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U.K. to emulate some of China's Olympic security practices
The British police wants to implement during the 2012 London Olympic Games some of the security practices employed by the Chinese during the 2008 Beijing Games — some, but not all: A Scotland Yard report says that a “balance must be maintained between the use of technology to support security requirements and individual rights to privacy” (the Chinese were less concerned with that balance)
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Brookline says "No" to CCTVs
Two months ago the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, installed surveillance cameras at major intersections; on Tuesday, members of the city council voted to remove the cameras because of privacy concerns
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Fuel-cells will extend UAVs' ability to roam the skies
At present, battery-powered electric UAVs are limited to one to three hours of flight; Massachusetts-based Protonex developed a power systems which allows this flight time to be extended by up to four times
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Raytheon to develop smart-map battle network for U.S. Army
Raytheon signs contract to demonstrate smart-map computers which will allow soldiers to see enemy soldiers and each other on the digital maps even where GPS satellite navigation is unavailable
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Asia-Pacific to drive growth in global CCTV market
RNCOS says the global CCTV market will grow at a CAGR of more than 27 percent during 2009-12, driven by rapid growth in the Asia-Pacific region; global CCTV market will be worth $13 billion in 2012
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U.S. Air Force uncomfortable with the idea of a pilotless bomber
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he is considering making the next-generation long-range bomber a pilotless aircraft; USAF chief begs to differ, saying “We would have to think seriously” about having a nuclear-delivery aircraft without a pilot
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Court: use of GPS to track criminals requires warrant
The New York State’s supreme court ruled that the police cannot use GPS to track a criminal suspect without a warrant; majority decision said: “the use of these powerful devices presents a significant and, to our minds, unacceptable risk of abuse”
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Microchip-sized digital camera for surveillance
In today’s minicams, the image sensors and support circuitry are on separate microchips, and most of the power goes on communication between the chips; Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena has squeezed all the components of a camera onto one low-power chip
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RFID market to reach $5.56 billion by end of 2009
In 2008, the average price per RFID tag was $1.13; the total value of tags being sold in 2008 was $2.23 billion; this figure will increase to $5.56 billion in 2009
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Products block unauthorized RFID reading of contactless cards
More and more countries and organizations move toward adopting RFID-enabled, biometric e-IDs — driver’s licenses, passports, national IDs, and more; trouble is, these e-documents are susceptible to digital pickpocketing; a U.K. company offers solutions
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Elbit, GD create UAS Dynamics
The military UAV market is becoming more lucrative; Elbit, maker of the popular Skylark and Hermes UAV lines, create a joint venture with General Dynamics to sell UAVs based on Elbit’s designs; company intends to compete with General Atomics’ Predator
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DARPA looks for inertial-nav to be embedded in smart boot's heel
DARPA is funding the development of smart shoes: soldiers and first responders will be equipped with shoes with embedded inertial navigation sensor; sensor will help in keeping track of soldiers, special operatives, and first responders in harsh environments
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U.K. information commissioner: data collection trend will be reversed
Richard Thomas, the outgoing U.K. information commissioner: “If you are looking for a needle in a haystack, it does not make sense to make the haystack bigger”
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U.S.-Pakistan cooperate in UAV campaign, but it is a qualified cooperation
The United States offered to give Pakistan a much larger amount of imagery, including real-time video feeds and communications intercepts gleaned by remotely piloted aircraft; information about the UAVs’ operating patterns, blind spots, and takeoff and landing locations is not shared for fear that elements inside the Pakistani intelligence and military would leak it to the insurgents
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Greece bans Google Street View mapping service
The Greek government bans Google from gathering detailed, street-level images within the country for a planned expansion of the company’s panoramic Street View mapping service; government wants assurances about privacy issues
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The long view
How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse
I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.