Privacy

‘Fever detection’ cameras to fight coronavirus? Experts say they don’t work

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‘Fever detection’ cameras to fight coronavirus? Experts say they don’t work

Vo isn't the only business owner interested in experimenting with thermal imaging cameras to surveil people's body temperatures as a tactic to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

NBC News found more than 10 security companies in the U.S., Europe and China that are marketing technologies as capable of picking out who in a crowd is likely to have a fever, and thus a possible coronavirus case. These companies are actively pitching to police departments, government agencies, schools, hospitals and private businesses.

John Honovich, the founder of IPVM, a trade publication that investigates and reviews security cameras, said thermal cameras are "bar-none clearly the hottest selling item in video surveillance right now, and companies are scrambling to get products all over the place."

De Blasio’s social distancing tip line flooded with obscenities

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De Blasio’s social distancing tip line flooded with obscenities

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s critics let him know how they really felt about him ordering New Yorkers to snitch on each other for violating social-distancing rules — by flooding his new tip line with crank complaints including “dick pics” and people flipping the bird, The Post has learned.

Photos of extended middle fingers, the mayor dropping the Staten Island groundhog and news coverage of him going to the gym have all been texted to a special tip line that de Blasio announced Saturday, according to screenshots posted on Twitter.

This makes me proud to be a New Yorker. 

Here’s the File Clearview AI Has Been Keeping on Me, and Probably on You Too – VICE

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Here’s the File Clearview AI Has Been Keeping on Me, and Probably on You Too – VICE

We used the California Consumer Privacy Act to see what information the controversial facial recognition company has collected on me.

It's a little creepy how powerful computers have gotten and how powerful face recognition is but it's here to stay. Once the cat is out of the bag, it's kind of hard to put it back in. That said, we can control and limit how our democratically-elected institutions use such data, making sure law enforcement and politicians use it for only for lawful purposes. But I am sure, it won't be long before every large business has a database on everyone that walks into their store, what time they come and go, what they buy, and tie it back to our social media posts. Data and processing only gets cheaper.

How the CIA used Crypto AG encryption devices to spy on countries for decades – Washington Post

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How the CIA used Crypto AG encryption devices to spy on countries for decades – Washington Post

National Security ‘The intelligence coup of the century’ For decades, the CIA read the encrypted communications of allies and adversaries. By Greg Miller Feb. 11, 2020

For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret.

The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. Flush with cash, it became a dominant maker of encryption devices for decades, navigating waves of technology from mechanical gears to electronic circuits and, finally, silicon chips and software.

The Swiss firm made millions of dollars selling equipment to more than 120 countries well into the 21st century. Its clients included Iran, military juntas in Latin America, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, and even the Vatican.

But what none of its customers ever knew was that Crypto AG was secretly owned by the CIA in a highly classified partnership with West German intelligence. These spy agencies rigged the company’s devices so they could easily break the codes that countries used to send encrypted messages.

SQ8 Spy camera Manual – BFA: Cool Aliexpress Products

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How to operate SQ8 Mini DV Camera : SQ8 Spy camera Manual – BFA: Cool Aliexpress Products

The manual that comes with these camera’s is terrible so im going to clear it up for you with my own easy to understand SQ8 Mini DV Camera manual. Note: Videos are saved as avi files. I have added a video at the bottom of this article if you would prefer a visual demonstration.

I ordered one of these from China for under $6 including shipping. Will it work or be a waste of money? I don't know, but I thought I could use it for some interesting little projects. These cameras are so small, and depending on the video quality I could use it for future videos for the blog, as a cheap trail camera or around camp. There are so many different inexpensive "spy" and "mini" cameras on AliExpress.

Spies Are More Common, and Boring, Than You Think

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Spies Are More Common, and Boring, Than You Think

How many spies are there anyway? Many Americans were surprised in 2018 by allegations that a Russian woman, Mariia Butina, had infiltrated the National Rifle Association and was having sex with well-placed men, in the hopes of receiving information for Russia. Politico has reported that Russia and China are significantly stepping up their spying operations in Silicon Valley, to extract useful tech knowledge.

I think Americans underestimate the extent of spying in their midst. Because we do not know the number of operating spies, that’s a hard hypothesis to test, but there are a number of reasons to find it plausible.