Electronic Surveillance and Biometrics

Tenants Fuming as Flats Turned into ‘Big Brother House’ with 112 CCTV Cameras Installed Inside

August 29, 2009

Daily Mail - Furious tenants say security cameras have turned their flats into a huge Big Brother house.

It comes after a housing trust installed up to 112 CCTV cameras in their eight three-storey blocks and pointing towards residents’ front doors.

People living there say the move is an invasion of their privacy and fear they will be spied on 24 hours a day.

Tenant Phillip Mays, 44, was one of the first to be affected after a camera was installed outside his flat.

He said: ‘They’ll be able to sit watching who comes and goes into each of our flats 24 hours a day.

‘If we were in prison we could expect security like that, but not in our own home.

‘It’s like Big Brother on TV, watching us all day. It’s a breach of our civil rights and privacy.’

Residents living in the flats in Torquay, Devon, first heard about the CCTV in July when the Riviera Housing Trust wrote to them. The housing association explained the cameras would be installed to monitor and manage anti-social behaviour and crime on the estate.

Most welcomed it, but now that work has begun, they have learned the extent of the cameras – up to 112 at a cost of more than £375,000. And they have also being told they will have to pay an extra £2 a week in rent to pay for it.

Mother Donna Brook, 32, was recently burgled and sees the need for cameras – but on the outside of the flats, rather than the inside.

She said: ‘They [the cameras] can see every person coming and going through everyone’s front door. ‘It is an invasion of our privacy.’

And another mother, Jenny Goldsworthy, 34, who has lived in Pendennis Road for 12 years, said: ‘I think it’s terrible. I can’t do anything any more. I feel like we have been invaded.’

Resident Kevin Gaskell, 52, said: ‘The people round here are trying to deal with problems in a civil way, without breaking any laws, and that doesn’t give Riviera Housing Trust the right to come and stuff cameras in here and charge us for the privilege.’

But not everyone is totally against the move. Steve Brinsley, 50, who has lived on the estate for 28 years, said:

‘I don’t like the way the government are recording everyone, but I am willing to accept a bit less freedom for a bit more safety and peace of mind.

‘In the 28 years I have been here there have been children lighting fires in the hallways and causing damage.

‘I have been burgled twice and if CCTV had been installed it would have caught them.’

The head of Riviera Trust’s neighbourhood services, Elizabeth Heatley, said the cameras were an ‘added safety measure’ and will be in communal areas only to help deter incidents of vandalism or anti-social behaviour which have been a problem for residents in the past.

She said that residents were consulted and the Trust took on board their feedback.

‘We are unable to provide exact locations and numbers of CCTV cameras as we believe it would compromise the security of the residents.

‘We do, however, want to reassure residents that Riviera staff members will only gain access to view the footage should there be an incident regarding criminal activity, anti-social behaviour or vandalism.

‘We are keen to gather feedback from our residents once works have been completed to see how they are getting on with the new security features’.

She said that work was including new doors, electrically operated door systems, fire alarms, and floor coverings, as well as the CCTV cameras.

‘We see this as a positive step for residents and it is designed to make them feel more safe and secure in their homes. If they have any concerns or queries we are only too happy to talk to them and discuss them further.’

Resident Philip Mays admitted there had been problems on the estate but that 90 per cent of them were sorted out among residents themselves.

‘These cameras will stop people socialising together. When we associate, we will be watched.’

Fibre Optics to Detect Sound of Terror and Protest

August 21, 2009

Independent - Scientists have perfected a new technology that can transform a fibre optic cable into a highly sensitive microphone capable of detecting a single footstep from up to 40km away.
Guards at listening posts protecting remote sensitive sites from attackers such as terrorists or environmental saboteurs can eavesdrop across huge tracts of territory using the new system which has been created to beef up security around national borders, railway networks, airports and vital oil and gas pipelines.

Devised by QinetiQ, the privatised Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), the technology piggybacks on the existing fibre optic communication cable network, millions of miles of which have been laid across.

Trials have already been staged in Europe to use the OptaSense system, which evolved out of military sonar and submarine technology, on railways to prevent vandals or thieves trespassing on high-speed lines as well as to counter terrorism. It has been deployed by several blue chip oil companies to protect energy pipelines which run through some of the most lawless and remote regions of the world.

...It is hoped the technology will be rolled out to enhance security arrangements at prestige sites, among them Heathrow’s Terminal 5 or the Olympic Games and to protect major gatherings of world leaders such as during the G8, which has become an increasing magnet for protest movements.

The system works by picking up tiny seismic waves detected under the ground by the fibre optic cable which carries an optical pulse sent from a central computer. Virtual “microphones” created remotely every 10 metres along the cable register the vibrations through the ground. The patterns caused by the disturbances are then matched to digitally pre-sampled sounds such as footsteps, cars or diggers and the information fed back to a command centre where security personnel are able to deploy drones or even armed response teams to check out the threat.

The system is sensitive enough to detect sounds 40km away, along the line of the cable. It can also pick up sounds perpendicular to the cable: the sound of someone approaching on foot 30 metres away or a vehicle 50 metres away.

At present, the microphones are not able to pick up the sound of human speech. Magnus McEwen-King, managing director of OptaSense, said:

“We take a standard telecoms cable and, without changing its structure, install our technology to create thousands of virtual microphones along the length of the cable.

“What you get is an intelligent hearing device, buried underground, which can monitor borders, perimeters or property for intruders. Optasense not only detects but identifies an approaching threat and alerts you to the location so that you can take necessary action to prevent intentional or accidental damage.

“People are amazed when they see that it can be configured to tell different types of vehicles apart? or tell if a person is walking or running towards the area you are monitoring.”

Company Developing Under-the-Skin Devices to Detect ‘Bio-Threats’

August 22, 2009

WorldNetDaily - A Florida-based company that boasts selling the world’s first and only federally approved radio microchip for implanting in humans is now turning its development branch toward “emergency preparedness,” hoping to produce an implant that can automatically detect in its host’s bloodstream the presence of swine flu or other viruses deemed a “bio-threat.”

VeriChip Corporation currently sells a small, under-the-skin Radio Frequency Identification capsule, or RFID, that patients can opt to have implanted, containing a number computer-linked to their medical records, enabling doctors with a special reader to access the information even if the patient is unconscious or unidentified. The company boasts its microchip, roughly the size of a grain of rice, is the only such implant approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

But VeriChip has also turned its attention to other uses for the technology, including microchips that be used to tag and log human remains after a disaster and implants the company hopes will be able to warn if their host is infected with the H1N1 swine flu virus, the H5N1 bird flu virus or other pandemic agents deemed to be a “bio-threat.”

VeriChip is working with a Minnesota company, Receptors LLC, to develop the virus-detection technology.

“As we continue to build on our partnership with Receptors, which started with the development of a glucose-sensing RFID implantable microchip, we are moving beyond patient identification to sensors that can detect and identify illnesses and viruses such as influenza,” said Scott R. Silverman, chairman of VeriChip, in a statement. “This is an exciting next step for the future of our healthcare division.”

According to a joint white paper released earlier this year by both companies called “An Integrated Sensor System for the Detection of Bio-Threats from Pandemics to Emerging Diseases to Bio-Terrorism,” the research’s goal is to transform existing glucose-detection technology into pinpointing viruses instead, then couple it with an “in vivo” – meaning implanted inside a living organism – microchip that can alert others of the virus’ presence.

The ultimate goal is to develop an implant that can also diagnose which virus is infecting the host.

VeriChip has also announced earlier this month additional forays into emergency preparedness through its VeriTrace system.

According to a statement, the company sold a VeriTrace system, including 1,000 RFID microchips, to Kentucky’s Green River District Health Department “for disaster preparedness and emergency management needs.”

The company explains that VeriTrace, a separate system from its virus detection or patient records technology, was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, where it was used by the Federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. The system includes the microchips, a Bluetooth handheld reader, a customized camera that receives both RFID scanned data and GPS data wirelessly, and a web-based database for storing information and images captured during emergency response operations.

The microchips are implanted in human remains following a disaster or, according to one report from the Katrina catastrophe, duct-taped to bones, in order to maintain detailed records, particularly in events that result in hundreds or thousands of fatalities.

“This database ensures the precise collection, storage and inventory of all data and images related to remains and the associated evidentiary items,” the statement boasts. “This also allows the recreation of an accurate and complete reconstruction of a disaster setting, crime scene or similar setting where recreation is necessary.”

Since Hurricane Katrina, the RFID Journal reports, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Hawaii Department of Health, the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System and the medical examiner’s office in the Department of Heath in Erie County, N.Y, have also purchased the system. Earlier this year, VeriChip announced sales to Maryland’s Calvert Memorial Hospital and to Mercer and Atlantic counties in New Jersey.

WND contacted VeriChip seeking information on its progress in developing the virus detection technology and other emergency preparedness microchip implants, but received no response.

WND previously has reported on such chips when hospitals used them to identify newborns, VeriChip desired to embed immigrants with the electronic devices, a government health event showcased them and when Wal-Mart used microchips to track customers.

IBM Uses DNA to Make Next-Gen Microchips

August 16, 2009

Reuters - International Business Machines Corp is looking to the building blocks of our bodies -- DNA -- to be the structure of next-generation microchips.

As chipmakers compete to develop ever-smaller chips at cheaper prices, designers are struggling to cut costs. Artificial DNA nanostructures, or "DNA origami" may provide a cheap framework on which to build tiny microchips, according to a paper published on Sunday in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Microchips are used in computers, cell phones and other electronic devices.

"This is the first demonstration of using biological molecules to help with processing in the semiconductor industry," IBM research manager Spike Narayan said in an interview with Reuters. "Basically, this is telling us that biological structures like DNA actually offer some very reproducible, repetitive kinds of patterns that we can actually leverage in semiconductor processes," he said.

The research was a joint undertaking by scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center and the California Institute of Technology.

Right now, the tinier the chip, the more expensive the equipment. Narayan said that if the DNA origami process scales to production-level, manufacturers could trade hundreds of millions of dollars in complex tools for less than a million dollars of polymers, DNA solutions, and heating implements. "The savings across many fronts could add up significantly," he said.

But the new processes are at least 10 years out. Narayan said that while the DNA origami could allow chipmakers to build frameworks that are far smaller than possible with conventional tools, the technique still needs years of experimentation and testing.

Balloon Near Border Raises Privacy Concerns

August 15, 2009

CTV.ca - It's not often that a balloon makes people feel uncomfortable. But the inflatable aircraft that has been floating above the St. Clair River in recent weeks, across the border from Sarnia, Ont., is no ordinary balloon.

Officially, the "balloon" is called an Aerostat. It's a Helium-inflated aircraft that looks like a flying wing, and had been floating between 150 and 300 metres above the ground in Port Huron, Mich., since the end of last month, until a storm damaged its fabric and it was taken down for repairs.

The company that owns it, Sierra Nevada Corporation, reportedly wants to test out the new technology to see if it can sell it to U.S. Homeland Security for use as a patrolling device.
But Bradley M. Lott, a retired U.S. Marine Corps major general who is running the Aerostat testing in Port Huron, said the company's plan is to see what the aircraft can do and how it can be used in a variety of situations -- including for use in rescue operations after natural disasters or airline accidents...

The device carries a "technologically-advanced payload," Lott said, which could be configured to carry a camera, communications equipment or other materials.

But that payload -- and the powerful camera that has been training its eye on the St. Clair River while the Aerostat has being tested -- is exactly the problem issue for Sarnia residents who already put up with surveillance from helicopters, boats, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other patrols along the Ontario-Michigan border. Not to mention the flying drones that will start patrolling the border next year.

"It's unbelievable that they think they need this on a friendly nation's border," said Adam Bush, a 24-year-old Sarnia resident who opposes the Aerostat's presence on the other side of the river.

But it goes beyond the issue of U.S. defence concerns for many Sarnia residents, who say they simply do not want to be spied upon -- or potentially be spied upon -- by cameras from across the border.

Having a camera peering into Sarnia is "a clear violation of our privacy and our sovereignty," said Mayor Mike Bradley, when explaining the issue over the phone to CTV.ca.

"It's extremely creepy," said Bush, who has helped organize a cheeky protest against the Aerostat, aptly named "Moon the Balloon."

Lott said the Aerostat is, in fact, not spying on anybody and is simply tracking the river, while it is being tested.

Bradley, however, is additionally upset that no one in Sarnia was consulted as to whether the city wanted the Aerostat flying over its horizon. He's even written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, though Bradley said he has not yet received a response about the Aerostat issue.

Lott said he has tried to reach out to Bradley about his concerns -- a gesture which the Sarnia mayor acknowledges, though he does not believe that the Aerostat is keeping its camera trained solely on the St. Clair River.

"No one here is buying the argument that they are not looking at buildings," Bradley said.
Lott insists that the Aerostat is being governed by the "ethical behaviour of an ethical company" and he said Sierra Nevada Corp. is trying to "be as open as we can be" about their operations, inviting TV crews to check out the aircraft and its payload up-close.

But the controversy has shown no signs of deflating in Sarnia...

VeriChip Sells 1,000 Implantable RFID Microchips to Kentucky Health Department

August 11, 2009

tradingmarkets.com - VeriChip Corporation, a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, has sold the VeriTrace system, including 1,000 RFID microchips, for disaster preparedness and emergency management needs, for an undisclosed sum to Kentucky’s Green River District Health Department, the company said on Monday.

This is reportedly the second VeriTrace system sale by the company in last 30 days.

VeriTrace was designed to assist in the management of emergency situations and disaster recovery using implantable RFID technology.

The VeriTrace system includes a unique implantable RFID microchip, a VeriTrace Bluetooth handheld reader, a customised Ricoh 500SE Digital Camera capable of receiving both RFID scanned data and GPS data wirelessly, and a Web-enabled database for gathering and storing information and images captured during emergency response operations.

DMVs Boost Public Acceptance of Biometrics

August 7, 2009

securitydirectornews.com - A number of states throughout the country have implemented some form of facial recognition or biometric technology within their Department of Motor Vehicles and others are preparing to follow suit, said Jason King, spokesperson for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

“State DMVs aren’t just in the business of highway safety,” he said. “They’re now in the identity management business and many are looking to step up their game and improve identity protection mechanisms so folks aren’t committing photo-identity fraud.”

Currently 31 states incorporate biometric or facial recognition technology, King said.

In March, the Virginia DMV instituted a “neutral expression” policy, requiring individuals to refrain from smiling or showing their teeth when taking a photograph for their driver’s license. Melanie Stokes, a spokesperson for the Virginia DMV, said the policy was put in place because the state plans to incorporate facial recognition software into its system in the future. Before the DMV can begin using the technology, the state would need to pass legislation and allocate funding for the program. “We thought it was prudent to begin capturing photos with a neutral expression now in case lawmakers want to use the technology in the future,” she said.

While facial recognition remains a relatively young technology, its growing application in state DMVs helps boost its acceptance by the public, said Stephen Russell, chairman of 3VR Security, a developer of facial recognition technology that does not currently provide software to these state agencies.

“DMV is not a place where there’s an expectation of privacy of identity,” he said. “Not only does it protect you as a consumer from ID theft, but anything the DMV can do to stop giving the wrong IDs to someone else has the potential benefit of reducing risk of overall identity fraud.”

Biometrics Ensure Parents Leave School with the Right Kids

August 11, 2009

Security Director News (Aldie, Va.) — The Boyd School, a progressive Montessori school with seven locations in Northern Virginia, recently completed a biometric security installation designed to confirm the identity of adults entering the school as well as track students throughout the school day...

The school installed BioSafe, a biometric security solution developed specifically for the Boyd School by systems integrator New Year Tech. The system requires that adults dropping off children enter a PIN code and scan the back of their hand using Identica’s VP-II vascular scanner, said Soy Chu, president and CEO of New Year Tech. Using a touchscreen computer, adults select their children and enter any information pertaining to recent feedings, medication or other information for teachers. The system allows the adults to enter the building and notifies the teacher of the child’s expected arrival. Once the student enters the classroom, the teacher electronically checks them in and will subsequently sign children in and out of classrooms throughout the school day, allowing administrators to know the location of all children at all times...

Administrators at Boyd School had a vision for the security system they wanted, but couldn’t find a solution available in the market, said Smith. The school contacted several security integrators and were told that the system they envisioned didn’t exist and was over the top, she said. However, when administrators approached New Year Tech, “they immediately saw the potential,” she said.

It took more than a year to develop BioSafe, which New Year Tech plans to bring to market. The system was designed in a modular format so that other institutions can utilize as much or as little of the system as they want, said Chu. The school plans to integrate an IP-based camera system at its newest facility in Aldie, Va., a 46,000-square-foot former elementary school that the Boyd School recently purchased and remodeled and will open in September.

In addition, New Year Tech is looking to add more features to the system including the ability to conduct background checks, Chu said. While the Boyd School is not currently utilizing this capability, Smith said they are considering it.