AI CCTV - Creating a Surveillance Society

Premiering in New York City in June 2002, Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed film Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, depicted a society where police use psychic mutants to predict and prevent murderers from committing their crimes. Now, South Korean company Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) is using AI to make it a reality. 

Aptly named ‘Dejaview,’ ETRI’s high-tech platform blends AI with real-time CCTV to predict crimes before they transpire. But whereas the Pre-Crime department Tom Cruise heads in Minority Report focused on criminal intention, Dejaview is instead concerned with probability. 

ETRI says the platform can discern patterns and anomalies in real-time scenarios, allowing it to predict incidents from petty offences to drug trafficking with a sci-fi-esque 82% accuracy rate. more

Amazing AI - Imagine Alternate Espionage Uses

via The Neuron...

AI generated image to video sizzle reel. And, more...

Want to see hear what the future sounds like? Check out these 10 examples:

Camera bot: Dr. Bobby Gomez-Reino engineered a voice controlled tour of his virtual data center, where he changes camera angles by chatting with his bot.  Browser whisperer: Sawyer Hood built a voice-controlled web browser. “Google, show me cat videos" just got a whole lot easier.  Speech to Picasso: Jordan Singer splashed together a voice-controlled painting app.  PDF mind reader: Marcus Schiesser created a voice chat for documents. “Hey term paper, what's your main argument?” Yes, please. 5-minute assistant: Pietro Schirano whipped up a voice assistant with Claude in “one shot.”  Interview prep pal: Kenn Ejima prepared an AI interviewer to conduct a 2 minute mock interview, quizzing you on your resume experience.  Smart voice agent: LangChain, an AI agent developer, crafted a voice assistant that can use tools like a calculator (code).  Website dialogue: Nicolas Camara made it possible to chat with anywebsite (like get the latest headlines from Hacker News, for example).  Stock tracking assistant: Willy Douhard made a voice assistant that can chart the price movements of multiple stocks with only your voice.  Real time animated friend: Bryan Pratte shared how to combine OpenAI’s voice AI with ExpressionEngine to bring his animated characters to life.

FutureWatch: Visualizing Radio Waves to Detect Eavesdropping Bugs

If you could see radio waves it would make finding your misplaced mobile phone easier. It would also make finding eavesdropping bugs and covert spy cameras easier to find, too.

We are not quite there yet, but progress is being made. A French company, Luxondes, is working on this now. Their focus, however, is not consumer or TSCM oriented. The immediate profit market is product testing. 

In this video, they show a transmitting device being waved in front of a panel with 64 sensors operating between 50 MHz and 3 GHz. 

Being able to visualize radio waves is necessary for many reasons. As TSCM practitioners, we want this technology to evolve.  

• Initially, by developing a hand-held screen which can be moved around a room or vehicle. 
• Eventually, by developing a device—maybe a spatial headset—that displays radio-frequency energy as a 3-D fog, lidar-map the room, and document both for review and as evidence. 
• And, whenever possible, add AI capabilities. Determine the frequency. List what is legally allowed to use that frequency. Analyze and identify the waveform. Display the results, and highlight any anomalies. 

With any luck, REI is also working on this for us.

AI Lip Reading: Eavesdropping Without a Microphone or Laser

 Eavesdropping via lip reading has been around a long time, probably since Og saw Charlie mouth "shhhh" when a bear approached their cave.

My introduction to eavesdropping via lip reading came around 1976. A company president asked for a sweep of his upper floor corner office for bugs. None found. He asked about the possibility of laser eavesdropping. Very unlikely, however, a careful visual scan of nearby buildings directly across on both streets discovered, one floor down, and just off center, there was the glint of a lens, and a darkened room with a desk, and two people. Further investigation established, yes, it was eavesdropping via lip reading.

The concept of AI lip reading actually predated this case. It was 1968, in the movie, 2001, A Space Odyssey. Remember this scene? "Concerned about HAL's behaviour, Bowman and Poole enter an EVA pod so they can talk in private without HAL overhearing. They agree to disconnect HAL if he is proven wrong. HAL follows their conversation by lip reading."

It is now 2024 and real AI lip reading has just arrived from Symphonic Labs. I took advantage of their offer to test the beta app. Of course, it was not 100% accurate, but massively impressive nonetheless.  

For the test, I selected a random YouTube video. (Nate, at the Daily Drop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy2a899yYec) A 10-second video clip was extracted. The clip was processed through Apple's Quicktime to remove the audio track before submitting it to the Symphonic Labs' app. 

This is what Nate is really saying about airport screening: "But if you decide to get Clear and if you do see one of the signs at the airport that has Clear and TSA Precheck then don’t assume that is your fastest option, All right, so hopefully I did a…"

Here is what the AI app reconstructs what Nate is saying:

This is an impressive start, and expected to become much more accurate as the number of training models increases. And, it’s not all for spies. Think about talking to your computer or smartphone without others eavesdropping on you. 

Better start thinking about what you say, where you say it, and establishing a relationship with a technical information security consultant to protect your business.

PrivacyLens Can Turn You into a Stick Figure

A new camera could prevent companies from collecting embarrassing and identifiable photos and videos from devices like smart home cameras and robotic vacuums. It’s called PrivacyLens and was made by University of Michigan engineers.

PrivacyLens uses both a standard video camera and a heat-sensing camera to spot people in images from their body temperature. The person’s likeness is then completely replaced by a generic stick figure, whose movements mirror those of the person it stands in for. The accurately animated stick figure allows a device relying on the camera to continue to function without revealing the identity of the person in view of the camera.

That extra anonymity could prevent private moments from leaking onto the internet, which is increasingly common in today’s world. more

FutureWatch: Electronic Dog Noses are Evolving

Generative AI has proven it can spit out a sound, an image, and written thoughts in mere seconds. But what about smells?

Osmo — a startup founded by a former Google researcher and backed by Google Ventures — thinks that scent is the next frontier for our computers. more

Wait… What do we need this for, other than the obvious applications in the fragrance industry, and medical uses, like detecting cancer. Perhaps the technology could also have electronic eavesdropping detection uses, like sniffing our covert surveillance devices.

Kevin's analysis...
Specially trained dogs have been used to sniff out covert electronic items, like cell phones in prisons, for quite a while now. The secret to detection is the device's electronic circuit boards. They contain these compounds: triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO) and hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (HPK). This second compound is also found on CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, the old tech floppy disks.

FutureWatch: Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) professionals have many types of technologies at their disposal for detecting illegal electronic surveillance devices. To name a few... Non-Linear Junction Detection, Infrared Thermography, and Radio-frequency Spectrum Analysis. We are now well on our way to adding EDN to our kit.

FutureWatch: The AI Polygraph, or Who's Zoomin' You

PolygrAI - A Technology That Provides Real-Time Risk Assessment And Sentiment Analysis

How it Works
PolygrAI is a fusion of advanced computer vision algorithms and extensive psychological research designed to discern the validity of human expressions. The software meticulously analyzes a spectrum of physiological and behavioral indicators correlated with deceit. For instance, when a person tells a lie, they might unconsciously exhibit decreased blinking or an erratic gaze—these are the tell-tale signs that PolygrAI detects.

The system vigilantly computes a ‘trustfulness score’ by monitoring and interpreting subtle changes in facial expressions, heart rate variability, and eye movement patterns. This score is adjusted in real-time, offering a dynamic gauge of credibility.

Furthermore, PolygrAI assesses the voice for sudden shifts in tone and pitch—parameters that could betray an individual’s composure or reveal underlying stress. more Lifetime access ($100) for beta testers.

Click to enlarge.

FutureWatch: Eavesdropping on YOU, by Looking at Your Face

A Stanford University psychologist named Michal Kosinski claims that AI he's built can detect your intelligence, sexual preferences, and political leanings with a great degree of accuracy just by scanning your face, Business Insider reports.

Though Kosinski says his research should be seen as a warning, his work can feel more like a Pandora Box. Many of the use cases for his research seems pretty bad (like AI security scanners and robcops), and simply publishing about them may inspire new tools for discrimination. (Oops, forget what I just said.)

There's also the issue that the models aren't 100 percent accurate (yet), which could lead to people getting wrongly targeted. (e.g. Being a treehugger is not a sexual preference.) more

FutureWatch: AI to the Max - Will Intelligent Eavesdropping Bugs Be Possible?

SCIENTISTS ARE GROWING BRAINS IN LABS. COULD THEY BECOME CONSCIOUS? "IT HAS NO EYES, EARS, NOSE OR MOUTH — NOTHING'S COMING IN." (yet)

As scientists continue to make advances using human tissue to grow brains in laboratories, one neuroscientist is naming the existential elephant in the room: could lab-grown brains ever become truly conscious?

In an interview with Live Science, University of California at Santa Barbara neuroscientist Kenneth Kosik explained that as the science stands now, the facsimile brains made in labs aren't likely to achieve consciousness anytime soon. (Nothing to see here, don't worry, move on.)

These brain organoids, as the lab-grown brains are called, are created by taking someone's cells, converting them into stem cells, and differentiating those into neurons. more

FutureWatch: Eavesdropping on the Mind Gets One Step Closer to Reality

Mind-reading AI just got real! Researchers have created a revolutionary system that can recreate what you're looking at with amazing accuracy. And it’s works by only reading brain activity! 

This cutting-edge tech uses advanced algorithms to focus on the most important brain signals, allowing it to reconstruct images with uncanny precision. Imagine a future where you can control devices with your mind, upload memories to the cloud, or even communicate with others telepathically - this brings us one step closer to making it a reality! (via There's An AI For That)

Previously on Security Scrapbook.

FutureWatch: New AI Headphones Have Spy Potential

Appear to be listening to music, while zeroing in on a particular person's conversation...

What if you only want to hear what a single person is saying in a room full of other people? The experts over at the University of Washington have developed an AI-driven kit for headphones that lets you look at a person for three to five seconds as a directional signal*, and the headphones will only allow their voice to pass through. The team calls it "Target Speech Hearing" and it works even if the listener is moving around and no longer sitting directly in front of the speaker.

"In this project, we develop AI to modify the auditory perception of anyone wearing headphones, given their preferences. With our devices you can now hear a single speaker clearly even if you are in a noisy environment with lots of other people talking," says Professor Shyam Gollakota from the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. more

* This could easily be adjusted so looking at the person is not necessary. Looking forward could signal AI to focus in on the person behind you, or any angle. ~Kevin

Your Doctor’s Office Might Be Bugged

It used to be safe to assume your doctor’s visit was a completely private affair between you and your physician. This is changing with ambient artificial intelligence, a new technology that listens to your conversation and processes information. Think Amazon’s Alexa, but in your doctor’s office. 

An early use case is ambient AI scribing: it listens, then writes a clinical note summarizing your visit. Clinical notes are used to communicate diagnostic and treatment plans within electronic health records, and as a basis to generate your bill...

Okay, your conversation just got recorded. But where does it go? Is it stored somewhere? How is it used beyond writing my note? The AI technology companies need to address these questions and comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act laws. Additionally, new regulations may be needed as the technology evolves. more

2024 TSCM Trend Analysis

TSCM Equipment Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report by Type, by Product and by Industry Vertical: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032

Excerpt: "For instance, Murray Associates, an independent security consulting firm specializing in counterespionage consulting and information security for 40 years, provides TSCM and eavesdropping detection using real-time RF spectrum analysis, which is an advanced TSCM technology. 

In addition, Murray Associates, recently was the first non-government TSCM organization to offer advanced TSCM technology. The firm launched non-linear junction detection (NLJD) that can locate spy cams and other bugging devices even while they are turned off or out of power.

These factors result in innovation of highly discreet and capable modern surveillance technologies that are able to evade methods of traditional TSCM to meet new, emerging technical threats. The advanced TSCM equipment market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR." more

'Big brother' Satellite Set to Launch in 2025

'Big brother' satellite capable of zooming in on ANYONE, anywhere from space is set to launch in 2025 - and privacy experts say 'we should definitely be worried'

Privacy experts are sounding the alarm on a new satellite capable of spying on your every move that is set to launch in 2025.

The satellite, created by startup company Albedo, is so high quality it can zoom in on people or license plates from space, raising concerns among expert that it will create a 'big brother is always watching' scenario.

Albedo claims the satellite won't have facial recognition software but doesn't mention that it will refrain from imaging people or protecting people's privacy. more

Aliens Could Be Spying On Us

Here’s What Their Space Probes Might Look Like

Maybe it’s abduction stories from the 1960s, in which alien doctors poke and prod human subjects with surgical tools. Or perhaps you picture something a little more like Oumuamua: a rocky, cigar-shaped “interstellar interloper” that slingshotted around the center of our solar system roughly 15 million miles from Earth back in 2017.

It’s this second type of potential “probe” that has attracted the attention of scientists, including Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb. In addition to suggesting that Oumuamua might have been an alien spaceship, Loeb, who holds a Ph.D. in plasma physics, has also searched the bottom of the ocean for evidence of alien visitors. These ideas, however, are not widely accepted in the greater scientific community. more

AI Wi-Fi CCTV - Spooky

Scientists Are Getting Eerily Good at Using WiFi to 'See' People Through Walls in Detail
The signals from WiFi can be used to map a human body, according to a new paper.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a method for detecting the three dimensional shape and movements of human bodies in a room, using only WiFi routers.

To do this, they used DensePose, a system for mapping all of the pixels on the surface of a human body in a photo. DensePose was developed by London-based researchers and Facebook’s AI researchers. From there, according to their recently-uploaded preprint paper published on arXiv, they developed a deep neural network that maps WiFi signals’ phase and amplitude sent and received by routers to coordinates on human bodies...

The Carnegie Mellon researchers wrote that they believe WiFi signals “can serve as a ubiquitous substitute” for normal RGB cameras, when it comes to “sensing” people in a room. Using WiFi, they wrote, overcomes obstacles like poor lighting and occlusion that regular camera lenses face. more  Interesting, but no need for the average person to worry.

Device Camera's Ambient Light Sensors Can Spy

The ambient light sensors responsible for smart devices’ brightness adjustments can capture images of touch interactions like swiping and tapping for hackers...

Unlike cameras, though, apps are not required to ask for permission to use these sensors. In a surprising discovery, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) uncovered that ambient light sensors are vulnerable to privacy threats when embedded on a smart device’s screen... An open-access paper on this work was published in Science Advances.

“This work turns your device's ambient light sensor and screen into a camera! Ambient light sensors are tiny devices deployed in almost all portable devices and screens that surround us in our daily lives,” says Princeton University professor Felix Heide, who was not involved with the paper. “As such, the authors highlight a privacy threat that affects a comprehensive class of devices and has been overlooked so far.” more  Interesting, but no need for the average person to worry.

FutureWatch: New Wi-Fi Tech Has Potential Spy Applications

Morse Micro, announced the first live demonstration of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow technology extending 3 km (nearly two miles). Morse Micro staged this record-setting field test of a long-range video call in San Francisco’s Ocean Beach neighborhood to showcase the ability of sub-GHz Wi-Fi HaLow signals to reach long distances in challenging real-world conditions. A low-power, long-reach version of Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11ah standard, Wi-Fi HaLow offers more than 10x the range, 100x the coverage area and 1000x the volume of traditional Wi-Fi technologies...

Wi-Fi HaLow overcomes the limitations of traditional Wi-Fi by operating in the sub-GHz spectrum on narrow frequency bands, enabling the technology to penetrate obstacles and provide unmatched performance, even in noisy environments crowded with numerous connected devices and cameras. Wi-Fi HaLow not only increases wireless range; it also extends battery life with its power-saving features...

The company is sampling its Wi-Fi Alliance and FCC-certified MM6108 production silicon – the fastest, smallest, lowest power and longest-range Wi-Fi HaLow SoC available in the market. more

US spies want to use AI

The U.S. government is considering incorporating more artificial intelligence into its spying operations — but first it has to figure out which AI models can resist tampering and protect the country’s secrets...

“The intelligence community wants to avail itself of the large-language models out there, but there are a lot of unknowns,” Tim McKinnon, who runs IARPA’s Bias Effects and Notable Generative AI Limitations (BENGAL) project, told Bloomberg. “The end goal is being able to work with a model with trust.”...

The BENGAL team tests different ways to attack AI models and uncover vulnerabilities that could hamper their effective use by U.S. spies. Officials have also invited private companies to perform these tests for the government. more

China’s Nuclear Battery Powers your Smartphone for 50 Years

A Chinese startup called Betavolt has cooked up this itty-bitty nuclear battery - about the size of a little coin - which they claim can crank out electricity for 50 years straight, with no charging pit stops needed.

As the company leaps from development to the pilot stage, they're gearing up for full-scale production and a grand entrance into the market pretty soon...

Zhang Wei, Chairman and CEO of Betavolt, said in a press release that the BV100 marks a groundbreaking achievement as the world's first mass-produced nuclear battery...

The company also deems these batteries safe for medical devices within the human body, such as pacemakers and cochlear's, with no external radiation. more

Ok, now think of this technology being applied to quick-plant eavesdropping bugs and voice recorders.