Surveillance Technology

Google Earth Accused of Aiding Terrorists

Greg Schnippel — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:11:29 -0800

An Indian Court has been called to ban Google Earth amid suggestions the online satellite imaging was used to help plan the terror attacks that killed more than 170 people in Mumbai last month.

Mumbai Terrorists Relied on New Technology for Attacks

Greg Schnippel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:18:22 -0800

The terrorists who struck Mumbai last month stunned authorities not only with their use of sophisticated weaponry but also with their comfort with modern technology, including satellite imagery and VOIP Internet phones to avoid surveillance.

Intel Looks To Blanket The World With Self-Powered Sensors

Greg Schnippel — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:05:29 -0800

Intel is developing self-powered microchips that could be implanted in the human body, a mobile phone, a building, or anyplace else where people wish to gather information.

Pentagon Shoots $22 Million into Guided Bullet Tech

Greg Schnippel — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:25:08 -0800

DARPA has released a pair of contracts for defense firms to begin developing a super, .50-caliber sniper rifle that fires guided bullets, or the "ultimate sniper round" that will will make it possible to "counter environmental effects such as crosswinds and air density, and prosecute both stationary and moving targets while enhancing shooter covertness."

Geospatial Intelligence Use Grows at U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Greg Schnippel — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:21:09 -0800

The Homeland Security Department is relying more often and more broadly on geospatial information technology, including spy satellites, to collect and analyze intelligence for its counterterrorism and emergency response missions, raising domestic privacy concerns.

Radiation Detectors' Value Is Questioned

Greg Schnippel — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:43:20 -0700

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security have overstated the performance of costly new radiation detectors designed to prevent the importation of radiological materials that could be used in bombs, according to an unreleased government report.

GeoEye's New Satellite Offers Unprecedentedly Sharp Images

Greg Schnippel — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:05:01 -0700

The sharpest commercial imaging satellite ever launched is now orbiting the Earth, sweeping over the North Pole and under the South Pole every 98 minutes, collecting high-resolution images of the scene below. From 423 miles up, the GeoEye-1 satellite can spot objects as small as 16 inches across.

Google's Super Satellite Captures First Image

Greg Schnippel — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:32:31 -0700

The world's first and highest resolution commercial imagery satellite,
the Google-sponsored GeoEye-1, has achieved first light, returning a
0.5 meter resolution satellite image of a small university in
Pennslyvania. The imagery is the first .5 meter image to be released
since the U.S. defense department allowed domestic firms to sell
imagery below 1 meter resolution.

Report Warns U.S. Could Lose Space-Spy Dominance

Greg Schnippel — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:58:40 -0700

America has become so lousy at building spy satellites that "the United States is losing its preeminence in space," a Congressional intelligence report declares. What's worse, this decline comes as "emerging space powers such as Russia, India and China" are getting better and better at snooping from above.

My Blackberry As A Bomb Sniffer?

Greg Schnippel — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:58:12 -0700

What do bananas, smoke alarms, toilets and large granite buildings have in common? They're all sufficiently radioactive to set off detectors. Efforts since 9/11 to prevent the detonation of a dirty bomb—an explosive device designed to spread lethal radiation as well as panic—are plagued by the risk of false alarms. When 350,000 or so radiation-therapy patients in the United States and Europe can cause detectors to light up if they get close enough, you know a solution isn't going to be easy to find.