard launched "Deepwater," its ambitious plan for a networked fleet in 2002, it included a futuristic tiltrotor drone intended to "exponentially increase the ocean area [the Coast Guard] can search." The plan to buy these Eagle Eye robo-craft, built by Bell, accounted for up to $1 billion of Deepwater’s then-$17-billion cost. […]
Want some torture with your peanuts?
[washingtontimes.com] A senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser®. According to this promotional video found at the Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc. website, the bracelet would be worn by […]
The Romanian-Moldavian border, a top concern for the EU
[france24.com] The European Union is sending Western policemen into Romania to help Bucarest protect itself from illegal immigration. Illegal crossings at the Romanian-Moldavian border have doubled since last year. Right here at the border between Romania and Moldavia the European Union struggles to protect itself from illegal immigration. As a result, since joining the European […]
WHERE DO WE STAND TODAY? Alternative consultation on the future of EU Justice & Home Affairs policy
Complete the alternative JHA consultation now [49 multiple choice questions, opens in pop-up window] [ecln.org] The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the future priorities in the field of Justice and Home Affairs policy. The EU has been developing its ‚Area of freedom, security and justice‘ – measures concerning police cooperation, counter-terrorism, immigration, […]
Civil protection financial instrument
Second Call for Proposals: Simulation Exercises in the field of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism [ec.europa.eu] Simulation exercises organised at Community level are designed primarily as field tests aiming mainly at establishing a common understanding of the cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions and to improve the quality of the response in major emergencies.
EU Policy – Have Your Say on the Future
Complete the alternative JHA survey now [49 multiple choice questions] [ecln.org] The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the future priorities in the field of Justice and Home Affairs policy. The ECLN has produced an alternative questionnaire to provoke a more wide ranging debate about EU policy and practice. Why? About the ECLN […]
UK: The DNA database and you
[theregister.co.uk] Special Report The National DNA Database (NDNAD) keeps growing: it now holds more than five million DNA profiles of individuals. Getting off the database, if you have been sampled by England or Wales forces, remain as unlikely as ever. And it remains difficult to make sense of the stats bandied at us, with the […]
Trick or Treat?
[aviationweek.com] One of the many entertainments at this week’s Air Show China will be trying to sort out projects from pipe dreams in the unmanned aerial vehicles arena. The halls of the show are littered with unmanned aerial vehicles of all shapes and sizes, including a bright yellow flying saucer. Others, such as the Warrior […]
‘War on terror’ moves into cyberspace
[themuslimweekly.com] Britain’s security agencies are fighting a covert war in cyberspace against extremist internet sites as part of a new anti-terrorist strategy, senior Whitehall officials revealed this week. The scheme is part of measures being introduced at a time when the threat level is described as being «at the severe end of severe», with, officials […]
U.S. Takes Battle Against Iraq Violence to Border
[washingtonpost.com] ZURBATIYAH, Iraq — For thousands of Iranians, traveling to Iraq through this bustling, dusty gateway now requires stopping at small white trailers where U.S. officials take their photos and record scans of their irises and fingerprints. U.S. officials collect the biometric information of virtually all "military-age men" in an effort to stop the entry […]
Maritime security and satellite surveillance
[gmes-mariss.com] The MARISS project is the first phase of a pan-European activity to demonstrate the utility and value of integrating information derived from satellite Earth Observation with conventional data streams for improved maritime border control and maritime situation awareness. It is intended to deliver prototype customised information services to national and European government agencies responsible […]
Terrorizing Dissent
The Election Cut [terrorizingdissent.org] Glass Bead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia, and other independent media activists have released a new film, ‚Terrorizing Dissent‘, an exposé of events at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
„Deep Search“ -The digital future of finding out
World-Information Institute Conference Sat. 08.11.2008 10:30 – 20:00 Austria Trend Hotel Savoyen Vienna Free entrance, conference language is english [world-information.org] With the explosion of information in all shades and languages, issues of orientation and navigation in the oceans of knowledge pose themselves with renewed urgency. Information is useless if it cannot be found and it […]
Turkish police may have beaten encryption key out of TJ Maxx suspect
[news.cnet.com] When criminals turn to disk encryption to hide the evidence of their crimes, law enforcement investigations can hit a brick wall. Where digital forensics software has failed to recover encryption passwords, one tried and true technique remains: violence. It is is this more aggressive form of good cop bad cop behavior which the Turkish […]
Pepper Gun, Laser, Flashlight Combo Brings the Pain
[blog.wired.com] Sure, it looks like an ordinary, high-powered flashlight. Until it zaps you with a laser, and shoots you with pepper spray bullet. Then you double over in pain. The PepperBall Technologies company just rolled out a sadomasochistic torture consumer safety device — presumably to compete with those stun guns that Taser International is trying […]
Air Force creates new pilot programs for drones
[ap.google.com] Scrambling to meet commanders‘ insatiable demands for unmanned aircraft, the Air Force is launching two new training programs, including an experimental one that would churn out up to 1,100 desperately needed pilots to fly the drones over Iraq and Afghanistan. As many as 700 Air Force personnel have expressed some interest in the test […]