SciTech
[VIDEO] New Device Tracks When Cops Pull Trigger
Amid wide concerns over US police brutality, militarization and indiscriminate use of force against suspects, a new technology has emerged that will enable law enforcement to track down when a bullet was fired from a police gun. The latest technological marvel developed and currently being tested by a Silicon Valley startup, Yardarm Technologies, is designed …
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS: Marijuana App Offers On-Demand Home Delivery
A new San Francisco smartphone app promises to promptly deliver cannabis right to your door. It’s the latest in a new crop of apps aimed at making access to pot easier. Dubbed “Meadow,” the app is available for Android devices through the Google Play store, and its creators claim it delivers medical marijuana to patients …
Do-It-Yourself ‘Ghost Gunner’ Gun-Making Machine Sells Out In 36hrs
A milling machine that allows customers to make the body of an AR-15 rifle has sold out in 36 hours. Despite costing $1,200, there was no shortage of buyers as clients wanted to build part of their own gun – with no serial number – in their own homes. Defense Distributed, owned by gun rights …
Father of the Internet, Tim Berners-Lee, Calls for ‘Online Bill of Rights’
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web has spoken out against world governments and corporations, which he says are seeking to control the web for their own gain. He called for a revolutionary bill of rights to guaranty the web’s independence. READ MORE: Spying and storing: Assange says ‘Google works like NSA’ …
FBI TO POLICE DEPARTMENTS: Keep Quiet About Cellphone Spying Gear
Not only are local police departments across the United States increasingly relying on so-called StingRay devices to conduct surveillance on cell phone users, but cops are being forced to keep quiet about the operations, new documents reveal. Recent reports have indicated that law enforcement agencies from coast to coast have been turning to IMSI-catcher devices, …
Mysterious, Unidentified Spying Cell Towers All Across Washington, D.C.
Washington, DC is littered with surveillance devices designed to trick surrounding mobile phones into logging onto signal-lifting networks, thereby allowing for tracking or call-monitoring purposes. While traveling around the capital city with Washington Post reporters, a top executive using his company’s mobile-security technology detected as many as 18 such devices mimicking legitimate cell towers around …
Apple reveals new ‘police-proof’ operating system
Following revelations that the NSA, in cooperation with various telecom companies, was spying on private communications, Apple Inc. has released new technology that it says cannot be compromised by the police. In an effort to protect the private communications of iPhone and iPad users, Apple said on Wednesday its latest mobile operating system, the iOS8, …
FBI’s facial recognition program hits ‘full operational capability’
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Next Generation Identification System, a biometric database reliant on tens of millions of facial-recognition records, is now fully operational, the agency announced Monday. The NGI system, after three years of development, is billed by the FBI as a new breakthrough for criminal identification and data-sharing between law enforcement agencies. “This …
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: ‘Drones will create Orwellian future’
US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has voiced concerns that, without sufficient protections, the age of unmanned drones and ubiquitous surveillance will usher in an “Orwellian world.” Sotomayor told faculty and students at Oklahoma City University last week that technological capabilities allow devices to monitor“your conversations from miles away and through your walls.” “We are …
SPIES OFF-LINE: New gadget to thwart unwanted wireless snooping
A new surveillance device has been developed that has the potential to stop drones and Google Glass wearers from hacking into one’s Wi-Fi network. Cyborg Unplug works by sending de-authentication signals to unwanted monitoring or spying devices. The device is the size of a computer adaptor, so it can be transported anywhere and can be …
REPORT: Congress won’t address NSA reform until after mid-term elections, may delay until 2015
As the November midterm elections inch closer, the chances of Congress taking up a widely supported bill that would reform the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance program are gradually shrinking. In a new report by the National Journal, multiple unnamed sources said the reform bill – dubbed the USA Freedom Act – is not a …
US scientists working on mind-controlled drones for military use
University researchers in Texas say they are designing a new type of drone – one that could be controlled simply and only with a soldier’s mind. If successful, the project would allow soldiers to command future drones in ways beyond simple navigational commands. While troops would be able to order a drone to “move left” …
Fake cell phone ‘towers’ may be spying on Americans’ calls, texts
More than a dozen “fake cell phone towers” could be secretly hijacking Americans’ mobile devices in order to listen in on phone calls or snoop on text messages, a security-focused cell phone company claims. It is not clear who controls the devices. READ MORE: Tracking everywhere: Private companies offer worldwide spying tools ESD America, which …
(VIDEO) Drone gets peek at Apple’s new ‘spaceship’ campus
An Apple fan managed to get round the cordons preventing photos and flew a drone over Apple’s new site in Cupertino, California, revealing the massive scale and scope of the innovative and ambitious project. The operator used a DJI Phantom 2 drone and made sure the aircraft kept below 400 feet and within Californian law. …
Adidas RFID tracking could be used to spy on clothes’ owners
Adidas has sewn RFID tags into national football team’s jerseys, raising concerns from human rights organizations, claiming that such clothes could be easily turned into tracking devices revealing a person’s location, Deutsche Welle reports. The sportswear maker insists it is not going to track football fans using RFID tags, and has said customers can dispose …
Facebook to Crack Down on ‘Click Bait’ Headlines
Facebook is contemplating bringing into effect a new policy meaning that websites using irritating “click-bait” headlines will be penalized in favor of stories from friends and pages that users have displayed an active interest in. “Over time, stories with ‘click-bait’ headlines can drown out content from friends and pages that people really care about,” Facebook research …
Hack Attack on U.S. Government Contractor Exposes Undercover Agents
Multiple undercover investigators had their personal data exposed to hackers after a cyber attack struck a key contractor of the Department of Homeland Security in early August. In fact, the data breach in question has affected the data of at least 25,000 workers, a number that could go up even further in the coming days. …