surveillance Of General

Tips to remove Nav Bar

2007-10-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

Log into your dashboard, go to Template -> Edit HTML. Scroll to anywhere on the template and insert the following CSS style definition in red within the head section
juz add dis simple code:

#navbar-iframe {
visibility: hidden;
}

You will notice that your contents do not shift upwards. The space is still reserved for the Navbar, but the Navbar is now hidden and not visible.

Either one of the above codes would do. You can also combine them if you'd like. For example, giving a numerical value for the height of the Navbar and hiding the visibility will give you a margin at the top and yet without the Navbar. Choose one that best fits your blog design. If you change your mind in future, and wish to have back your Navbar, simply remove the style definition.

Search Box

If you decide to remove the Navbar, you can still place a Blogger Search Box within your site. This is one of the great features in the Blogger Navbar

Tips to drive traffic with blog directories

2007-10-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some tips you should bear in mind about leaving comments:

1. Never leave short, useless or canned comments like "Nice!", "Cool!", "Great Blog!", etc. Otherwise your comment will be deleted very soon. Take some time and read some of the content and give some solid suggestions for improvements or tell the owner why you love his/her blog. Afterall, everything is free so it takes you some time to do this. (But actually, I got a really nice tip for those who really don't have the mood to go over some tedious blogs out there. Try to give suggestions based on the layout of the blog. In this way, you only have to glance through the blog without bothering to read the content and it's always easier to criticise one's layout. You can try this: "It would be better, in my opinion, if you blend the advertisements in to your blog be setting the background colour of the ad units." By using this technique, you can give long but useful comments and gives the owner a feeling that you are here to help rather than to advertise.

2. Never be rude or too "hard-sell". Try to be humble as you won't want others to leave comments such as "I GOT A REALLY REALLY GREAT BLOG ABOUT ENGINEERING!!!! VISIT PLEASEEEEE!!!", would you? So try to keep your tone nice and kind. Use sentences like "I also got a blog about engineering, you might want to take a look at it, here's the link." or "Can you give me some advice about my engineering blog?" Your comment will always appear to be acceptable and pleasing if you don't sound like a salesperson.

3. Try to visit the blogs you have left comments on frequently and keep an eye on any replies to your post. Be responsive if the owner or visitors reply to you.

4. Leave comments again when you have written a new post or changed the layout. But remember, do this often or when you sense that the owner dislike your doing so.

Starting from today, don't just use blog directories as a listing place only, use them thoroughly by discovering blogs that are of the same category as yours. And drive traffic to your blog by commenting on them. Try it yourself and see how powerful this "comment advertising" is!

Here are some high-quality directories (what means by "high-quality" is that they review each submission to ensure that they are content-rich and blogs are well classified into categories):

Blog Announce
Blog Top Sites
Blogging Fusion Blog Directory
Yahoo!'s Blog Directory
Google's Blog Directory
BlogFlux Directory

Hope you find this useful!

Continued of Major search Engines

2007-10-04T06:18:00.001-07:00

Submit Your Feed to the Yahoo! RSS Browse-by-Topic Directory. http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/my/cgi_rss_submission

Submit your Media RSS Feed to Yahoo! Search -http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/submit?

You can submit your blog to Msn at http://search.msn.com.sg/docs/submit.aspx?FORM=WSDD

SubmitExpress.com will submit your blog free to the top 20 + Search engines.

If you don’t already have a Technorati account, sign up for one at Technorati.com and claim your blog at Technorati. Technorati is a popular weblog search engine.

Spy Surveillance Camera

2007-10-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Using a spy camera can make a person feel uncomfortable. Nobody likes to admit they do not trust other people. It is human nature to expect others to treat you with respect and to be able to rely on them to do the right thing. The fact is that some people should not be trusted. People take advantage of those who are trusting and protecting yourself, your family and your property with the use of a spy surveillance camera is reasonable.

The reasons people use spy cameras are mostly for protection and security. The following list contains the reasons people use spy cameras:

Monitor and watch hired help in your home. This includes babysitters and workers hired to do construction or repair work.
Watch for criminals. This could be a homeowner concerned about a possible thief or a business owner watching for shoplifters or other criminals.
Provide legal proof of a crime. This case is when you know something is going on and you use the camera to catch the criminal in the act so you can then use the tape as proof in court.
Record special events. Some businesses use spy cameras to record meetings simply because they are easy to set up and do not get in the way. People may use them in their home to capture family events so they do not have to carry around a video camera.
Monitor people or animals. Some parents use spy cameras in children or infant room to watch them without bothering them. People who own animals may put spy cameras in their barn to keep an eye on them.
Other uses can be as a way to identify visitors who knock at your front door or for hobbies like model trains, so they get a “birds eye view”.
The small size of these mini cameras makes them ideal to put almost anywhere. They usually have limited cords attached to them and can even be bought as a wireless model. They are easy to keep out of the way and they do not invade space. The uses are only limited by the imagination of the use.

Spy cameras can be put in a variety of places. Some people put them in everyday household objects like clocks or pictures where they are invisible. Depending on your reason for using it you could put it in a doll or stuffed animal. They can be secured inside a pair of glasses, sewed into a coat or hat. Some spy cameras come in such tiny sizes that they can fit on a button. The new model of cell phones have a mini camera on them that is just like a spy camera. As you can see a spy surveillance camera can be used almost anywhere you need it to be.

Smart surveillance solution

2007-10-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

The IBM Smart Surveillance Solution is designed to help you integrate data from a variety of monitoring devices and apply advanced analytics to improve security, reduce security overhead, and increase organizational flexibility and business intelligence.

Physical security: site and infrastructure. Everybody needs it. Many have a system in place. But the old way—guards watching too many monitors and manually reviewing miles of videotape—may not be adequate for today's requirements. It costs too much. It's hard to integrate it with newer technologies. It takes up too much storage space. So it's likely that you're looking for a new approach, and that probably means digital video surveillance.

But how much more can you gain from your new digital system and technologies? When you enhance physical security (that is, guards, cameras and sensors) by deploying applications that leverage your IT network, you can use the same security data gathered by your digital monitoring systems not only to improve security and safety, but also to reduce costs and improve operations.

The IBM smart surveillance solution is designed to help you:

Integrate data from multiple sensors and analog and digital cameras into one searchable system
Search your data according to a broad range of parameters, including time, date, alert, object, size, location and color
Share data across agencies, counties and departments
Access and view information remotely from a Web browser
Prioritize critical events and store them long term
Analyze your footage for perpetrator identification, theft prevention and damage detection—as well as customer behaviors and business intelligence
Use your security data in a variety of contexts, including litigation preparation, regulatory compliance documentation and sales conversion analysis.
Because you don't have to manually search through piles of videotapes, and because you can target your search more specifically, you are more likely to detect threats and apprehend perpetrators, which helps improve security and operations. Regardless of whether your business is located in the public or private sector, the ability to reduce your need for manual review and for redeploying armed guards can help reduce your costs.

Event-prioritization capabilities can help you lower your data management costs. The added flexibility that comes from being able to add new technology or analytical capabilities to the open-architecture solution framework can enhance the agility of your business. And the ability to use your data in a variety of ways to support business decision making can help you get more return from your security investments.

As one of the most experienced systems integrators in the world, IBM leverages its worldwide consultants and a network of established digital video surveillance technology providers to bring you integrated solutions that include cameras, sensors, servers, networking technology, software, services and analytics. Our proprietary smart surveillance technology allows a wider range of search capabilities and helps you leverage your data in more ways than virtually any other offering on the market today.

Which is the Simplest Home Surveillance Device?

2007-10-01T06:54:00.001-07:00

If you used to think that installing a Home Surveillance System all by yourself is beyond your capacity, it is time to reconsider this preconception. Not only will you be able to set up by yourself an operative, if simple, complete system, but in the process you will also learn a lot and gain confidence for more complex tasks.

Being this proposed system a simple one does not deduct from its importance, neither of its surveillance function, nor of the opportunity it gives you to familiarize with gadgets, jargon, applications, hardware and components. You are likely to appreciate the advantages of setting up a home surveillance system meant to give you practical answers, a feeling of security and peace of mind.

What we propose to undertake may have a dual purpose: you should decide which is the one responding to your needs the most. Not only that, but you may prefer at any time to switch over from one task to the other or to cater to both functions.

In short the first task, common to every household, is dedicated to the control of the entrance door. Sure you can get up at every ringing at the door, go there, either look through the peep-hole or open a crack with the door chain to see who is calling.

Would it not be easier and less tiring to cast only a glance on your monitor, conveniently placed where you are most of the time? You may need an intercom if you wish to exchange a few words with the person at the door.

But in addition you may be able to set up a recording capability to monitor all the calls that occurred when nobody was home. This feature would add a lot to your feeling of security, as you may be alerted of suspects or actual risks.

A plain camera, a monitor and the link in between is all that is needed for the simplest system. But having to set it up makes you think of all the options and requires selection, decisions and actions at every step.

We think that this part of the exercise is quite important in that it may enrich your experience and prepare you to the more demanding and complex applications you may consider for increased security.

The other usage that you may wish to implement if you have this need is for the constant check of the well being of your baby in the cradle. Again a short glance on the monitor lets you know if your presence is required, without leaving the company for going upstairs or wherever the baby is sleeping.

Without compromising the attention you want to give your baby, you gain an extra measure of freedom you can enjoy. Is not it worth the trouble?

In conclusion, by selecting to implement this fairly simple solution for your home surveillance, you not only fulfill a clear need, gaining security and comfort, but you also become acquainted with the surveillance equipment and practice and you get confidence for the next more demanding surveillance task.

Elia Levi is a retired engineer. He built a website to assist with a step-by-step Guide to understand, design, select and set up, all by yourself the best and least expensive Surveillance System for your Home Security. Read more on the subject of this article at http://www.1st-diy-home-surveillance-guide.com/ and Entrance-and-baby-cam.html

The EyeBall tossable surveillance device

2007-10-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

The Eye Ball is about the size of a baseball (roughly 3.25 inches), weighs less than one pound and is encased in a rubber and polyurethane housing that enables it to be thrown through windows or doors and bounced off walls. It’s when the Eyeball lands that it becomes incredibly useful as it can capture video up to 25 metres distance and audio up to five metres, and then wirelessly send that real-time info up to 200 metres to handheld device. An omnidirectional lens rotates at 4 rpm and provides a 55-degree horizontal and 41-degree vertical field of view. It doesn’t even need daylight as it also has night vision capability. Warfighters or Law enforcement officers can roll, toss, or drop the rugged Eye Ball into virtually any hazardous situation - providing the immediate visibility required for users to make safe, intelligent decisions in dangerous environments.

Once deployed, the Eye Ball captures and transmits real-time audio and video to the Eye Ball's Personal Display Unit (PDU). In addition to serving as a wireless receiver, the easy-to-use PDU enables users to direct the Eye Ball with precision, focusing the video camera throughout the Eye Ball's 360-degree viewing area. The PDU also activates the Eye Ball's near-infrared "night vision" for dark operations. The Eye Ball streams audio and video up to 200 yards away from the PDU. The Eye Ball orients itself automatically to provide users with a clear picture. Users control the Eye Ball's 360-degree rotation via the PDU and gaining visibility through its 6.4 inch color screen.

Internal Eye Ball near-infrared LEDs illuminate dark environments and can be set manually or automatically.

The Eye Ball R1 is also quite versatilite and attaches quickly to a pole - providing visibility into ceilings or attics, looking around corners, down hallways, or into rooms.

The Eye Ball and PDU use lithium ion batteries and maintain battery power for up to four and two and one-half hours respectively. The Eye Ball and PDU units are easily rechargeable to ensure they are always ready for deployment.

The Eyeball is sold in the United States by Remington Technologies Division and manufactured and marketed in the rest of the world by Isreali Company ODF Optronics

Nike+ IPod = Surveillance

2007-10-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

If you enhance your workout with the new Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, you may be making yourself a surveillance target.

A report from four University of Washington researchers to be released Thursday reveals that security flaws in the new RFID-powered device from Nike and Apple make it easy for tech-savvy stalkers, thieves and corporations to track your movements. With just a few hundred dollars and a little know-how, someone could even plot your running routes on a Google map without your knowledge.

The Nike+ iPod gives runners real-time updates about the speed and length of their workouts via a small RFID device that fits into the soles of Nike shoes, and broadcasts workout data to a small receiver plugged into an iPod Nano.

While this setup sounds convenient and cool, it didn't sit well with Scott Saponas, a computer science graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle. After enjoying his Nike+ iPod for a few months, Saponas began to suspect there might be other, more nefarious uses for the gear.

He brought his concerns to University of Washington computer science professor Yoshi Kohno and fellow graduate students Carl Hartung and Jonathan Lester. After just a few weeks of tinkering, the four researchers discovered that the Nike+ iPod is, as Kohno put it, "an easy surveillance device."

The first problem is that the RFID in the shoe sensor contains its own on-board power source, essentially turning your running shoe into a small radio station capable of being received from up to 60 feet away, with a signal powerful enough to be picked up from a passing car.

Compare this with the roughly 3-centimeter to 10-inch read range of a typical consumer-grade RFID, such as the kind you find in smart tags in Gap clothing or in credit cards, which is passively powered by the reader.

Additionally, the sensor will reveal its unique ID to any Nike+ iPod receiver. With a quick hardware hack that Kohno said "any high school student could do in the garage," the researchers hooked a Nike+ iPod receiver up to a Linux-based "gumstix" -- a tiny, $79 computer that could easily be hidden in door frames, in trees next to jogging trails or in a pocket.

In their report, the researchers detail a scenario in which a stalker who wants to know when his ex-girlfriend is at home taps into her Nike+ iPod system. He simply hides the gumstix device next to her door, and it registers her presence as she passes by in her Nike shoes. If he adds a small "wifistix" antenna to the device, it can transmit this information to any nearby Wi-Fi access point and alert him to her presence via SMS or by plotting her location on Google Maps.

A thief could use a similar set-up to case several houses at once, figuring out when Nike-wearing owners are at home and when they aren't.

Neither Apple nor Nike had comments at press time.

Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Lee Tien says the Nike+ iPod is a harbinger of things to come. "We're going to see more devices like this in the next few years," he said. "This isn't just a problem with the Nike+ iPod per se -- it's a cautionary tale about what happens when companies unwittingly build a surveillance capacity into their products."

UC Berkeley RFID researcher David Molnar agreed with Tien, adding, "This shows a need for independent oversight and investigation of these technologies before they go to market. These things happen because the people building devices don't think about privacy implications."

Molnar also speculated about how easy it would be for a company to build their own tiny readers and deploy them in a large environment, selling the data stream to those who would track spouses or teens, or collect information about how many people wearing Nikes visit malls or movie theaters. "Given that there are no laws about skimming data in California right now, it would be perfectly legal to do it there," he said.

The researchers, for their part, just want to see Apple, Nike and other manufacturers fix the problem. They offer a simple solution in their report, which is to build the sensors to speak to only one reader.

"Using relatively standard cryptographic techniques, you could make it very difficult to listen to broadcasts from somebody else's sensor," said Kohno. He hastened to add that he doesn't believe Apple and Nike purposefully designed the sensors to be surveillance-friendly. "I just think companies should be as aware of privacy issues as they are of safety issues," he said. "Too often, they aren't."

Medical Screening and Surveillance

2007-10-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

Medical surveillance is the analysis of health information to look for problems that may be occurring in the workplace that require targeted prevention. Thus, surveillance serves as a feedback loop to the employer. Surveillance may be based on a single case or sentinel event, but more typically uses screening results from the group of employees being evaluated to look for abnormal trends in health status. Surveillance can also be conducted on a single employee over time. Review of group results helps to identify potential problem areas and the effectiveness of existing worksite preventive strategies. The following resources contain medical surveillance information including specific hazards and surveillance guidelines.

Surveillance. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Safety and Health Topic.
Indicators for Occupational Health Surveillance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 50(RR01);1-7, (2007, January 19).

Health Hazard Evaluations. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). NIOSH conducts investigations of possible health hazards in the workplace to determine whether any substance normally found in the place of employment has potentially toxic effects in such concentrations as used or found.
The Work-Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report, 2002. US Department of Human Health Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2003-111, (2002). Provides national and state-specific data of pneumoconiosis and other work-related respiratory conditions.
TLV/BEI Resources. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). This organization of government and industrial hygienists publishes biological exposure indices for use which can be used for criteria for evaluating biological samples collected for medical surveillance.
Tracking Occupational Injuries, Illnesses, and Hazards: The NIOSH Surveillance Strategic Plan. US Department of Human Health Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2001-118, (2001, January). NIOSH embarked on a process to assess current surveillance needs and to identify its goals for the next decade. The Surveillance Strategic Plan is the result of that effort.

Best Practices in Workplace Surveillance: Identification and Tracking of Workplace Injury, Illness, Exposures, and Hazards. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Includes presentations and handout materials.
Links Between Public Health and Worksite Surveillance of Occupational Illness, Injuries, and Hazards
Occupational Medical Surveillance Manual. US Department of Defense (DoD), (1998, May). Provides minimum standards for medial surveillance programs to help occupational health professionals and others recognize and evaluate health risks associated with specific workplace exposures.
General Information. Chapter 1. Describes the general requirements for medical surveillance, types of examinations, and record keeping.
Medical Surveillance for OSHA-Regulated Exposures. Chapter 2. Describes OSHA related medical surveillance.
Medical Surveillance Endorsed by the Department of Defense. Chapter 3. Includes additional medical surveillance protocols endorsed by the DoD, where OSHA does not provide guidance.
National Occupational Exposure Survey Analysis of Management Interview Responses. US Department of Human Health Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 89-103, (1998, March). Provides data on the extent and conditions of potential worker exposure to chemical, physical, and biological agents.
A Guide for the Management, Analysis, and Interpretation of Occupational Mortality Data. US Department of Human Health Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 90-115, (1990, September). Provides guidelines for state health departments interested in occupational mortality surveillance.
National Occupational Exposure Survey Sampling Methodology. US Department of Human Health Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 89-102, (1990, February). Describes the method used to select the sample of plants surveyed and the estimation techniques used to project survey data to national estimates.

For additional information, see OSHA's Safety and Health Topics Pages on:

Arsenic
Asbestos
Benzene
Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention
1,3-Butadiene
Cadmium
Carcinogens
Cotton Dust
Dermal Exposure
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Ergonomics
Ethylene Oxide
Formaldehyde
Hazardous and Toxic Substances
Hazardous Waste
Laboratories
Lead
Methylene Chloride
Noise and Hearing Conservation
Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)
Respiratory Protection
Silica, Crystalline
Tuberculosis

VISEC turns your computer into a Powerful Video Surveillance System!

2007-10-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

Visec® can run on a PC or MAC* 24 hours a day, even while you work on your computer.
Use your existing computer
Supports web camera, wireless, spy camera, ip cameras such as AXIS, Arecont IQ, Panasonic, Pixord, , and generic support for standard mjpeg. capture cards, USB capture devices and more.)
Be Notified to your cell phone, home or office when motion is detected
Visec will record all video when motion is detected, and even alert you to your phone or pda
Log in from anywhere in the world, including your cell phone to see live or past video.
No Monthly Fees
Easy to use - Installs in minutes

With VISEC you can keep an eye on everything you ever wanted without spending a fortune.
Keep an eye on your home, office, cars, and valuables. Watch your pets. Watch your kids. Keep an eye on your nanny or babysitter. Best of all you can do this from any location in the world via the Internet! VISEC is designed to be highly configurable and can even be used as a stealth surveillance system, allowing the program to operate secretly with just a few mouse clicks. And did we mention that Visec is extremely easy to use, installation and configuration will take only 5 minutes, even at a novice or newbie's hands. All that for just a fraction of a regular security system price.

Visec will turn your computer into a POWERFUL SECURITY SYSTEM in 5 minutes or less.
The VISEC program can be set to record all VIDEO activity, or just when motion appears. The program can email you when it detects motion and even upload all images to different websites. With the Internet, you can connect directly to your personal computer and see in real time, live and historical video. Visec even makes it possible to send out email alerts with surveillance recordings included.

This allows you to remotely whenever and whatever activity your camera captures. Visec utilizes a breakthrough in motion detection technology that incorporates complex and advanced algorithms (without the need of separate sensors) allowing an operator to just record only when motion is detected, saving you time and the cost of continuous recording as in traditional CCTV Systems.

Remote Surveillance Camera Systems

2007-10-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

A newer digital video recorder and surveillance camera can offer the ability for remote surveillance, which has become increasingly popular. A standard monitoring specification enables various network monitors to exchange video monitoring data. The dvrs include remote surveillance software, enabling users to log on from a distant pc, connect and monitor the surveillance camera connected to the Digital Video Recorder effortlessly. Clients can be notified of motion activated alarm recordings by email as well keeping the client informed.

Remote surveillance and monitoring can be accomplished by using your own PC as well. Dvr cards or pci cards installed on your PC include software, which can turn anyone's PC into their very own digital video recorder and surveillance camera system. An IP surveillance camera or network surveillance camera have built in web servers that are connected to the internet and can be monitored through remote surveillance from any PC. This type of surveillance camera has built in PC based software allowing pan, tilt and zoom function via the remote surveillance and monitoring software included and preloaded. Remote surveillance is becoming more popular and also more affordable for surveillance camera systems. We also offer remote surveillance monitoring kits that utilize a phone line when broadband is not available. If you have questions or want more details on remote surveillance, call us today and we'll gladly help you plan your remote surveillance camera system whether 1 or 100 cameras.

Miniature stove

2007-09-30T07:21:00.001-07:00

so cool.

sKeleton dances

2007-09-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

its makes me laughingg..

cry video

2007-09-30T05:08:00.000-07:00

Video SurVeillance

2007-09-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

Video surveillance has been a popular security tool for years. Security cameras are an everyday occurrence, and chances are, you're used to watching yourself walk into a store on a security monitor. Banks and retail stores have come to depend on the protection provided by video surveillance. However, these analog CCTV systems are expensive, requiring complicated installations and constant upkeep, making this type of security unrealistic for smaller businesses with limited budgets.
Fortunately, advances in digital technology have made video surveillance more flexible and easy to use than ever. Security systems using IP (Internet Protocol) cameras are easy to install and maintain, and are infinitely customizable, allowing you to create the security system that conforms exactly to your needs.
IP cameras and recording is widely predicted to be the way of the future, and cameras are becoming widely available – in packages or bundled together with software and support, or on their own. With most IP camera systems, all you need to do is choose where you want the cameras and plug them in – it’s that easy! The most difficult part of setting up a video surveillance system is finding the right cameras for you. Digital video surveillance cameras come in so many varieties that choosing the right one for you may seem daunting. What makes one camera different from another? What kind of cameras work best for retail stores? For homes? Hospitals? How do you figure out exactly what you need?
The VideoSurveillance.com team is here to help. Our goal is to provide you with clear, informative information about video surveillance. We have years of security and surveillance experience and have put it to work for you. Check out our industry-specific pages to see what kind of video surveillance your company or group needs. We’re dedicated to not only helping you find the best security solution for your needs, but also helping you learn more about video security. Our blog has some of the most interesting and innovative developments in the surveillance world, as well as news and information about surveillance and its constant interaction with society.
There’s a lot of information out there about video surveillance – some good, some bad, some misleading. VideoSurveillance.com is your source for learning about this dynamic and constantly developing technology.

Computer surveillance

2007-09-30T03:14:00.000-07:00

Computer surveillance is the act of surveilling people's computer activity without their knowledge, by accessing the computer itself.Computers make excellent surveillance tools because they can do things without their owners' knowledge or consent. Most computers have connections to networks, which can be exploited (through security cracking) to gain access to any confidential data that may be stored on the computer. Additionally, if someone is able to install certain types of software on a system, they can turn it into a surveillance device.

Surveillance techniques
Packet sniffing is the monitoring of data traffic into and out of a computer or network. In some networks, data transmissions are sent only to the machine they are intended for, while in others, transmissions are broadcast to all machines connected, but processed only by the target computer. In the latter cases, it is possible to packet-sniff a computer by simply using another computer on the same network, without needing to place any software or equipment on the surveiled machine.A surveillance program installed on a computer can search the contents of the hard drive for suspicious data, can monitor computer use, collect passwords, and even report back to its operator through the Internet connection. The most common, surely, are commercial spyware designed to collect marketing data. But, such programs are not limited merely to data collection; they can also use more malicious tactics, such as removing or modifying the data. These last are often called viruses, logic bombs, and, generally, malware.Physical (hardware) surveillance devices ("bugs") are also possible. A relatively simple bug is a keystroke logger implanted in the keyboard, perhaps broadcasting the key stroke sequence for pickup elsewhere. More sophisticated (and more easily detected) devices with access to more information can also, in theory, be inserted into, or onto, the computer itself. The disadvantage of hardware devices is that placement and retrieval requires physical entry into the place where the computer is stored, and thus almost entirely restricted (legally) to law enforcement agencies equipped with search warrants, except in situations in which such warrants are not required or may be kept secret as, for instance, some official breakins under the US Patriot Act (sometimes termed sneak and peek), or in the case of electronic communications, warrantless surveillance by such organizations as the NSA (as has been authorized continuously by President Bush since 9/11 in the US). In the US, statute and precedent have also given employers very wide latitude to gather data about employee use of employer's computers.It has been shown that it is possible to surveil computer use from a distance, with only commercially available equipment, by receiving the radiation emitted by the CRT monitor. And it has also been shown, by Adi Shamir et al, that even the high frequency noise emitted by a CPU includes information about the instructions being executed. More directly, IBM researchers have also found that, for most computer keyboards, each key emits a slightly different noise when pressed. The differences are individually identifiable under some conditions, and so it's possible to log key strokes without actually requiring logging software to run on the associated computer. Another method of surveiling computer use (key strokes, display images, etc) is video cameras, which are becoming small enough to be easily hidden from casual inspection in which case the surveillance can be surreptitious.

Installing the surveillance software
The simplest way to place surveillance software on a computer is to gain entry to the place where the computer is stored and install it from a compact disc or floppy disk. This method shares a disadvantage with hardware devices in that it requires physical access to the computer.A more difficult method is to package the software as a computer virus or trojan horse. This tactic has the advantage of potentially subjecting multiple computers to surveillance. However, if the virus is allowed to proliferate, it will become a target of antivirus programs, which will allow the software's removal from affected computers.Another method is to use security cracking to gain access to the computer over a network. An attacker can then install surveillance software remotely. Servers and computers with permanent broadband connections are most vulnerable to this type of attack.

Protection against surveillance
A firewall controls network access to a computer, offering some protection against crackers if properly configured. Unless it controls outbound communication as well, this offers only very limited protection against surveillance even when otherwise properly configured and operating.A highly attractive surveillance target may face highly skilled attempts at physical entry to install software or hardware. Thus, to be truly protected, such targets should be protected by measures such as reinforcing doors, windows and other potential entry points. Password protection can also be effective, particularly if provided by the BIOS during booting.Protection against remote surveillance of radiation emissions is more difficult. The United States government's TEMPEST program is a standard of protection against eavesdropping of this nature. Non-CRT displays (such as LCD's or plasma displays) may be impossible to surveil in the manner. Some software (Soft TEMPEST) has been designed to alter fonts to minimize radiation. The only certain measure at other than exorbitant cost is the purchase of a specially shielded monitor. In the extreme, Faraday cage techniques to prevent escape of electromagnetic radiation from equipment out of a physical volume (eg a room) is possible, though expensive.Cables can be a serious security problem. They carry signals (eg, printing and display devices, modems, etc) from a computer to other devices, and from other devices (eg, keyboards, mice, scanners, modems, etc) to a computer. They also carry signals between computers (eg, network traffic, file transfers, security and control information, etc). Some cables can be remotely tapped without physical contact, some can be tapped with physical access to the cable, and so on. That cables are often installed in such a manner as to be invisible throughout much of their run (eg, in plenum spaces, within walls, between floors, etc), they are more vulnerable to physical tapping than is commonly appreciated.Wireless connections between computers, between computer components (eg, keyboards, mice, printers, modems, ...) are an even larger security problem. Many wireless installations are improperly configured at installation and remain unchanged for long periods. This has inspired such things a war driving and Internet lists of insecure wireless access locations. Still worse in some sense, some wireless security protocols are fundamentally flawed, and so are insecure, even when 'properly' configured (eg, WEP, Bluetooth). As new wireless standards are developed with greater range and higher speeds, the requirement for more secure protocols and proper configuration of them will increase.Other side channel attacks are possible and must be dealt with individually. For instance, power monitoring can provide information about computer use and power monitoring of the CPU itself can provide a good bit more. Filtering and conditioning of power lines can help (as with a continuous duty UPS), as can physical isolation of hardware preventing installation of power monitoring devices for the CPU, disk drives, etc.

Tracking software is software that has the ability to record and track actions a person makes on a computer. One example is a cookie.For example, if a user wants to check his email, tracking software will record it. The same concept can apply to chat, instant messages, web sites visited, keystrokes typed and so on.

Who uses tracking software?
There are two principal groups who use tracking software: parents and employers. Parents want to be certain their children are not involved with inappropriate web activity, and employers that need to track the activities that occur on workstations within their organization.

Controversy
Tracking software has been a source of controversy. While companies claim that the programs are used to protect children and enforce computer policies at workplaces, there has been strong criticism that this invades users' privacy. Other critics say that these software programs, especially with their keylogging capabilities, can be used for malicious purposes, such as identity theft and unauthorized access to other systems.Often, one side of a company's operations will sell tracking software, while another side would consider tracking software to be spyware and offer programs designed to remove the programs. There are hundreds of responsible vendors of computer monitoring software such as ActMon and SpectorSoft, who explicitly forbid the use of monitoring software as spyware. Many companies also support detection by anti-spyware programs.

Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures

2007-09-30T03:03:00.000-07:00

TSCM (Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures) is the original military abbreviation provided to the trade of bug-sweeping or electronic counter-surveillance. It is related to ELINT, SIGINT and ECM.
The United States Department of Defense defines a TSCM survey as a service provided by qualified personnel to detect the presence of technical surveillance devices and hazards and to identify technical security weaknesses that could aid in the conduct of a technical penetration of the surveyed facility. A TSCM survey will provide a professional evaluation of the facility's technical security posture and normally will consist of a thorough visual, electronic, and physical examination in and about the surveyed facility.
This definition is however lacking some of the technical scope involved. COMSEC (Communications Security), ITSEC (Information Technology Security) and physical security are also a major part of the work in the modern environment. The advent of multimedia devices and remote control technologies allow huge scope for removal of massive amounts of data in very secure environments by the staff employed within, with or without their knowledge. Even PlayStation Portables (PSPs) have wireless connectivity and optional storage capacity. Therefore connection and forward on receive over 54 Mbit/s wireless for hundreds of meters is achievable.

Technology used for a bug sweep includes but is not limited to:

Multimeters for general measurements
Time-domain reflectometer (TDR) for testing integrity of telephone lines and other communication cables
Frequency scanner with a range of antennas and filters for checking the electromagnetic spectrum for signals that should not be there
Oscilloscope for visualisation of signals
Spectrum analyzer and vector signal analyzer for more advanced analysis of signals
Nonlinear junction detector (NLJD) for detection of hidden electronics
Portable x-ray machine for checking the inside of objects and walls.
Computer security devices and tools for computer-related threats
Tools for manual disassembling of objects and walls in order to visually check their content. This is the most important, most laborious, least glamorous and hence most neglected part of a check

Clinical surveillance

2007-09-30T02:59:00.000-07:00

Clinical surveillance (or Syndromic surveillance) refers to the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data about a clinical syndrome that has a significant impact on public health, which is then used to drive decisions about health policy and health education.
Techniques of clinical surveillance have been used in particular to study infectious diseases. Many large institutions, such as the WHO and the CDC, have created databases and modern computer systems (public health informatics) that can track and monitor emerging outbreaks of illnesses such as influenza, SARS, HIV, and even bioterrorism, such as the 2001 anthrax attacks on federal agencies in the United States.
Many regions and countries have their own cancer registry to monitor the incidence of cancers to determine the prevalence and possible causes of these illnesses.
Other illnesses such as one-time events like stroke and chronic conditions such as diabetes, as well as social problems such as domestic violence, are increasingly being integrated into epidemiologic databases called disease registries that are being used in cost-benefit Analysis in determining governmental funding for research and prevention.
Many see this health outcomes data as greatly beneficial, but this kind of work is often controversial because many of the statistics, like Quality-adjusted life years and Disability Adjusted Life Years, involve quantifying the worth of human lives or years lived according to highly subjective concepts such as survival, quality of life, and productivity measures. Population-based healthcare is being promoted as registries are integrated, and health outcomes are increasingly being monitored.
Systems that can automate the process of identifying adverse drug events, are currently being used, and are being compared to traditional written reports of such events.[1] These systems intersect with the field of medical informatics, and are rapidly becoming adapted by hospitals and endorsed by institutions that oversee healthcare providers (such as JCAHO in the United States). Issues in regards to healthcare improvement are evolving around the surveillance of medication errors within institutions.

Syndromic surveillance

Syndromic surveillance is the analysis of medical data to detect or anticipate disease outbreaks. According to a CDC definition, "the term 'syndromic surveillance' applies to surveillance using health-related data that precede diagnosis and signal a sufficient probability of a case or an outbreak to warrant further public health response. Though historically syndromic surveillance has been utilized to target investigation of potential cases, its utility for detecting outbreaks associated with bioterrorism is increasingly being explored by public health officials."[3]
The first indications of disease outbreak or bioterrorist attack may not be the definitive diagnosis of a physician or a lab.
Using a normal influenza outbreak as an example, once the outbreak begins to affect the population, some people may call in sick for work/school, others may visit their drug store and purchase medicine over the counter, others will visit their doctor's office and other's may have symptoms severe enough that they call the emergency telephone number or go to an emergency room.
Syndromic surveillance systems monitor data from school absenteeism logs, emergency call systems, hospitals' over-the-counter drug sale records, Internet searches, and other data sources to detect unusual patterns. When a spike in activity is seen in any of the monitored systems disease epidemiologists and public health professionals are alerted that may be an issue.
An early awareness and response to a bioterrorist attack could save many lives and potentially stop or slow the spread of the outbreak. The most effective syndromic surveillance systems automatically monitor these systems in real-time, do not require individuals to enter separate information (secondary data entry), include advanced analytical tools, aggregate data from multiple systems, across geo-political boundaries and include an automated alerting process.

Laboratory-based surveillance
Some conditions, especially chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, are routinely managed with frequent laboratory measurements. Since many laboratory results, at least in Europe and the US, are automatically processed by computerized laboratory information systems, the results are relatively easy to inexpensively collate in special purpose databases or disease registries. Unlike most syndromic surveillance systems, in which each record is assumed to be independent of the others, laboratory data in chronic conditions can be usefully linked together at the individual patient level. If patient identifiers can be matched, a chronological record of each patient's laboratory results can be analyzed as well as aggregated to the population level.
Laboratory registries allow for the analysis of the incidence and prevalence of the target condition as well as trends in the level of control. For instance, the Vermedx Diabetes Information System maintains a registry of laboratory values of diabetic adults in Vermont and northern New York State in the US that contains many years of laboratory results on thousands of patients. The data include measures of blood sugar control (glycosolated hemoglobin A1C), cholesterol, and renal function (serum creatinine and urine protein), and have been used to monitor the quality of care at the patient, practice, and population levels. Since the data contain each patient's name and address, the system has also been used to communicate directly with patients when the laboratory data indicate the need for attention. Out of control test results generate a letter to the patient suggesting they take action with their medical provider. Tests that are overdue generate reminders to have testing performed. The system also generates reminders and alerts with guideline-based advice for the practice as well as a periodic roster of each provider's patients and a report card summarizing the health status of the population.
A similar system, The New York City A1C Registry, is in development to monitor the estimated 600,000 diabetic patients in New York City. The NYC Department of Health plans to link additional patient services to the registry such as health information and improved access to health care services.

Disease surveillance

2007-09-30T02:53:00.001-07:00

Disease surveillance is an epidemiological practice by which the spread of disease is monitored in order to establish patterns of progression. The main role of disease surveillance is to predict, observe, and minimize the harm caused by outbreak, epidemic, and pandemic situations, as well as increase our knowledge as to what factors might contribute to such circumstances. A key part of modern disease surveillance is the practice of disease case reporting.
In modern times, reporting incidences of disease outbreaks has been transformed from manual record keeping to instant world wide internet communication.
The number of cases could be gathered from hospitals - who could be expected to see most of the occurrences - collated, and eventually made public. With the advent of modern communication technology, this has changed dramatically. Organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control now can report cases and deaths from significant diseases within days - sometimes within hours - of the occurrence. Further, there is considerable public pressure to make this information available quickly and accurately.

H5N1

Surveillance of H5N1 in humans, poultry, wild birds, cats and other animals remains very weak in many parts of Asia and Africa. Much remains unknown about the exact extent of its spread.
H5N1 in China is less than fully reported. Blogs have described many discrepancies between official China government announcements concerning H5N1 and what people in China see with their own eyes. Many reports of total H5N1 cases have excluded China due to widespread disbelief in China's official numbers.[5]
"Only half the world's human bird flu cases are being reported to the World Health Organization within two weeks of being detected, a response time that must be improved to avert a pandemic, a senior WHO official said Saturday. Dr. Shigeru Omi, WHO's regional director for the Western Pacific, said it is estimated that countries would have only two to three weeks to stamp out, or at least slow, a pandemic flu strain after it began spreading in humans."[6]
Dr. David Nabarro, chief avian flu coordinator for the United Nations, says avian flu has too many unanswered questions.[7][8]
CIDRAP reported on August 25,2006 on a new US government Web site that allows the public to view current information about testing of wild birds for H5N1 avian influenza which is part of a national wild-bird surveillance plan that "includes five strategies for early detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Sample numbers from three of these will be available on HEDDS: live wild birds, subsistence hunter-killed birds, and investigations of sick and dead wild birds. The other two strategies involve domestic bird testing and environmental sampling of water and wild-bird droppings. [...] A map on the new USGS site shows that 9,327 birds from Alaska have been tested so far this year, with only a few from most other states. Last year officials tested just 721 birds from Alaska and none from most other states, another map shows. The goal of the surveillance program for 2006 is to collect 75,000 to 100,000 samples from wild birds and 50,000 environmental samples, officials have said."[

Surveillance aircraft

2007-09-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

Surveillance aircraft are military aircraft used for monitoring enemy activity, usually carrying no armament. This article concentrates on military aircraft used in this role, though a major civilian aviation activity is reconnaissance and ground surveillance for mapping, traffic monitoring, science, and geological survey. In addition, civilian aircraft are used in many countries for border surveillance, fishery patrols or the prevention of smuggling and illegal migration.
Such efforts long predate the invention of heavier-than-air flight, with experiments using balloons to provide targeting information for artillery beginning in France in 1794. Continued attempts throughout the 19th Century proved militarily useless, but aerostat-based radar platforms are now in use.

History

Airborne reconnaissance goes back to the early era of ballooning. After the French Revolution, the new rulers became interested in using the balloon to observe enemy manoeuvres and appointed scientist Charles Coutelle to conduct studies using l'Entreprenant, the first reconnaissance aircraft. The balloon found its first use in the 1794 conflict with Austria, where in the Battle of Fleurus the gathered information and the demoralizing effect on the Austrian troops ensured victory for the French troops.
The first reconnaissance flights with winged aircraft in combat conditions took place during the Balkan wars, on 5 October 1912 by Greek and on 16 October 1912 by Bulgarian (Albatros) aircraft.
One of the first aircraft used for surveillance was the Rumpler Taube during World War I, when aviators like Fred Zinn evolved entirely new methods of reconnaissance and photography. The translucent wings of the plane made it very difficult for ground based observers to detect a Taube at an altitude above 400 m. The French also called this plane "the Invisible Aircraft", and it is sometimes also referred to as the "world's very first stealth plane". German Taube aircraft were able to detect the advancing Russian army during the Battle of Tannenberg (1914).
Before World War II the conventional wisdom was to use converted bomber types for airborne photo reconnaissance, since these were the only aircraft with the long range needed for the reconnaissance missions. These bombers retained their defensive armament, which was vital since they were unable to avoid interception.
In 1939 Flying Officer Maurice Longbottom was among the first to suggest that airborne reconnaissance may be a task better suited to fast, small aircraft which would use their speed and high service ceiling to avoid detection and interception. Although this seems obvious now, with modern reconnaissance tasks performed by fast, high flying aircraft, at the time it was radical thinking.
As a result, fighters such as the British Spitfire and Mosquito and the American P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang were adapted for photo-reconnaissance during World War II. Such craft were stripped of weaponry, painted in sky camouflage colours to make them difficult to spot in the air, and often had engines modified for higher performance at very high altitudes (well over 40,000 feet). Early in the war the British developed a warming system to allow photographs to be taken at very high altitudes. The collection and interpretation of such photographs became a considerable enterprise. One site claims that the British, at their peak, flew over 100 reconnaissance flights a day, yielding 50,000 images per day to interpret. Similar efforts were taken by other countries.
Immediately after World War II, long range aerial reconnaissance was once again taken up by adapted bombers, albeit with jet engines, enabling them to fly faster and higher than before. Examples of such aircraft include the English Electric Canberra, and its American development, the Martin B-57. In the 1950s, the first purpose-built jet covert surveillance aircraft, the Lockheed U-2 was constructed secretly for the United States. Designed for flights over Soviet territory, the plane remained an obscurity until one piloted by Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, leading to the U-2 Crisis. Modified versions of the U-2 remain in service in 2007, though its capabilities and operations remain secret. In the 1960s the SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest manned jet-propelled aircraft ever built, was constructed. However, as both the United States and Soviet Union possessed surveillance satellites, overt interest in new types of photo-reconnaissance aircraft declined.
There are claims that the US constructed a new, secret, hypersonic surveillance aircraft - dubbed the Aurora - in the late 1980s to replace the Blackbird, but no confirmation of this has ever emerged.
Another category of surveillance aircraft that has been in vogue since World War II is the maritime patrol aircraft. These are typically large, slow machines capable of flying continuously for many hours, with a wide range of sensors and electronic equipments on board. Such aircraft include the Avro Shackleton, the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod, the Breguet Atlantique, the Tupolev Tu-95, and from Lockheed, the Neptune and later the Orion. The latter type became famous when a Chinese interceptor collided with the wing of a US Navy example patrolling. The crew of the larger US aircraft made an emergency landing. The Orion was impounded by the Chinese authorities then dismantled and returned to the USA. The crew were questioned but released prior to the aircraft's return. see U.S.-China spy plane incident

Current uses
Several unmanned remotely-controlled reconnaissance aircraft (UAVs) have been recently deployed or are under development in many countries, including Israel, the UK, the United States and India. Currently under development are, amongst others, the RQ-4 Global Hawk, a high-altitude jet-propelled craft that resembles the U-2, and the smaller, medium-altitude MQ-1 Predator. Schweizer Aircraft Corporation are developing remotely-piloted versions of a light helicopter.
Most Air Forces around the world lack dedicated surveillance planes, but have the capability of adding reconnaissance cameras to combat and transport aircraft.
Another type of surveillance aircraft is the electronic surveillance aircraft. Whilst other military aircraft, including photo-reconnaissance aircraft, have been used for that purpose, several countries adapt aircraft for electronic intelligence (ELINT) gathering. The Beech RC-12 Super King Air and Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint are examples of this military activity, which helps to reduce opportunities for surprise attack or the risks of training exercises being misunderstood by potential enemies.
As well as the development of UAVs, another recent trend in surveillance aircraft design has been the realization that, with the addition of lightweight sensors and communications gear, every fighter plane and ground attack plane can simultaneously be used to perform surveillance. Hence, the in-development F-35 Joint Strike Fighter multirole fighter plane will have extensive surveillance and communications capabilities built in.

Continued Of Surveillance

2007-09-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

Impact of surveillance

The greatest impact of computer-enabled surveillance is the large number of organizations involved in surveillance operations:
The state and security services still have the most powerful surveillance systems, because they are enabled under the law. But today levels of state surveillance have increased, and using computers they are now able to draw together many different information sources to produce profiles of persons or groups in society.
Many large corporations now use various form of "passive" surveillance. This is primarily a means of monitoring the activities of staff and for controlling public relations. But some large corporations actively use various forms of surveillance to monitor the activities of activists and campaign groups who may impact their operations.
Many companies trade in information lawfully, buying and selling it from other companies or local government agencies who collect it. This data is usually bought by companies who wish to use it for marketing or advertising purposes.
Personal information is obtained by many small groups and individuals. Some of this is for harmless purposes, but increasingly sensitive personal information is being obtained for criminal purposes, such as credit card and other types of fraud.
Modern surveillance cannot be totally avoided. However, non-state groups may employ surveillance techniques against an organization, and some precautions can reduce their success. Some states are also legally limited in how extensively they can conduct general surveillance of people they have no particular reason to suspect.
Note: In all the forms of surveillance mentioned below, the issue of patterns is important. Although in isolation a single piece of communications data seems useless, when collected together with the communications data of other people it can disclose a lot of information about organizational relationships, work patterns, contacts and personal habits. The collection and processing of communications data is largely automated using computers. See also Traffic analysis.

Telephones and mobile telephones
The official and unofficial tapping of telephone lines is widespread.
The contracts or licenses by which the state controls telephone companies means that they must provide access for tapping lines to the security services and the police.
For mobile phones the major threat is the collection of communications data. These not only include information about the time and duration of the call, but also from where the call was made and to whom. These data can be determined generally because the geographic communications cell that the call was made in is stored with the details of the call. But it is also possible to get greater resolution of a person's location by combining information from a number of cells surrounding the person's location.
Mobile phones are, in surveillance terms, a major liability. This liability will only increase as the new third-generation (3G) phones are introduced. This is because the base stations will be located closer together.

Postal services
As more people use faxes and e-mail the significance of the postal system is decreasing. (This may not be the case in all countries, certainly the case with international communications, but probably not local.) But interception of post is still very important to security services.

Surveillance devices, or "bugs"
Main article: Covert listening device
Surveillance devices, or "bugs", are not really a communications medium, but they are a device that requires a communications channel. A "bug" usually involves a radio transmitter, but there are many other options for carrying a signal; you can send radio frequencies through the main wiring of a building and pick them up outside, you can pick up the transmissions from a cordless phones, and you can pick up the data from poorly configured wireless computer networks or tune in to the radio emissions of a computer monitor.
Bugs come in all shapes and sizes. The original purpose of bugs was to relay sound. Today the miniaturization of electronics has progressed so far that even TV pictures can be broadcast via bugs that incorporate miniature video cameras (something made popular recently during TV coverage sports events, etc.). The cost of these devices has dramatically fallen.
A recent trend has been the development of surveillance devices or bugs concurrently with that of popular electronic devices. For example, a new surveillance gadget system involves the insertion of recording devices and cameras and communication devices into ipods and laptops; the surveillance agents pretending to be listening to music with ipods or using laptops then sit near their targets to record their conversation. The control center gives commands to the surveillance agents through the ipods. The popularity of such items as ipods and laptops helps mask the widespread surveillance conducted in society after 911. The system is employed by the Department of Homeland Security among others.

Computer surveillance
At a basic level, computers are a surveillance target because large amounts of personal information are stored on them. Anyone who can access or remove a computer can retrieve information. If someone is able to install software on a computer system, they can turn the computer into a surveillance device.
Computers can be tapped by a number of methods, ranging from the installation of physical bugs or surveillance software to the remote interception of the radio transmissions generated by the normal operation of computers.
Spyware, a term coined by self-proclaimed computer security expert Steve Gibson, is often used to describe computer surveillance tools that are installed against a user's will. High-speed Internet connections have made computers more vulnerable than ever before.

Photography
Photography is becoming more valuable as a means of surveillance. In recent years there has been a significant expansion in the level of stills and video photography carried out at public demonstrations in many countries. At the same time there have been advances in closed circuit television (CCTV) technology and computer image processing that enable digital images taken from cameras to be matched with images stored in a database.
Photographs have long been collected as a form of evidence. But as protest and civil disobedience become an ever-greater liability to governments and corporations, images are gathered not only as evidence for prosecution, but also as a source of intelligence information. The collection of photographs and video also has another important function — it scares people.
See Forward intelligence Team, Secret photography.

Closed-circuit television
Main article: Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) — with which the picture is viewed or recorded, but not broadcast — initially developed as a means of security for banks. Today it has developed to the point where it is simple and inexpensive enough to be used in home security systems, and for everyday surveillance.

Citizens under surveillance in Cairns, Queensland
The widespread use of CCTV by the police and governments has developed over the last 10 years. In the UK, cities and towns across the country have installed large numbers of cameras linked to police authorities. The justification for the growth of CCTV in towns is that it deters crime — although there is still no clear evidence that CCTV reduces crime. The recent growth of CCTV in housing areas also raises serious issues about the extent to which CCTV is being used as a social control measure rather than simply a deterrent to crime.
The development of CCTV in public areas, linked to computer databases of people's pictures and identity, has been argued by some to present a risk to civil liberties.

Electronic trails
Modern society creates large amounts of transaction data. In the past this data would be documented in paper records and would leave a "paper trail" but today many of these records are electronic, resulting in an "electronic trail" that is easily reconstructed through automated means. Every time you use a bank machine, pay by credit card, use a phone card, make a call from home, or otherwise complete a recorded transaction you generate an electronic record. When aggregated and analyzed, this information can identify individual behavior patterns that describe how you live and work.
One way to protect autonomy and individual freedom in a paper-based world is through anonymous transactions, for example by using cash. When transactions are electronic, that anonymity may be lost.
Today, large aggregations of transaction information are assembled by marketing, credit reporting, and other data aggregation companies in order to analyze consumer behavior to determine how companies should manage their marketing or sales strategies, or to assess counterparty "trust" for financial transaction. These data sets are also sold to other companies or to government agencies for additional use.
The availability of large data sets of transaction information facilitates the use of automated surveillance or analysis techniques such as data mining to perform dataveillance.

Data profiling of individuals
Data profiling in this context is the process of assembling information about a particular individual in order to generate a profile — that is, a picture of their patterns and behavior (compare this use of the term data profiling with that used in statistics or data management where data profiling is the examination of information describing the data or data set itself).
Data profiling is used in security, law enforcement and intelligence operations for a variety of applications — for example, to assess "trust" for security clearances or to grant authorization relating to a trusted system, or to identify or apprehend suspects or threats. The government is able to access information from third parties — for example, banks, credit companies or employers, etc. — by requesting access informally, by compelling access through the use of subpoenas or other procedures, or by purchasing data from commercial data aggregators or data brokers. Under United States v. Miller (1976), data held by third parties is generally not subject to Fourth Amendment warrant requirements. Private companies and private investigators can also generally access or purchase data from these aggregators.
Information relating to any individual transaction is easily available because it is not generally highly valued in isolation, however, when many such transactions are aggregated they can be used to assemble a detailed profile revealing the actions, habits and preferences of the individual.
In the past, much information about individuals has been protected by practical obscurity (a term used by Justice Stevens in his opinion in USDOJ v. Reporters Committee, 1989). Practical obscurity refers to the practical difficulty of aggregating or analyzing a large number of data points in different physical locations. In addition, information was often transient and not easily available after the fact. Further, even where data was available, correlation of paper-based records was a laborious process. Electronic, particularly digital, record-keeping has undermined this practical obscurity by making data easily available and potentially making aggregation and analysis possible at significantly lower costs.
Thus, as more information becomes available in electronic form — for example, as public records such birth, court, tax and other records are made available online — the ability to create very detailed data profiles increases and may raise concerns.

Biometric surveillance
Biometric surveillance refers to technologies that measure and analyze human physical and/or behavioral characteristics for authentication, identification, or screening purposes. Examples of physical characteristics include fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, DNA, facial patterns and hand measurements, while examples of mostly behavioral characteristics include signature, gait, voice, and typing patterns. All behavioral biometric characteristics have a physiological component. Another form of behavioral biometrics has been introduced by IBM in 2006, called the Smart Surveillance System, or S3, which uses video surveillance and algorithms to detect suspicious activity or behavior and will send an alert when necessary. Most forms of biometric surveillance are still in the research and developmental mode. As the technologies for biometric surveillance become more accurate and reliable, it may become more popular to use the body as a password, instead of using PINs or pass codes.
The main advantages of biometrics over standard identification and validation systems are:
Biometric traits cannot be lost or forgotten (while passwords can)
Biometric traits are difficult to copy, share and distribute (while passwords can be announced in crackers of websites)
Biometrics require the person being authenticated to be present at the time and point of authentication
A biometric system can provide the following three functions:
Verification: Is used to determine whether a person is who he claims to be? Somebody A person’s identity can be checked if his/her biometric information is already known and stored on a card or in a database.
Identification: Who is the person? Biometric information can be extracted from a person and compared with other entries of a database to see if the resulting match provides one clear answer.
Screening: Is the person on a watch-list? Biometric information can be used to determine if a person is cleared to be in a restricted area, or if the person is on a watch list (e.g. the F.B.I. Most Wanted list).
As a means of combating the problem of people carrying or falsifying credentials, researchers are increasingly looking at biometrics — measuring biological or physical characteristics — as a way to determine identity. One of the oldest forms of biometrics is fingerprints. Every finger of every person (identical twins included) has a unique pattern, and these have been used for many years to help identify suspects in police inquiries. A finger/thumb print can be reduced to a brief numeric description, and such systems are being used in banks and secure areas to verify identity. However, it should be noted that as of 2006, electronic fingerprint readers are subject to high error rates, misidentifying individuals as frequently as one time in ten.
A more recent development is DNA fingerprinting, which looks at some of the major markers in the body's DNA to produce a match. However, the match produced is less accurate than ordinary fingerprints because it only identifies people to a certain probability of matching. Further, identical twins have identical DNA, and so are indistinguishable by this method.
Handwriting — primarily one's signature — has been used for many years to determine identity. However other characteristics of the individual can also be used to check identity. Voice analysis has been used for some as a means to prove identity, but it is not suited to portable use because of the problems of storing a range of voiceprints. But perhaps the two most viable portable systems, because identities can be reduced to a series of numeric data points rather than a detailed image or sound, are:
Iris recognition. Some banks are now using this method of security. The human iris has a unique pattern that can be reduced to a simple series of numeric descriptions. The iris reader matches the pattern of the iris to one stored and verifies the match.
Facial recognition. The configuration of the facial features can be used to accurately identify one individual from another. Again, the configuration can be reduced to a short numeric description.
By combining some form of personal identifying feature, with a system of verification it is possible to do everything from buying food to travelling abroad. The important issue is how this information is managed in order to reduce the likelihood of tracking. If you were to combine a particular biometric system with new smart card technology to store the description, that system would be immune from tracking (unless the transaction produced a document/electronic trial). However, if the identifying features are stored centrally, and a whole range of systems have access to those descriptions, it is possible that other uses could be made of the data; for example, using high resolution CCTV images with a database of facial identities in order to identify people at random.

Identities
There are instances when we wish to hide our identity — to remain anonymous — for a whole range of reasons. To eliminate this will be a serious erosion of our civil liberties. This is possible as we move towards the development of electronic identities. There are two aspects to this:
Development of systems of credentials — where you carry a card or a document; and
Development of biometrics — where you are recognized from your unique biological characteristics.
The development of identity systems is being pushed on two fronts:
The banking industry, who wish to find a more fool-proof system of verifying financial transactions than the possession of a plastic card or the use of a signature;
Law enforcement, who want a way of identifying individuals easily, even if they have no reason (i.e. evidence) to do so.[5][6] (See Stop and Search)
One of the simplest forms of identification is the carrying of credentials. Some countries have an identity card system to aid identification. Other documents, such as driver's licenses, library cards, bankers or credit cards are also used to verify identity. The problem with identity based on credentials is that the individual must carry them, and be identifiable, or face a legal penalty. This problem is compounded if the form of the identity card is "machine-readable," usually using an encoded magnetic stripe that corroborates the subject's identifying data. In this case it may create a document trail as it is used to verify transactions, like, for instance, swiping an ID card before entering a night club or bar to confirm age and possibly aid police in case of a criminal incident on the premises.

Human operatives and social engineering

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The most invasive form of surveillance is the use of human operatives. This takes two forms:
The use of operatives to infiltrate an organization; and
The use of social engineering techniques to obtain information.
In groups dealing with issues that are directly contrary to government policy the issue of infiltration often arises. Also, where groups oppose large corporations, infiltration by agents of the corporation may occur. As well as operatives, the police and security services may put pressure on certain members of an organization to disclose the information they hold on other members.
Running operatives is very expensive, and for the state the information recovered from operatives can be obtained from less problematic forms of surveillance. If discovered, it can also be a public relations disaster for the government or corporation involved. For these reasons, the use of operatives to infiltrate organizations is not as widespread as many believe. But infiltration is still very likely from other organizations who are motivated to discover and monitor the work of campaign groups. This may be for political or economic motivations. There are also many informal links between large corporations and police or security services, and the trading of information about groups and activists is part of this relationship.
It is not possible to guard against the infiltration of an organization without damaging the viability or effectiveness of the organization. Worrying too much about infiltration within the organization can breed mistrust and bad working relationships within an organization. Rather like other forms of surveillance, the professional infiltration of operatives into an organization is difficult to guard against.
Another more likely scenario, especially when dealing with third-party collections agencies or banks seeking debt payment, as well as the media or corporate public relations, is social engineering, also known as "pretexting." This involves the inquiring agent phoning or physically talking to the subject in a way as to make him believe they are someone else, or someone with an innocuous interest in the subject. The inquirer's real, clandestine interest is to obtain some specific information that they believe the subject possesses. This form of information gathering is most often used, on a regular basis, by financial operatives pursuing delinquent debts.
In order to avoid disclosing sensitive information to undesirable third parties, precautions may be taken:
One should not disclose sensitive information over the telephone or in person to unverified third parties.
Social engineering may be identified by asking a series of questions to see if the inquirer is aware of facts or future plans that they should not be aware of. In case the inquirer claims to represent a familiar financial institution or other "trusted" organization, one may ask for a number to call back, which may then be verified, either through a phone directory or organization web site.
Journalists for well known media organization can be verified by phoning the editor of that organization, but freelance or independent journalists should be treated with care — they could be working for anyone.
In case one is member of certain organizations, such as activist groups, a balance between privacy and accessibility is often necessary, especially when running a public campaign. This often requires a security policy for dealing with media and other inquiries.

Natural surveillance
Natural surveillance is a term used in "Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design" (CPTED) and "Defensible Space" models for crime prevention. These models rely on the ability to influence offender decisions preceding criminal acts. Research into criminal behavior demonstrates that the decision to offend or not to offend is more influenced by cues to the perceived risk of being caught than by cues to reward or ease of entry. Consistent with this research CPTED based strategies emphasize enhancing the perceived risk of detection and apprehension.
Natural surveillance limits the opportunity for crime by taking steps to increase the perception that people can be seen. Natural surveillance occurs by designing the placement of physical features, activities and people in such a way as to maximize visibility and foster positive social interaction. Potential offenders feel increased scrutiny and limitations on their escape routes. It is typically free of cost, however its effectiveness to deter crime varies with the individual offender.
Jane Jacobs, North American editor, urban activist, urban planning critic, and author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), formulated the natural surveillance strategy based on her work in New York's Greenwich Village. Natural surveillance is naturally occurring. As people are moving around an area, they will be able to observe what is going on around them, provided the area is open and well lit. Supporting a diversity of uses within a public space is highly effective. Other ways to promote natural surveillance include low landscaping, street lights, street designs that encourage pedestrian use, removing hiding and lurking places, and placing high risk targets, such as expensive or display items, in plain view of legitimate users, such as near a receptionist or sales clerk.
Included in the design are features that maximize visibility of people, parking areas and building entrances: doors and windows that look out on to streets and parking areas, see-through barriers (glass brick walls, picket fences), pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and streets, and front porches. Designing nighttime lighting is particularly important: uniform high intensity "carpet" lighting of large areas is discouraged, especially where lights glare into (and discourage) observers eyes. In its place is feature lighting that draws the observer's focus to access control points and potential hiding areas. Area lighting is still used, but with shielded and cut-off luminaries to control glare. Light sources are typically placed lower to the ground, at a higher density, and with lower intensity than the lighting it is designed to replace.
Any architectural design that enhances the chance that a potential offender will be, or might be, seen is a form of natural surveillance. Often, it is not just the fact that the offender might be seen that matters. It is that the offender "thinks" they will be seen that can help deter the opportunity for crime.

surveillance

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Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. Systems surveillance is the process of monitoring the behavior of people, objects or processes within systems for conformity to expected or desired norms in trusted systems for security or social control. Clinical surveillance refers to the monitoring of diseases or public health–related indicators (for example symptoms indicating an act of bioterrorism) by epidemiologists and public health professionals. IPA pronunciation: [səˌveɪəns] or [səˌveɪl(ə)ns] and in its original French [syrvɛjãns].[1]
Although the word surveillance in French literally means "watching over",[2] the term is often used for all forms of observation or monitoring, not just visual observation. Nevertheless, the all-seeing "eye in the sky" is still a general icon of surveillance. Surveillance in many modern cities and buildings often uses closed-circuit television cameras. Although surveillance can be a useful tool for law enforcement and security companies, many people have concerns about the loss of privacy.

The word surveillance is commonly used to describe observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment or other technological means.

For example:

eavesdropping
telephone tapping
directional microphones
covert listening devices or "bugs"
Minox subminiature cameras
closed-circuit television
GPS tracking
Bait car
electronic tagging
CCTV Images
military reconnaissance
Reconnaissance aircraft, e.g. Lockheed U-2
Reconnaissance satellites
"trusted" computing devices
Internet and computer surveillance

However, surveillance also includes simple, relatively no- or low-technology methods such as direct observation, observation with binoculars, postal interception, or similar methods.