Third time is the charm for Hennepin County cell phone spy system

March 23rd, 2010 Billy No comments

Hennepin County Sheriffs Department has received approval from its Board to purchase a Kingfish cell phone tracking system. They were denied approval twice before from the board which had reservations over privacy issues.

The equipment would be used by the sheriff’s investigations bureau, according to County Board documents. “The system acts as a mobile wireless phone tower and has the capability to find, track and/or deny mobile phone service,” the documents state.

The tracking device can receive information from all cell phones that are on, even if they are not being used.

One scenario given by law enforcement for using the KingFish is tracking abduction victims via their cell phones.

via StarTribune

Categories: Government Tags: ,

If a Tree Falls in the Woods is anyone there to spy on it?

March 19th, 2010 Billy No comments

Herman Jacob and his daughter were camping in South Carolina and found a hidden camera out in the woods. They went on to find that the US Forest service has been installing surveillance cameras since the Clinton days.

via the Island Packet and cryptogon.com

Camera in the Woods

The above image is from an art exhibit called Seeing Green. The cameras placed in the woods are actually bird houses. The artist is Colin Matthes. More info here and here. This picture is not affiliated with the above story but says a lot about it.

Categories: Cameras Tags:

Chicago Wants to Add Covert Cameras

March 11th, 2010 Billy No comments

Chicago CCTV
The city of Chicago has 3000 CCTV cameras that are operated by the police department. They are in big boxes mounted on street lamps that are clearly marked as to what they are. Now the city wants to add covert cameras that wouldn’t be identified.

via Chicago Tribune

“We have blue-light cameras all over the city,” Weis said recently during a radio interview. “I think the next stage we’re going to go to is having more covert cameras.”

Categories: Cameras Tags: , , ,

Sheriff or Stalker?

March 8th, 2010 Billy No comments

We all know that law enforcement has a serious Jonesing for new technology. They  must spend an awful lot of time surfing Engadget and reading spy thrillers. It is way easier to get grant money for futuristic weapons and spy gadgets than it is to get salary to pay for new officers.

Hennepin County (my county) has decided to curb the fuzz’s techno-lust by shooting down a request for a new gadget. The Hennepin County Board voted 4 – 3 to not approve a request for a KingFish cell phone tracking system. Not to worry though because the local lovable branch of the FBI will gladly let Hennepin County its’ KingFish system anytime it is available.

more info available via the Minneapolis Star/Tribune

My guess is that we have not heard the last of this. There are always ways to go around the vote of the County Board. Also with the vote being 4-3 all Sheriff Rich Stanek needs to do is get one member to side with him and everything is a go.

Tracking Cell Phones and the Watchers

February 24th, 2010 Billy No comments
  • Newsweek on the US Governments warrant-less tracking of cell phones.
  • Slate interviews Shane Harris about his new book the Watchers
  • NY Times reviews the Watchers

Surveillance news for Feb 18, 2010

February 18th, 2010 Billy No comments

Of course there is the fascinating spy and assassination story unfolding in Dubai featuring an assassinated Hamas leader and the Israeli Mossad.

Attack of the Drones

February 18th, 2010 Billy No comments

If you still doubt that aerial drones, similar to ones used in military combat missions, will never be used at home then think again. Recent accounts of British police using them during criminal pursuits and large demonstrations are popping up weekly. There has been very little in the way of announcements from these police departments as I’m sure they fear public backlash. This method of testing new technology and then setting policy latter is a dangerous precedent for police tactics.

Police departments keep very quiet until they have documented evidence of their new tools having caught some horrific crime. They then go on the marketing offensive, touting cost savings and the safety they will bring to officers. Like CCTV these drones will be an even easier sell here in the US because of the boost these sectors will bring to the economy. People who come out against these new systems will be labeled as anti-law enforcement or even anarchists.

Before the police have the chance to roll out such tools we need to be proactive in our opposition to such tools. These drones are not flying at 10,000 ft like their military cousins but able drop down and look in windows of houses. The real push will come from the private sector which stands to make millions of dollars in the sale of these devices to local law enforcement.

Further reading:

Guardian UK : Eye in the sky arrest could land police in the dock
Telegraph UK : Police spy in the sky fuels ‘Big Brother’ fears

Wired magazine’s Danger Room blog has covered the use of military drones heavily. Hopefully they will turn an eye towards domestic use.

Here is a video demonstration from one of the manufactures.

The manufacture of the above product lists its possible uses:

“Our md4-1000 is used in many different applications”:

1. Aerial photography (photographer, real estate, hotels, architects & construction companies, …)
2. Aerial video (film industries, news, sport events, live events, …)
3. Archeology
4. Border control
5. Firefighters
6. Inspection services (wind generators, smoke pipes, oil rigs, pipelines, …)
7. Insurance & Reviewer
8. Military
9. Police
10. Press & Media designer
11. Scientific services (biologists, geodesists (GIS), meteorological service, …)
12. Search & Rescue
13. Security & Surveillance
14. Special Forces
15. And many more…

Categories: drones Tags: , , ,

Anonymous Strikes Again

February 10th, 2010 Billy No comments

Anonymous is back and this time its target is the Australian Government: Operation Titstorm

more info on Wired Magazines Threat Storm

Ramsey County Spy Cameras (the gateway drug)

February 2nd, 2010 Billy No comments

Sheriff Bob Fletcher

It must be nice to be Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher. He is a kid in a candy store. Over the last couple of years he has been able to fulfill his techno lust for every crime fighting device imaginable.

First he is having money thrown at him to protect the Republican National Convention and now he is given grants to install spy systems that he doesn’t even have a plan for.

The RNC allowed him to outnumber anarchists 100 – 1, with the most frightening show of force that the mid-west has ever seen. With his share of the military convention budget he was able to stockpile enough weapons, armor, chemicals and vehicles to stop a modern day Visigoth invasion.

Now he is putting up cameras around the county without a plan to monitor them. These CCTV systems have been shown by studies and experts to be a questionable expense in fighting crime. But money is no object when we talking about descent.

I’m sure next year there will be opportunities for Sheriff Bob to broaden his toolbox to include drone planes.

It is a slippery slope and allowing cameras now will only show precedence when the next technology comes along.

Categories: Cameras Tags: , ,

Wire Stories

January 28th, 2010 Billy No comments