And 15 years later, this bug is rearing it’s head again. In Pennsylvania, over 14,000 men received notices claiming they must register for selective service, a potential military draft. These men were born in the 1890s, and all are deceased, so their families are the ones who got the notices. But even if some were alive, they would be in their 110s, obviously way too old to participate in any military service. The mistake was on the part of Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Transportation and Selective Service. Those notices were to go to young men born between 1993 and 1997. But because someone chose the wrong century, they went to the deceased men. Selective Service, who issued the notices, didn’t catch the mistake immediately because of the two digit code to indicate the year of birth (for example, someone born 2/1/95 meant someone born in 1995, not 1895).
I’m glad the mistake was caught and quickly corrected. But that’s exactly what people were afraid of back in 1999. When the century changed, documents dating, say, 3/1/00 were going be interpreted by computers as 3/1/1900 instead of 3/1/2000. Ever wonder what life would be like if Y2K really did run rampant as it was feared to?
In March 2014, Chinese hackers infiltrated computer networks run by a US government agency called Office of Personal Management. It’s who was targeted is what makes this concerning.
The Office of Personal Management holds info on federal employees. These hackers targeted applicants for top-secret security clearances and their foreign contracts list, previous jobs and other aspects of personal information. The Dept. of Homeland Security confirmed the hacking. Officials traced the attacks to China, but it’s unclear whether the hackers were civilians or within the Chinese government. What’s crazier is to learn that hackers try to break into agencies almost daily, but rarely succeed. This time, apparently they did.
And this isn’t the first time. Last month, a Chinese group called People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398 were charged with corporate theft (of secrets and information). This group, and some others, have been accused of past infiltrations. The issue of hacking has been a hot button issue between the US and China. But what concerns me is the frequency of these attempts. One in a while is one thing, but every day is scary. We should be very grateful that these attacks are rarely successful. I’d like to see that turned into not successful at all. Keep in mind how fast China is advancing technologically. Is this what’s behind the attacks? Or is something way darker going on?
This is what I and many people were afraid of. Okay, so it caught some terrorists, and we should all be glad for that part. But it seems like for every one or two terrorists caught, hundreds of innocent people’s privacy are being tampered with. What do someone deep relationship have to do with catching people who want to harm us? Meanwhile, the real psychopaths continue to plot our harm. So is this surveillance program even worth it at all?
Are you traveling through Newark’s International Airport soon? If you’re flying through Terminal B, then look up. Smile at the lights; they might be taking pictures of you.
I’m not crazy, and this is no Hollywood script. Newark, New Jersey’s Liberty International Airport has installed 171 LED ‘smart lights’ in Terminal B. These lights are supposed to last longer and save energy, but that’s just the beginning. Each and every LED light contains a security camera. This was the idea of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Starting last year, they started testing cameras intertwined with LED lights. The footage collected by these lights/cameras are expected to be used for security purposes, monitoring foot traffic, the ticketing area, other activities, and eventually, catching unattended baggage.
Now on the surface, it’s meant to keep us safe. Bur keep in mind, smart lights can literally track your every move within their reach. That’s why privacy rights groups and civil libertarians are already crying ‘big brother’. In this case, at least we know what to expect when we step into Newark Airport’s Terminal B. Think of all the times our privacy was compromised and we weren’t told a thing until after the fact. No matter what side you’re on, you must admit this isn’t the world people my age grew up in. Even ten years ago, I never thought an LED/security camera combo was even possible. But here we are. I just hope they’re not installed in bathrooms. Please give us some dignity with this. But they’re already talking about moving these smart lights from parking lots even to schools. So I don’t see this trend shutting down anytime soon. Will smart lights be coming literally near you? And isn’t there a better way to keep us safe?
If you live in or plan on visiting the greater Chicago area, you’re going to see strange artwork on Michigan Ave. Wait, that’s not artwork.
Those metal sculptures are masking data sensors. They’re going to measure downtown Chicago’s air quality, weather, light and sound. Sounds pretty good, right? Did you know these data collecting sensors are counting people via cell phone traffic? As you can imagine, privacy advocates know it, and they’re not liking it. But sensors insists these sensors are counting quality and not recording addresses and other personal info.? Scientist say the sensors will help make the city safer, even give the city technological advances. Chicago wants these sensors to start set-up by mid-July 2014.
I can understand where the privacy concerns come from. But don’t they already have surveillance cameras throughout the city, and just about every other city in the western world? And who is going to pay for these sensors? I’m assuming these weren’t gifts. And Chicago wants to be the leader in sensor technology. So this mean they expect other cities to follow the lead. If they do, how will they use them? I’d love to take their word for it: they’re doing this for the health and welfare of the city. But with so much controversy about surveillance, I don’t know what or who to believe anymore. What do you believe?
If you don’t know what Nest is, they make smoke detectors and thermostats. Now Nest, who just purchased Dropcam, is being acquired by Google for 3.2 billion dollars. Got that? According to Nest co-founder Matt Rodgers, Dropcam will be moving it’s headquarters from San Francisco to Palo Alto, CA, the heart of Silicon Valley. Dropcam’s home security cameras will run you little money a pop, but that’s just part of this story. Dropcam once tried to use existing cameras to support video achieves. But since most of the market wasn’t buying it, they made their own.
I’m pretty concerned about these acquisitions. It’s not just because one corporation will have so much power and dominance, leaving little if any room for competition. So Google wants to control the home thermostat and smoke detector market now?? But privacy issues come to mind. With Google and Nest owning Dropcam, can’t that give them a license to look into our homes and businesses, even during our most private moments? Nest insists we shouldn’t worry. They claim, “Dropcam will come under Nest?s privacy policy, which explains that data won?t be shared with anyone (including Google) without a customer?s permission.” I’ll believe it when I see it. Am I being too skeptical here?
