Australian investigation into sale of ID theft-kits / Public Technology, 10 October 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17472
"Finjan, a provider of secure web gateway solutions for the enterprise market, has confirmed the findings of an Australian investigation into the sale of stolen credit and debit card information on the Internet. "It seems that Sydney Morning Herald reporters have uncovered the fact that almost anyone on Internet can buy stolen payment card details for as little as US$1.50 a time for Aussie details, and US$2.50 a time for US and English cardholder information," said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technology officer with Finjan."

Cabinet Office plans to to de-duplicate and classify its departmental electronic information / Public Technology, 19 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17349
"Active Navigation, the data discovery company, has been selected by the Cabinet Office to de-duplicate and classify the electronic information held across the department. Active Navigation was chosen after an extensive review of software products and manual alternatives, and following a pilot project in one unit of the Cabinet Office. The software will be used to analyse, categorise and organise the information currently residing in the Cabinet Office’s Microsoft NTFS (New Technology File System) prior to its transfer to the department’s new records management system."

Personal data losses 'set to continue' say top sellers of ex-corporate laptops on eBay UK / Public Technology, 12 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17301
"Tier 1 Asset Management Ltd, a UK specialist in secure and ethical IT disposals warned that high profile cases of confidential personal data finding its way into the public domain will continue, unless UK organisations start to use tried and tested processes for the removal of equipment once it has reached the end of active corporate service. Eyebrows were raised in many quarters when data from Royal Bank of Scotland turned up on eBay recently, albeit via a third party source. Jon Selby, Marketing Manager at Tier 1, understands why errors have been made, but is angry that big companies get their data security safeguards badly wrong. “With privacy laws, environmental legislation and data recovery technology in a constant state of development and change, there’s little wonder that a company’s processes vary just as frequently.” "

Police identify criminals from texts / The Independent, 8 September 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-identify-criminals-from-texts-922585.html
*Criminals who use text messages are being caught out by new techniques that can identify a person from the clues they leave in a message. Language scientists believe that it is possible to identify the author of a message by analysing the spelling, grammar and syntax of the words used. Police have already used the method in high-profile murder cases but it has to be tested further before courts can accept it as routine evidence. Tim Grant, the deputy director of the Centre for Forensic Linguistics at Aston University, said that texting was similar to handwriting in that it involved the use of personal styles and choices."

Behind Bars with Thermal Imagery / officer.com, 27 August 2008
http://www.officer.com/web/online/Technology/Behind-Bars-with-Thermal-Imagery/20$42914
"One of the most challenging and dangerous jobs in law enforcement is that of the corrections officer. The many responsibilities laid upon them can range from peace keeping to preventing escape. In short, they have to block dangerous criminals from getting out and keep weapons, drugs and other contraband from getting in. Thermal imaging technology may assist them in all their various duties...."

Bluetooth is watching: secret study gives Bath a flavour of Big Brother / July 21 2008

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jul/21/civilliberties.privacy?gusrc=rss&feed=uknews

"Tens of thousands of Britons are being covertly tracked without their consent in a technology experiment which has installed scanners at secret locations in offices, campuses, streets and pubs to pinpoint people's whereabouts. The scanners, the first 10 of which were installed in Bath three years ago, are capturing Bluetooth radio signals transmitted from devices such as mobile phones, laptops and digital cameras, and using the data to follow unwitting targets without their permission."

Robots on the beat by 2084 / silicon.com, 13 August 2008
http://hardware.silicon.com/storage/0,39024649,39270424,00.htm
"Robocop will become a reality within the next 75 years according to a top UK robotics expert. Abusive drunks or knife-wielding thugs can expect to feel a metallic hand of the law on their shoulder in 2084, according to robotics expert, professor Noel Sharkey of the University of Sheffield."

Video analytics to revolutionise surveillance / vnunet.com, 11 August 2008
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2223672/video-analytics-revolutionise-surveillance
"As the number of CCTV cameras in use continues to grow, so the need for a promising new technology called video analytics has started to accelerate."

Swapping facial features protects online privacy / New Scientist, 28 July 2008
http://digbig.com/4xgca
"After finding itself in hot water with privacy advocates, Google has begun obscuring the faces of people in its Street View service, which lets users of Google Maps zoom in to view street level images. But the images look decidedly odd, with whole streets peopled by blurred faces....Aside from Street View, the system could be used to obscure the faces of military personnel or eyewitnesses to crime."

Home Office unveils tagtastic immigrant control plans / The Register, 15 July 2008
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/15/immigration_bill_tag_plans/
John Lettice
"Detained illegal immigrants are the latest to fall victim to the Home Office's bizarre love affair with electronic tagging. The draft immigration and citizenship bill, published this week, puts forwards proposals for "large" but unspecified bail bonds along with tagging as an alternative to detention."

This isn't a snoopers' charter / Guardian, 1 July 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/01/civilliberties.law?gusrc=rss&feed=politics
Geoff Cahill
"Can there be any piece of legislation that has been more misunderstood than the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act? As nightmarish folk tales of people being bugged over dog poop began to reverberate across the blogosphere, the accusations mounted: it was "illiberal", "draconian", "a snoopers' charter" or even (bewilderingly) "anti-terrorism legislation". It seems that Ripa has developed a serious image problem, which is a great pity because it was conceived with some very good intentions. Unfortunately, it credited those for whom it was enacted to regulate with slightly too much intelligence and restraint."

Gordo's DNA database claims branded 'ridiculous' / The Register, 29 June 2008
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/29/brown_dna_database_innocent_genewatch/
Chris Williams
"Gordon Brown has been accused of deliberately misleading the public by claiming that not retaining genetic profiles of innocent people on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) would have led to 114 murderers getting away. The charge was made on Friday by the genetics lobby group GeneWatch UK. It analysed a speech the Prime Minister made on June 17 where he argued for the retention of DNA profiles from thousands of charged suspects, including children, in criminal cases that were later found not guilty or never made it to trial."

Tech giants team for online ID cards / The Register, 30 June 2008
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/30/information_cards/
John Oates
" group of software and online payment companies are teaming up to find a better way than passwords to protect, and prove, your identity online. Problems with passwords are well known - people require ever more passwords which means they either get forgotten, or people use the same word for several different services which is a security risk. The new group will seek to find open standards to make it easier to prove your identity online without using dozens of passwords and usernames."

Photos fool cigarette age-verification software / Register Hardware, 1 July 2008
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/07/01/magazine_age_verification_machine_japan/
James Sherwood
"A Japanese reporter has used family photos and magazine cut-outs to fool face-recognition software currently used in some of the country's cigarette vending machines into selling him smokes. From July, Japan’s set to introduce tough regulations allowing prosecutions to be brought against vending-machine companies whose dispensers sell tobacco to someone under the country’s legal smoking age of 20. As a result, numerous Japanese cigarette machines already feature facial verification software that aims to cut-down on sales of smokes to minors. One such system, developed by firm Fujitaka, uses a camera built into the machine to snap a picture of the buyer. Software then analyses the person’s face for age identifiers, such as wrinkles around the eyes and sagging skin."

'Herds' of wary cars could keep an eye out for thieves / New Scientist, 5 June 2008
http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn14067-herds-of-wary-cars-could-keep-an-eye-out-for-thieves.html?feedId=online-news_rss20
David Robson
"The security system relies on networks of cars constantly gossiping with their neighbours using concealed wireless transmitters. The cars raise the alarm when a thief tries to make a getaway with any of their number."

Biometric smartcards take off in Asia / Vnunet, 14 May 2008
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2216558/biometrics-asia
Simon Burns
"The expansion and large-scale implementation of a number of biometric projects will compel manufacturers to focus on standardisation, according to the analyst. Once this technology becomes ubiquitous, users will become more comfortable with the biometrics system."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Security Check Procedures for Immigration Applications and Petitions (Redacted for Public Release), Audit Report / Docuticker, 11 June 2008
http://www.docuticker.com/?p=21161
"Our audit found that, faced with the increasing volume of name check requests, the FBI’s name check processes are inefficient and untimely, rely on outdated technology, and provide little assurance that pertinent and derogatory information is being retrieved and transmitted to customer agencies. In contract to our findings on the NNCP (National Name Check Program) and its name check procedures, we found that enhanced technology combined with well trained personnel, efficient tracking mechanisms, and proficient customer interaction have enabled the FBI to process millions of fingerprint submissions through IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System) in a generally accurate and timely manner."
PDF - http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a0824/final.pdf

Peter Cochrane's Blog: Airport insecurity / Peter Cochrane Silicon.com 29 April 2008
http://management.silicon.com/itdirector/0,39024673,39209739,00.htm
"We have always relied on the vast majority of people being good and honest - and the reality is we still do. The new systems and equipment deployed and being developed to pre-qualify us before we even get to the airport give an added reassurance. But the reality is the detection of specific objects by scanners has some way to go before it approaches 100 per cent reliability, and full automation is absolutely essential. As always, to spot banned items we are dependent on people's alertness, concentration and diligence, which are all extremely variable."

Hi-tech tool spots child drinkers / BBC, 13 May 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7397454.stm
"The supermarket chain Budgens has installed face recognition cameras in one of its stores to stop children buying alcohol and cigarettes. It is thought to be the first time a UK retailer has used the technology to identify underage customers."

In search of online privacy / Independent.co.uk, 9 April 2008
URL http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-in-search-of-online-privacy-806284.html
It will come as no surprise to anyone who has used the internet that online search engines retain a history of our previous searches and the identity of our computer. Indeed, it often makes our life easier to find that a page we have previously visited remembers us. But how long would most of us estimate that websites hold this information for? A day, perhaps? A week?