2007/08/23
2007/08/18
Secret Spy Court To Consider ACLU Request For Bush Spying Orders - Wired Blogs
Wired News reports: "In a surprising move, a secret spying court ordered the Bush Administration to respond to the ACLU's request for the court to reveal the legal pinnings behind its decisions that gave legal blessing to the government's warrantless wiretapping program. [...] Those orders reportedly include a still-secret decision curtailing the government's spying that led the Administration to successfully press Congress to hurriedly expand the government's spying authority before the summer recess."
Wired News reports: "In a surprising move, a secret spying court ordered the Bush Administration to respond to the ACLU's request for the court to reveal the legal pinnings behind its decisions that gave legal blessing to the government's warrantless wiretapping program. [...] Those orders reportedly include a still-secret decision curtailing the government's spying that led the Administration to successfully press Congress to hurriedly expand the government's spying authority before the summer recess."
2007/08/13
CORDIS News - EU project builds European infrastructure for testing biometrics technologies
Cordis reports: "An EU-funded project has begun work on setting up a European infrastructure for the testing and certification of biometrics components and systems. Biometric recognition systems measure the behavioural or physical traits of people. These can be as varied as iris images, fingerprints, the structure of veins in the hand, or even an individual's typing rhythm."
Comment: The EU now enjoys the same standards-setting power as the U.S., the ability to create industry-wide standards that apply for hundreds of millions of consumers and thousands of businesses. Common biometric standards across the EU could lead to a common form of identification for citizens of all the 27 member countries, perhaps even an an EU ID card. Not the mark, of course, but a milestone in ID verification technology.
Cordis reports: "An EU-funded project has begun work on setting up a European infrastructure for the testing and certification of biometrics components and systems. Biometric recognition systems measure the behavioural or physical traits of people. These can be as varied as iris images, fingerprints, the structure of veins in the hand, or even an individual's typing rhythm."
Comment: The EU now enjoys the same standards-setting power as the U.S., the ability to create industry-wide standards that apply for hundreds of millions of consumers and thousands of businesses. Common biometric standards across the EU could lead to a common form of identification for citizens of all the 27 member countries, perhaps even an an EU ID card. Not the mark, of course, but a milestone in ID verification technology.
2007/08/11
My Way News - IBM Launches System to Track Medications
AP reports: "To help the pharmaceutical industry combat drug counterfeiting, IBM is launching an electronic pedigree system Thursday that tracks medications through the supply chain until they reach consumers. The system employs radio-frequency identification, or RFID tags, which are already used to track packages of drugs, especially ones popular with counterfeiters."
AP reports: "To help the pharmaceutical industry combat drug counterfeiting, IBM is launching an electronic pedigree system Thursday that tracks medications through the supply chain until they reach consumers. The system employs radio-frequency identification, or RFID tags, which are already used to track packages of drugs, especially ones popular with counterfeiters."
2007/07/24
BBC NEWS - Papuans debate HIV microchipping
The BBC reports: "Legislators in the Indonesian province of Papua are debating whether to approve a bill allowing microchips to be implanted in people with HIV. [...] Parliamentarians are reported to have discussed tattooing those found to be carrying the virus."
The BBC reports: "Legislators in the Indonesian province of Papua are debating whether to approve a bill allowing microchips to be implanted in people with HIV. [...] Parliamentarians are reported to have discussed tattooing those found to be carrying the virus."
2007/07/23
My Way News - Chips: High Tech Aids or Tracking Tools?
This AP report is an excellent overview of trends in identity verification technology in general and implanted chips in particular:
This AP report is an excellent overview of trends in identity verification technology in general and implanted chips in particular:
To some, the microchip was a wondrous invention - a high-tech helper that could increase security at nuclear plants and military bases, help authorities identify wandering Alzheimer's patients, allow consumers to buy their groceries, literally, with the wave of a chipped hand. To others, the notion of tagging people was Orwellian, a departure from centuries of history and tradition in which people had the right to go and do as they pleased, without being tracked, unless they were harming someone else."The reports notes several online sites that serve as great resources if you are interested in this subject, including These Last Days Ministries, the American Civil Liberties Union, Katherine Albrecht's AntiChips.com, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
2007/07/19
STLtoday - Special ink to mark livestock is in trial stage
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, "The radio-frequency identification product [...] will allow producers of cattle, sheep, goats, hogs and other hair-bearing livestock (but not poultry) to mark, identify and track their animals with an ink tattoo."
Comment: This is a revolutionary technology that combines the simplicity of an ink tattoo with the identity tracking capability of radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips. Let's keep an eye on this one!
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, "The radio-frequency identification product [...] will allow producers of cattle, sheep, goats, hogs and other hair-bearing livestock (but not poultry) to mark, identify and track their animals with an ink tattoo."
Comment: This is a revolutionary technology that combines the simplicity of an ink tattoo with the identity tracking capability of radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips. Let's keep an eye on this one!
2007/07/10
My Way News - Europe, U.S. Take U.K. Lead on Cameras
AP reports: "British police quickly closed in on suspects in the failed bomb plots in London and Scotland - only the latest terror investigation to display the crucial role of the country's vast network of surveillance cameras. The system is winning converts in the United States and Europe, to the alarm of some privacy advocates."
AP reports: "British police quickly closed in on suspects in the failed bomb plots in London and Scotland - only the latest terror investigation to display the crucial role of the country's vast network of surveillance cameras. The system is winning converts in the United States and Europe, to the alarm of some privacy advocates."
2007/07/08
My Way News - Restaurants Test Table Card Readers
AP reports: "Pay-at-the-table systems are popular in Europe and other parts of the world, but they haven't yet caught on in the U.S., largely because equipment makers haven't been able to point to a reason why restaurateurs should invest in the gear. Manufacturers now see an opportunity."
AP reports: "Pay-at-the-table systems are popular in Europe and other parts of the world, but they haven't yet caught on in the U.S., largely because equipment makers haven't been able to point to a reason why restaurateurs should invest in the gear. Manufacturers now see an opportunity."
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