Always strive to learn something useful. --Sophocles

The beloved Department of Homeland Security is providing grants to help municipalities equip public transit buses, and in the case of San Francisco, vintage trolleys, with video surveillance. But they're also installing microphones throughout the vehicle, including one outside, so they can get synchronized audio. Baltimore, MD considered doing this and briefly backed down when they considered that this might constitute illegal wiretap, but the city attorney said that posting warning signs should counter that.

So it's time to break out the infrared baseball caps and find a source for high frequency white noise generators.

Speaking of which, Hawaii 5-0 last week based their story around the concept of bank robbers with IR LED's sewn in to their clothing to defeat surveillance cameras. And the crime lab tech called it "high tech". I can go to Radio Shack and buy the components for probably $5 to do it, all you need is an IR LED, a diode, a resistor, a battery, and you're set. High tech? Yeah, right.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/12/public-bus-audio-surveillance/

One million British travellers planning to fly to Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico this year face the risk of being turned away at the airport – at the insistence of the US Department of Homeland Security.

New rules require British Airways and other airlines flying to certain airports outside America to submit passengers' personal data to US authorities. The information is checked against a "No Fly" list containing tens of thousands of names. Even if the flight plan steers well clear of US territory, travellers whom the Americans regard as suspicious will be denied boarding.

Wow. How long until everyone from any country has to be screened by DHS before boarding any flight anywhere?

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/planning-a-trip-to-canada-or-the-caribbean-us-immigration-may-have-other-ideas-7584912.html

"Documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) suggest that the US Department of Homeland Security has signed contracts for the development of mobile and static systems that can be used scan pedestrians and people at rail and bus stations and special event venues — apparently at times without their knowledge. Under consideration: An Intelligent Pedestrian Surveillance platform; an X-Ray Backscatter system that could detect concealed metallic and high-density plastic objects on people from up to 10 meters away; a walk-through x-ray screening system that could be deployed at entrances to special events or other points of interest, which could be installed in corridors and likely scan people walking through it without them knowing it, EPIC said."

So it wouldn't matter if you're pregnant, if you're already at your life-long limit for radiation therapy following 4 cancers, if you have an impaired immune system -- you're going to get scanned! You have no choice, no opt-out. If you go in to certain events or venues, or if you just happen to be walking down the street and a van drives by: dude, you're getting a scan!

Homeland Security and Congress really need to learn about the concept of accepted risk. I accept the risk that every time I drive down the mountain, I could have an accident. Hell, I could get hit by someone and my car could fall down a several hundred feet ravine, which would really suck. I accept risk whenever I order food in a restaurant that they follow proper sanitization procedures and cook my food properly. I acknowledge that any time I'm walking down the street, I could be hit by a micrometeorite. LIFE IS NOT SAFE, RANDOM SHIT HAPPENS. You cannot be protected against every possible danger, and adding an unneeded radiation load to people randomly does not significantly increase safety of the population as a whole.

To make air travel reasonably safe, armor cockpit doors and pilots board and depart when no passengers are on board, and that door is sealed at all other times. X-ray ALL baggage and cargo that goes on the plane. All passengers AND CREW go through a magnetometer gate and all carry-on items are x-rayed, just like before and always. And issue every passenger a katana, like on Kill Bill. Or a taser. Maybe not the last suggestion. At least make tasers available to the flight crew. You have now made it extremely difficult to hijack a plane or blow it up with items brought on board. Add people with excellent profiling and soft questioning skills, and you have pretty darn good security.

Remember: the Moscow airport bombing occurred OUTSIDE of the security zone. You can kill lots of people with a bomb wherever there is a bottleneck and people are required to bunch up.

I think we should pass a law that ALL CITIZENS are issued a katana and must train with it. Just think of how much safer we all would be!

[sarcasm:off] (or is it?....)

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9212681/DHS_seeks_systems_for_covert_body_scans_documents_show

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/03/03/1943258/DHS-Eyes-Covert-Body-Scans

Wednesday, November 24. If you're flying, and have some time, demand a pat-down in a private room by the TSA rather than the body scanner. The intent is that if enough people do it across the country, it will send a message to government that these scanners are too much. The Electronic Privacy Information Center have sought a court order to stop the use of these devices as it has been proven before that the promise by the TSA that the images will not be stored is false, there has even been an assault by one TSA employee on another after the second made fun of the first's genitals while demonstrating the machines.

It's a definite monkey wrench attempt against the TSA and airline industry, and the airline industry is talking to government after receiving letters of complaint from travelers saying they will not fly again because of these scanners.

I only wish I were flying on the 24th, but we're not, we'll be driving to Phoenix late.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/11/national-opt-out/

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/11/13/2229222/National-Opt-Out-Day-Against-Virtual-Strip-Searches

It states that as of July 1, TSA employees will no longer be allowed to access five categories of websites that have been deemed "inappropriate for government access."

The categories include:
Chat/Messaging
Controversial opinion
Criminal activity
Extreme violence (including cartoon violence) and gruesome content
Gaming

I don't really have too much of a problem with this. They're blocking websites from work computers, and employers have the right to filter web content from the computers their employees use. I find their definitions kind of nebulous in that they don't have solid standards, so this would have the potential to be extremely capricious.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20009642-10391695.html

http://www.prisonplanet.com/tsa-to-block-websites-with-controversial-opinions.html

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/07/05/1943259/TSA-Internally-Blocking-Websites-With-Controversial-Opinions


After this news broke, the TSA has reversed their ruling and said they won't filter.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20009804-10391695.html


I did database work for Phoenix Police for nine years. Even though our internet connection came through the City, our line was unfiltered because investigators had to have unfettered access to the internet. For the most part, this was not abused, but there will always be people who abuse internet access.

At issue was a guy who, upon returning from South Korea, had his laptop searched and the inspectors found alleged child porn. The way the picture was described sounded more like an artistic shot to me, but there are other peculiar circumstances about the guy's behavior during his interview with Customs. So they seized his laptop. And it wasn't searched again for another six months.

The judge ruled, basically, that the first search did not require a warrant, but the second search many months later did.

I think the best solution was suggested by a comment to the original article: blank laptop, VPN connection.


http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20007315-38.html

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/06/10/198234/Federal-Judge-Limits-DHS-Laptop-Border-Searches

Guy steps in to a scanner and another worker starts making fun of the size of his genitals. Guy assaults the other worker in the parking lot with a police baton.

No, the scanners don't reveal too much.

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/TSA-Fracas-After-Body-Scanner-Reveals-TMI-92971929.html

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/05/07/1840204/TSA-Worker-Jailed-In-Body-Scan-Rage-Incident?art_pos=19

One had his M-4 rifle and shotgun unsecured in a closet when his house was burgled, another left hit pistol on the front seat of his running vehicle while he went in to a convenience store, another left his in a fast food restroom and it was gone when he went back for it.

I worked for the police department for 9 years doing computer work. I heard a story of an FTO sergeant (Field Training Officer, they're in charge of rookies after they graduate from the academy) who was quite nasty (as well he should). When he saw a male trainee go to the restroom at the precinct, he'd wait a couple of minutes, then go in. If the trainee was in a stall, he'd sneak up to the stall and suddenly reach his arm over the door, trying to snag the cop's holster belt if he'd hung it on the door's hook. Needless to say, if he got the gun belt the trainee was in a lot of trouble. Proper procedure was to hang the gun belt around your neck while you're sitting doing your business.

Losing guns when you're in law enforcement happens. Cars get burgled, etc. But 74% from laxity?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/18/government.guns/index.html?hpt=T2

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/02/19/1642201/Officers-Lose-243-Homeland-Security-Guns?art_pos=25

Yep, your tax dollars hard at work.

First, TSA employee caught hording with $200,000 worth of stolen goods to be sold on eBay. And as of right now, you can't even demand a receipt if they seize your laptop at the border, but there is a possibility of a new bill forcing DHS to receipt seized equipment and return them in a reasonable time frame. I can find the links if anyone is interested.

"... a search of his house found a great deal of property pilfered from the un-witnessed searches that occurred after luggage had been checked, where the rightful owner was not allowed. 'Among the items seized were 66 cameras, 31 laptop computers, 20 cell phones, 17 sets of electronic games, 13 pieces of jewelry, 12 GPS devices, 11 MP3 players, eight camera lenses, six video cameras and two DVD players, the affidavit said.'"

So if you've flown through Newark in the last year or so and lost something electronic...

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/airport_screener_charged_with.html

http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/19/1618259


Second, Bruce Schneier and a reporter play games with airport security, including wearing Osama Bin Laden t-shirts, carrying books on jihad, not carrying ID, and splashing water on their face to make it look like they're sweating. TSA security's response? "Don't let it happen again."

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security

http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/17/2212203


Now don't you feel much safer?