Collaborate Disseminate
Seems like thermal imaging is the security theater technology of today. These features are so tempting that thermal cameras are being installed at an increasing pace. They’re used in airports and other public transportation centers to screen travelers, increasingly used by companies to screen employees and by businesses to screen customers, and even used in health care facilities to screen… Continue reading Thermal Imaging as Security Theater
I was quoted in BuzzFeed: "My problem with contact tracing apps is that they have absolutely no value," Bruce Schneier, a privacy expert and fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, told BuzzFeed News… Continue reading Me on COVAD-19 Contact Tracing Apps
I was quoted in BuzzFeed: "My problem with contact tracing apps is that they have absolutely no value," Bruce Schneier, a privacy expert and fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, told BuzzFeed News. "I’m not even talking about the privacy concerns, I mean the efficacy. Does anybody think this will do something useful?… Continue reading Me on COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps
BusKill is designed to wipe your laptop (Linux only) if it is snatched from you in a public place: The idea is to connect the BusKill cable to your Linux laptop on one end, and to your belt, on the other end. When someone yanks your laptop from your lap or table, the USB cable disconnects from the laptop and… Continue reading USB Cable Kill Switch for Laptops
MIT Technology Review is reporting about an infrared laser device that can identify people by their unique cardiac signature at a distance: A new device, developed for the Pentagon after US Special Forces requested it, can identify people without seein… Continue reading Cardiac Biometric
MIT Technology Review is reporting about an infrared laser device that can identify people by their unique cardiac signature at a distance: A new device, developed for the Pentagon after US Special Forces requested it, can identify people without seeing their face: instead it detects their unique cardiac signature with an infrared laser. While it works at 200 meters (219… Continue reading Cardiac Biometric
Notice this bit from an article on the arrest of Christopher Hasson: It was only after Hasson’s arrest last Friday at his workplace that the chilling plans prosecutors assert he was crafting became apparent, detected by an internal Coast Guard program that watches for any "insider threat." The program identified suspicious computer activity tied to Hasson, prompting the agency’s investigative… Continue reading "Insider Threat" Detection Software
This acoustic technology identifies individuals by their ear shapes. No information about either false positives or false negatives…. Continue reading Yet Another Biometric: Ear Shape
The detailed accounts of the terrorist-shooter false-alarm at Kennedy Airport in New York last week illustrate how completely and totally unprepared the airport authorities are for any real such event. I have two reactions to this. On the one hand, this is a movie-plot threat — the sort of overly specific terrorist scenario that doesn’t make sense to defend against…. Continue reading Terrorist False Alarm at JFK Airport Demonstrates How Unprepared We Really Are
This is a good summary article on the fallibility of DNA evidence. Most interesting to me are the parts on the proprietary algorithms used in DNA matching: William Thompson points out that Perlin has declined to make public the algorithm that drives the program. "You do have a black-box situation happening here," Thompson told me. "The data go in, and… Continue reading The Fallibility of DNA Evidence