Showing posts with label tracking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tracking. Show all posts

Friday, January 5, 2024

Disney’s AI CCTV

Disney wants to know what you’re up to in the “Happiest Place on Earth.”

The company wants to patent a system for “predicting need for guest assistance,” which would track guests’ behavior at Disney properties using machine learning analysis of video data. Disney’s filing lays out an AI-based system which determines whether or not a guest’s behavior is normal, and uses that to predict if they need something. 

Disney’s system would work in tandem with CCTV systems collecting a constant stream of video data. That data is fed to a deep learning model to determine if a guest’s actions differ from a predetermined set of “normal guest behaviors.”

If a guest’s behavior is deemed abnormal, the system will alert the operator that they may need some kind of assistance.



Sunday, November 12, 2023

AirTags: The New Go-to Tool for Cops

After a viral TikTok trend spurred tens of thousands of car thefts this summer, cops in Washington, DC, started realizing that it was much easier to recover stolen vehicles that could be tracked with Apple AirTags.
Because of this, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) rolled out a pilot program this week, doling out free tracking devices to residents in DC areas where cops are seeing "the greatest increase in vehicle theft," according to a press release from the office of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. more

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Reno 911: Mayor Finds GPS Tracker on Her Car – Sues PI

Reno mayor Hillary Schieve is suing a private investigator and his company after finding a device attached to her vehicle that was capable of tracking its real-time location.


The lawsuit alleges that the investigator trespassed onto her property to install the device without her consent. It says Schieve was unaware until a mechanic noticed it while working on her vehicle.

The complaint says, further, that the investigator was working on behalf of an “unidentified third party” whose identity she has not been able to ascertain...

There was no immediate response to a request for comment emailed Friday by The Associated Press to David McNeely, the investigator alleged to have placed the tracking device, and 5 Alpha Industries, the company... She brought it to police in neighboring Sparks, and they were able to determine that it had been purchased by McNeely. more

Do-it-Yourself Vehicle GPS Tracker Detection

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Just Because You are Paranoid... Device Found in CEO's Car

Eskom CEO, André de Ruyter, has doubled down on the claim that he stumbled upon a highly sophisticated tracking device under the driver’s seat of his Volvo...

This comes after details were provided to press in October about a circuit board, described as an “NSA-level device”, that De Ruyter found while cleaning his car.

Articles cited a preliminary report prepared by former police commissioner George Fivaz who claimed the device isn’t commercially available, and is typically used by law enforcement and intelligence agencies...

Journalists were provided photos of the circuit board, which they duly published....

Security researcher Daniel Cuthbert was willing to comment on the record.

He explained that, based on the evidence, the device was likely nothing more than a remote of some kind.

Such a remote button could be a gate or garage opener, a panic button, or a way to arm and disarm a home alarm.

MyBroadband’s in-house researcher and electronic engineer Wikus Steyn agreed.

“There is no GPS chip or antenna, so no tracking that way. I see no mic onboard, although there is what seems to be a 2-pin input at the top, but that is most likely for a push button,” Steyn stated. He also said the quality of soldering suggests cheap mass production. more

Our take... I agree with Dan and Wikus. (but be sure to read the last paragraph) If the TI IC info in the photo is correct TI lists the chip's applications as:

1.2 Applications
  • Low-Power, High-Performance, Wireless Systems With Data Rate Up to 1250 kbps
  • ISM/SRD Bands: 169, 433, 868, 915, and 920 MHz
  • Possible Support for Additional Frequency Bands: 137 to 158.3 MHz, 205 to 237.5 MHz, and 274 to 316.6 MHz
  • Smart Metering (AMR/AMI)
  • Home and Building Automation
  • Wireless Alarm and Security Systems
  • Industrial Monitoring and Control
  • Wireless Healthcare Applications
  • Wireless Sensor Networks and Active RFID
  • IEEE 802.15.4g Applications
  • Wireless M-Bus, All Modes
Eskom CEO, André de Ruyter, may have misidentified this item, but it definitely doesn't mean he is not being surveilled. Thoughts of tracking and bugging are not normal. Something has made him suspicious. Trust your instincts, André. Get some professional TSCM help, and don't make it a public issue.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Police Use New Tool to Track People Without a Warrant

Government agencies and private security companies in the U.S. have found a cost-effective way to engage in warrantless surveillance of individuals, groups and places: a pay-for-access web tool called Fog Reveal.

The tool enables law enforcement officers to see “patterns of life” – where and when people work and live, with whom they associate and what places they visit. The tool’s maker, Fog Data Science, claims to have billions of data points from over 250 million U.S. mobile devices. more

Monday, February 14, 2022

An Update on AirTag and Unwanted Tracking

APPLE - We’ve become aware that individuals can receive unwanted tracking alerts for benign reasons, such as when borrowing someone’s keys with an AirTag attached, or when traveling in a car with a family member’s AirPods left inside. We also have seen reports of bad actors attempting to misuse AirTag for malicious or criminal purposes.

Apple has been working closely with various safety groups and law enforcement agencies. Through our own evaluations and these discussions, we have identified even more ways we can update AirTag safety warnings and help guard against further unwanted tracking...

Advancements Coming to AirTag and the Find My Network
The following updates represent important steps Apple is taking... more

Monday, August 30, 2021

Weird Files: Somewhat Covert Microphone is a Blast & Bugged Bugs

The GREEN12 is a cardioid directional, small diaphragm electret condenser microphone that is a great choice for users that are looking for a slim profile, high-quality microphone which is perfect for most professional, semi-professional, and home-recording applications. 

Its cardioid capsule and machined vents allow for high off-axis rejection and a focused recording, great for stringed acoustic instruments. 

The GREEN12 is handmade from an actual discharged 12Ga shell. more

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The first Asian giant hornet nest of 2021 was found Thursday morning, Aug. 19, in a rural area east of Blaine, about one-quarter mile from where a resident reported a sighting of a live Asian giant hornet on Wednesday, Aug. 11.

The state agriculture staff netted, tagged with a tracker and released three of hornets Aug. 11, to Tuesday, Aug. 17, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Agriculture. One of the so-called “murder hornets” slipped out of the tracking device, another hornet was never located and one eventually led the team to the nest. more


Read more here: https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article253621598.html#storylink=cp

Friday, March 19, 2021

Cars Know Your Location. A Spy Firm Wants to Sell It to the Military

• 15 billion car locations.
• Nearly any country on Earth.
‘The Ulysses Group’ is pitching a powerful surveillance technology to the U.S. government.

A surveillance contractor that has previously sold services to the U.S. military is advertising a product that it says can locate the real-time locations of specific cars in nearly any country on Earth. It says it does this by using data collected and sent by the cars and their components themselves, according to a document obtained by Motherboard.

"Ulysses can provide our clients with the ability to remotely geolocate vehicles in nearly every country except for North Korea and Cuba on a near real time basis," the document, written by contractor The Ulysses Group, reads. "Currently, we can access over 15 billion vehicle locations around the world every month," the document adds. more

Placed in my Grain of Salt file until I can verify.

Monday, February 15, 2021

Pretty Good Phone Privacy - Protects Both User Identity and Location

Abstract

To receive service in today’s cellular architecture phones uniquely identify themselves to towers and thus to operators. This is now a cause of major privacy violations as operators sell and leak identity and location data of hundreds of millions of mobile users. 

In this paper, we take an end-to-end perspective on the cellular architecture and find key points of decoupling that enable us to protect user identity and location privacy with no changes to physical infrastructure, no added latency, and no requirement of direct cooperation from existing operators. 

We describe Pretty Good Phone Privacy (PGPP) and demonstrate how our modified back end stack (NGC) works with real phones to provide ordinary yet privacy-preserving connectivity. We explore inherent privacy and efficiency trade-offs in a simulation of a large metropolitan region. We show how PGPP maintains today’s control overheads while significantly improving user identity and location privacy. more

BONUS... "It protects users from fake cell phone towers (IMSI-catchers) and surveillance by cell providers." a good summary explanation

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Court Order Doesn't Stop Man from Eavesdropping & GPS Tracking

NY - An area man has been arrested for allegedly installing a GPS device in order to eavesdrop and spy on a person who has an order of protection against him.

Dutchess County resident Brett M. Marinaccio, 33, of Hopewell Junction, was arrested on Monday, Jan. 4, by New York State Police, said Trooper AJ Hicks.

According to Hicks, an investigation determined Marinaccio utilized hidden GPS tracking devices with audio capabilities to eavesdrop (similar to this) on the victim while an order of protection was in place issued by the Dutchess County Family Court to protect the victim. more

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Clearly Creepy - The Billboards are Watching You

 Clear Channel Outdoor, one of the world’s largest billboard companies, will in coming days roll out technology across Europe capable of letting advertisers know where people go and what they do after seeing a particular billboard.

 Sounds creepy, no?

Well, brace yourself. Clear Channel has been quietly using this technology in the United States for the last four years, including in Los Angeles.
“They’re spying on you in your own neighborhood,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.
“You don’t know it’s happening,” he told me. “You don’t know who they’re sharing the information with.”
Chester and other privacy advocates said Clear Channel’s system is an example of how private companies are building out commercial surveillance networks right under our noses. more

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Verizon Launches Hyper-Precise GPS Location Technology

Verizon launched its Hyper Precise Location using Real Time Kinematics (RTK), a location technology that provides location accuracy within 1-2 centimeters, on the Verizon network. 

Verizon has built and deployed RTK reference stations nationwide to provide pinpoint level accuracy to RTK compatible internet of things (IoT) devices. RTK will also support emerging technologies that depend on high level location accuracy such as delivery drones and customer-approved location data for first responders during emergencies...Additionally, the rollout of hyper-precise location services paired with Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband (UWB) network and 5G Edge, will pave the way for more autonomous technologies. more

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

NSA Tells Mobile Users Beware of Find-My-Phone

Beware of find-my-phone, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, NSA tells mobile users

And don't forget to limit ad tracking. Advisory contains a host of recommendations.

The National Security Agency is recommending that some government workers and people generally concerned about privacy turn off find-my-phone, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth whenever those services are not needed, as well as limit location data usage by apps.

“Location data can be extremely valuable and must be protected,” an advisory published on Tuesday stated. “It can reveal details about the number of users in a location, user and supply movements, daily routines (user and organizational), and can expose otherwise unknown associations between users and locations.” more

Thursday, July 30, 2020

GPS Tracker – World’s Smallest and More

A GPS tracker can be incredibly small. Once the size of bricks some can now fit on your finger.

New features have arrived, too. Some have…
  • SOS buttons
  • Audio eavesdropping capability
  • Integration with Google Maps
  • Speed reporting
  • Geo-fencing with automatic alerts
  • Disable vehicle
  • Updates every five seconds
  • Wireless recharging
  • Worldwide coverage
  • Bluetooth – for tracking the last few feet

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Santa and Cuebiq Know if You've Been Naughty or Nice

After Memorial Day, as the United States began to reopen, coronavirus cases began to rise...

For the Fourth of July weekend, a new analysis of cell phone data suggests even more people hit the road among 10 coronavirus hotspots, despite warnings from health experts.

The analysis comes from data shared with CNN by Cuebiq, one of the private companies that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses to track general movement in the United States. 

Cuebiq gets its data when people download apps on their phones and opt into anonymous location data tracking. The company's full data set includes 15 million phones nationwide. more

Thursday, April 23, 2020

IR Eye of Ra, or The Drone Patrol

Police in Westport, Connecticut, announced this week that they’re testing a so-called “pandemic drone” that can detect when people on the ground have fevers.

The new drone platform will also be used to determine when people are closer than six feet to each other. Police will be able to deliver a verbal warning through the drone’s speaker to anyone not practicing social distancing.



The new drone technology was developed by a company called Draganfly Inc., which has been around since the late 1990s, and uses Westport PD’s existing quadcopter drones with Draganfly’s software. Draganfly worked with a deep-learning company called Vital Intelligence Inc. and researchers from the University of South Australia to develop the new tech, according to a press release. more

Monday, April 13, 2020

How Not to be Seen - Evading CCTV Surveillance

It's theoretically possible to become invisible to cameras. But can it catch on? 



Right now, you're more than likely spending the vast majority of your time at home. Someday, however, we will all be able to leave the house once again and emerge, blinking, into society to work, travel, eat, play, and congregate in all of humanity's many bustling crowds.

The world, when we eventually enter it again, is waiting for us with millions of digital eyes—cameras, everywhere, owned by governments and private entities alike. Pretty much every state out there has some entity collecting license plate data from millions of cars—parked or on the road—every day. Meanwhile all kinds of cameras—from police to airlines, retailers, and your neighbors' doorbells—are watching you every time you step outside, and unscrupulous parties are offering facial recognition services with any footage they get their hands on.

In short, it's not great out there if you're a person who cares about privacy, and it's likely to keep getting worse. In the long run, pressure on state and federal regulators to enact and enforce laws that can limit the collection and use of such data is likely to be the most efficient way to effect change. But in the shorter term, individuals have a conundrum before them: can you go out and exist in the world without being seen?

Bottom line as of now...
All of the digital simulations run on the cloak worked with 100-percent effectiveness, he added. But in the real world, "the reliability degrades." The tech has room for improvement.

"How good can they get? Right now I think we're still at the prototype stage," he told Ars. "You can produce these things that, when you wear them in some situations, they work. It's just not reliable enough that I would tell people, you know, you can put this on and reliably evade surveillance." more

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Face Masks v. Facial Recognition - China has it Covered

Hanwang, the facial-recognition company that has placed 2 million of its cameras at entrance gates across the world, started preparing for the coronavirus in early January.

Huang Lei, the company’s chief technical officer, said that even before the new virus was widely known about, he had begun to get requests...to update its software to recognize nurses wearing masks...

The company now says its masked facial recognition program has reached 95 percent accuracy in lab tests, and even claims that it is more accurate in real life, where its cameras take multiple photos of a person if the first attempt to identify them fails. more

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Schools Using Kids' Phones to Track and Surveil Them

Teachers often lament that phones can be a distraction in classrooms. Some governments have even banned phones outright in schools. But a few school administrations see phones in schools as a benefit because they can help keep track of students more efficiently.

At least 10 schools across the US have installed radio frequency scanners, which pick up on the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals from students' phones and track them with accuracy down to about one meter, or just over three feet, said Nadir Ali, CEO of indoor data tracking company Inpixon.

His company has been in talks with other school districts, and a few schools in the Middle East are also considering the product... more

Monday, February 3, 2020

How to Turn a Tesla Into a Surveillance Station

Truman Kain, senior information security analyst at Tevora, has developed a new device called the Surveillance Detection Scout. As Wired describes it, the DIY computer plugs into the dashboard USB port of a Tesla Model S, 3 or X and uses the car’s built-in cameras to read license plates and faces to alert the driver if someone is following them.

“It turns your Tesla into an AI-powered surveillance station,” Kain told the magazine. “It’s meant to be another set of eyes, to help out and tell you it’s seen a license plate following you over multiple days, or even multiple turns of a single trip.” more