Controversial secret wiretapping activities launched by former President George Bush following 9/11 stirred understandable privacy concerns. But they also provided vital evidence for the arrest and recent conviction of three British Muslims in a plot to destroy at least seven and as many as 18 trans-Atlantic airliners in the summer of 2006. This case demonstrates…
Category: Surveillance
Jailhouse calls are not private, SJC rules
Shelly Murphy reports from Massachusetts: In a 4-to-3 decision that could have a sweeping impact on grand jury investigations and prisoner privacy, the state’s highest court ruled yesterday that prosecutors may subpoena recordings of telephone calls made from jail by inmates and people who are being held while awaiting trial. Rejecting contentions that the subpoenas…
Communications Surveillance: Privacy and Security at Risk
Whitfield Diffie and Susan Landau have an article on ACMqueue that reviews developments in wiretapping technology and the privacy and security risks that such changes have created. Some quotes from their article: Curiously, the greatest threat to privacy may not be snooping on people but snooping on things. We are moving from a world with…
A local bar agrees to sprout eyes, and that raises some eyebrows
Peter Hermann reports: Soon, when you belly up to the bar at Shirley’s Honey Hole on East Oliver Street, police will know when you’ve had your first, second and even third beer. From three miles away at the Citiwatch command center on Howard Street, they will be able to watch you buy a drink for…