Loss of Privacy

Would you like to walk down the street and be subjected to a strip search that you didn’t consent to or have knowledge of? That’s what could happen once the Department of Defense and the NYPD complete their research into detecting weapons from a distance.

It’s called Terahertz Imaging Detection. It measures the energy radiating from a body up to 16 feet away, and can detect anything blocking it, like a gun.

Naturally, there are those who don’t understand that even if you don’t have anything to hide, you still have a right to privacy.

“It’s definitely a privacy issue, but it’s for our safety. So it’s just one of those things, a double-edged sword,” added Clarence Moore of Union, N.J.

“I think it’s good. I think if someone has something to hide and they’re going to worry about it, who cares?” Robert McDougall added.

Others, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, doesn’t think this way.

“It’s worrisome. It implicates privacy, the right to walk down the street without being subjected to a virtual pat-down by the Police Department when you’re doing nothing wrong,” the NYCLU’s Donna Lieberman said.

One particular comment from a person on the street should stop and make everyone think.

“If they search you, you’re not giving consent, so they can do what they want, meaning they can use that as an excuse to search you for other means. I don’t think that’s constitutional at all,” Devan Thomas said.

Whether or not you have anything to hide, there is the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

One wonders how Kyllo vs. United States, 533 U.S. 27 (2001), would fit into the use of such devices.

Soon, we shall be living in the world of Minority Report, and this “Smart Window” technology Samsung has at CES 2012 is going to help us get there. Ashley Esqueda checks out what’s happening over at the Samsung booth and gives a little demo of the window.

Media Matters just released a study in which the main stream media’s coverage of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Cenk Uygur breaks down the shocking results of this study.

photo by Mark W. Stroud

In a California military base, marines are being trained on how to collect biometrics from civilians. Intended for use in Afghanistan, this training could have implications elsewhere.

Military policeman with Combat Logistics Battalion 4 participated in tactical site exploitation training at the training city of Wardah-Mir, Marine Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Nov. 18.

The Marines conducted foot-patrols, room clearing and search operations where they collected biometric data and other evidence on citizens displaying suspicious behavior or possessing contraband.

“We are trying to give the Marines the skill set to assist the Afghan government in criminal prosecutions and to help teach the Afghan National Police these skills,” said Patrick Garrahan, law enforcement professional, Tactical Training Exercise Control Group, MAGCC Twentynine Palms.

Suspects were processed using a handheld interagency identity detection equipment system, which compared their biometric data, such as fingerprints and iris scans, to a central database, according to Apsey.

The training is meant as a way to help marines detect those who make bombs though how biometric data will do that is unclear. One must first collect biometric data on individuals that, presumably, have done nothing wrong. Then, later, when a person is suspected of making a bomb, their identities can be verified with the biometric data already in the military database.

Following Digital Breadcrumbs To ‘Big Data’ Gold

What do Facebook, Groupon and biotech firm Human Genome Sciences have in common? They all rely on massive amounts of data to design their products. Terabytes and even zettabytes of information about consumers or about genetic sequences can be harnessed and crunched.

The practice is called big data, and as the term suggests, it is huge in both scope and power. Analyzing big data enables anything from predicting prices to catching criminals, and has the potential to impact many industries.

The Search For Analysts To Make Sense Of ‘Big Data’

Businesses keep vast troves of data about things like online shopping behavior, or millions of changes in weather patterns, or trillions of financial transactions — information that goes by the generic name of big data.