New security technology

[Ed W]

It's almost like something from Firesign Theater:

Shoes for industry. Shoes for the dead. Shoes for industry

Hi, I'm Joe Beets! Hey, what chance does a returning deceased war
veteran have for that good paying job, more sugar, and the free mule you've been
dreaming of. Well, think it over, then take off your shoes. Now you can see how
increased spending opportunities means harder work for everyone and more of it
too. So do your part today, Joe. Join with millions of your neighbors and turn in
your shoes.

For industry!

That aside, there's news of a new security device built into insoles that detects the subtleties of our gait and uses that as an identifier, communicating wirelessly with in-house security computers.

The concept is based on research that shows each person has unique feet, and ways of walking. Sensors in the bio-soles check the pressure of feet, monitor gait, and use a microcomputer to compare the patterns to a master file for that person. If the patterns match the bio-soles go to sleep. If they don't, a wireless alarm message can go out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/new-lab-working-on-security-shoe-sole-to-id-people-experts-say-it-raises-privacy-questions/2012/07/21/gJQA6ZYO0W_story.html

Biometrics are already common in security.  I have to go through a hand scanner, for instance, that uses a laser to compare an outline of my hand with one in its memory.  And there are some secure areas that use retina scanners on the base. 

Jason Schneier has a post on his site about what appears to us as opaque black plastic, yet a camera can see through it.  The material offers a way to conceal cameras in unlikely places, and he notes that with the on-going development of face recognition technology coupled with ever smaller cameras, we'll be in a total surveillance society without every knowing about it.

Food for thought.

Remote Scanning Technology

I don't know if this is real or fantasy:

    Within the next year or two, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will instantly know everything about your body, clothes, and luggage with a new laser-based molecular scanner fired from 164 feet (50 meters) away. From traces of drugs or gun powder on your clothes to what you had for breakfast to the adrenaline level in your body -- agents will be able to get any information they want without even touching you.

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/07/remote_scanning.html

Here's the article on Geek.com about the black plastic:

The material is black in color and cannot be seen through with the naked eye. However, if you point a black and white camera at a sheet of Black-Ops Plastic, it becomes transparent allowing the camera to record whatever is on the other side.

http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/only-cameras-can-see-through-black-ops-plastic-20120630/

I expect that as this technology proliferates, we'll all engage in counter measures, specifically those wearable cameras that look like eyeglasses.  And we'll all end up looking like this:

[patric]

The material is black in color and cannot be seen through with the naked eye. However, if you point a black and white camera at a sheet of Black-Ops Plastic, it becomes transparent allowing the camera to record whatever is on the other side.

Oh Pffffft!    I was using #87 Filters for infrared flash photography in high school.  Today, cheap bare-bones video cameras with extended infrared sensitivity are easier to buy than cold medicine, and work beautifully with "opaque" filters that only pass IR.  
You also see that with consumer electronics like DVD players where the IR eye is concealed behind plastic you cant see through with the naked eye.
(had to figure out a way to use the word "naked" in a posting about surveillance)


Now here's something to worry about:  Microsoft and NYPD as partners:

AP:  The New York Police Department will soon launch an all-seeing "Domain Awareness System" that combines several streams of information to track both criminals and potential terrorists.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says the city developed the software with Microsoft.
Kelly says the program combines city-wide video surveillance with law enforcement databases.

The NYPD has been under fire for surveillance of Muslim communities and partnering with the CIA to track potential terror suspects. Muslim groups have sued to shut down the NYPD programs.


I guess that puts an end to any expectation of privacy when using Skype.