Big Brother

FBI Gets Caught Tracking Man’s Car, Wants Its GPS Device Back

2:00PM October 8, 2010 | Kim Zetter - Wired

Remember that strange GPS tracking device that a young man found under his car? Turns out that the FBI rushed to send half a dozen agents to retrieve it after photos started appearing online. More »


Gadgets

Cleveland "Smart Bins" Will Fine Non-Recyclers $US100

7:00AM August 23, 2010 | Jack Loftus

Armed with RFID chips and a disdain for those residents who simply refuse to put out their recyclables in a timely manner, an army of “smart” recycling bins will soon descend on Cleveland to enact their green environmental goodness. More »


Online

NSA Denies It Will Spy On Civilian Networks Through The "Perfect Citizen" Program

11:00AM July 10, 2010 | Ryan Singel - Wired

The NSA is denying a report from the Wall Street Journal that a secret program code-named “Perfect Citizen” will be monitoring civilian networks. More »


Online

The US Government’s "Perfect Citizen" Program Will Protect Companies By Monitoring Them

1:40AM July 9, 2010 | Casey Chan

In order to curb cyber attacks on companies that control critical infrastructure, the US federal government is launching a new surveillance program dubbed “Perfect Citizen”. The people behind it are already calling it “Big Brother”. More »


Cameras

A Surveillance Camera That Types What It Sees

8:20AM June 2, 2010 | Brian Barrett

A prototype surveillance camera, developed at UCLA, has the ability to give a live text description of whatever crosses its path. It provides a more efficient way to search video, and gives me a good excuse to buy a wide-brimmed hat. More »


Online

The Government’s Secret War On Wikileaks

4:32AM March 17, 2010 | Brian Barrett

In March 2008, the Department of defence published a memo about a perceived national security threat. The target: Wikileaks, a site that had previously put out sensitive information about Abu Ghraib. The method: hack them until they talk. More »


Gadgets

Samsung Goes Orwell On The World With Its OLED ID Card

11:56PM January 7, 2010 | AddyDugdale

For all the good things that leviathan Samsung comes up with, they have to spoil it somehow. Now, I’m not saying that the tech behind this ID card is the bad, but it’s the principle. Winston Smith, where are you? More »


The NSA To Store A YOTTABYTE Of Your Personal Data

1:40AM November 3, 2009 | Mark Wilson

In Utah, the National Security Agency is building a $US2 billion storage facility that will house and analyse all forms of electronic communication…a potential yottabyte of everyone’s (formerly) personal data. So how big is a yottabyte? CrunchGear puts it well…+ More »


Mobile

Pre Tracks Your Location And Tells Palm All About It

7:16AM August 13, 2009 | Matt Buchanan

Palm Pre’s webOS, besides juggling your life or whatever that creepy girl says, sends information back to the mothership periodically, like what apps you’ve installed and how much you’ve used ‘em. And location data. Wait. What? More »


Geek Out

Britain Putting CCTV Cameras In Homes To Make Sure Kids Do Their Homework

12:20AM August 4, 2009 | Adam Frucci

Thousands of “the worst families in England” are being put in “sin bins,” or subsidised housing outfitted with closed-circuit cameras. The cameras will be used to ensure that children do their homework and go to bed on time. Holy shit. More »