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14 July 2010 Are technological advances
infringing on our right to privacy? GPS -- Global positioning chips are now appearing
in everything from U.S. passports, cell phones, to
cars. More common uses include tracking employees, and
for all forms of private investigation. Apple recently
announced they are collecting the precise location of
iPhone users via GPS for public viewing in addition to
spying on users in other ways. Internet -- Internet browsers are recording your
every move forming detailed cookies on your
activities. The NSA has been exposed as having cookies
on their site that don't expire until 2035. Major
search engines know where you surfed last summer, and
online purchases are databased, supposedly for
advertising and customer service uses. IP addresses
are collected and even made public. Controversial
websites can be flagged internally by government
sites, as well as re-routing all traffic to block
sites the government wants to censor. It has now been
fully admitted that social networks provide NO privacy
to users, while technologies for real-time social
network monitoring are already being used. The
Cybersecurity Act attempts to legalize the collection
and exploitation of your personal information. Apple's
iPhone also has browsing data recorded and stored. All
of this despite the overwhelming opposition to
cybersurveillance by citizens. RFID -- Forget your credit cards which are
meticulously tracked, or the membership cards for
things so insignificant as movie rentals which require
your SSN. Everyone has Costco, CVS, grocery-chain
cards, and a wallet or purse full of many more. RFID
"proximity cards" take tracking to a new level in uses
ranging from loyalty cards, student ID, physical
access, and computer network access. Latest
developments include an RFID powder developed by
Hitachi, for which the multitude of uses are endless
-- perhaps including tracking hard currency so we
can't even keep cash undetected. (Also see microchips
below). Traffic cameras -- License plate recognition has
been used to remotely automate duties of the traffic
police in the United States, but have been proven to
have dual use in England such as to mark activists
under the Terrorism Act. Perhaps the most common use
will be to raise money and shore up budget deficits
via traffic violations, but uses may descend to such
"Big Brother" tactics as monitors telling pedestrians
not to litter as talking cameras already do in the UK.
Computer cameras and microphones -- The fact that
laptops -- contributed by taxpayers -- spied on public
school children (at home) is outrageous. Years ago
Google began officially to use computer "audio
fingerprinting" for advertising uses. They have
admitted to working with the NSA, the premier
surveillance network in the world. Private
communications companies already have been exposed
routing communications to the NSA. Now, keyword tools
-- typed and spoken -- link to the global security
matrix. Biometrics -- The most popular biometric
authentication scheme employed for the last few years
has been Iris Recognition. The main applications are
entry control, ATMs and Government programs. Recently,
network companies and governments have utilized
biometric authentication including fingerprint
analysis, iris recognition, voice recognition, or
combinations of these for use in National
identification cards. DNA -- Blood from babies has been taken for all
people under the age of 38. In England, DNA was sent
to secret databases from routine heel prick tests.
Several reports have revealed covert Pentagon
databases of DNA for "terrorists" and now DNA from all
American citizens is databased. Digital DNA is now
being used as well to combat hackers. Microchips -- Microsoft's HealthVault and VeriMed
partnership is to create RFID implantable microchips.
Microchips for tracking our precious pets is becoming
commonplace and serves to condition us to accept
putting them in our children in the future. The FDA
has already approved this technology for humans and is
marketing it as a medical miracle, again for our
safety. Facial recognition -- Anonymity in public is over.
Admittedly used at Obama's campaign events, sporting
events, and most recently at the G8/G20 protests in
Canada. This technology is also harvesting data from
Facebook images and surely will be tied into the
street "traffic" cameras. All of this is leading to Predictive Behavior
Technology -- It is not enough to have logged and
charted where we have been; the surveillance state
wants to know where we are going through psychological
profiling. It's been marketed for such uses as
blocking hackers. Things seem to have advanced to a
point where a truly scientific Orwellian world is at
hand. It is estimated that computers know to a 93%
accuracy where you will be, before you make your first
move. Nanotech is slated to play a big role in going
even further as scientists are using nanoparticles to
directly influence behavior and decision making. |