I’ve got a story in today’s New York Times. Here’s how it starts:
Management at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco had been suspicious for weeks. James, a houseman on the graveyard shift was not the most productive worker, and trying to reach him on his walkie-talkie was usually a lost cause. So when James (not his real name) could not be found one summer night, his bosses went to their new video surveillance system.
The camera network — using software from 3VR Security Inc., a San Francisco company that makes surveillance technology — already knew what James looked like; facial recognition algorithms had built a profile of him over time. With a couple of mouse clicks, managers combed through hours of videotape taken that night by the hotel’s 16 cameras, and found every place he had been — including the back entrance he slipped out of, three hours into his shift. He never came back to work; the next day, James became one of 10 employees dismissed from the hotel since 3VR’s surveillance package was installed last June.
Until recently, the only place where an employee could have been caught that easily was in a Hollywood script. Digital spy cameras can instantly pick people out of crowds on “24.” Real-world video surveillance was stuck in the VCR age, taking countless hours to sift through blurry black-and-white tapes. Stopping a problem in progress was nearly impossible, unless a guard just happened to be staring at the right video monitor.
But surveillance companies, using networks of cheap Web-connected cameras and powerful new video-analysis software, are starting to turn the Hollywood model into reality. Faces and license plates can now be spotted, in almost real time, at ports, military bases and companies. Security perimeters can be changed or strengthened with a mouse click. Feeds from hundreds of cameras can be combined into a single desktop view. And videotape that used to take hours, even days, to scour is searched in minutes.
Some experts question the effectiveness of such “intelligent video” systems, which are sold by ObjectVideo, Verint and VistaScape as well, and worry about the privacy implications. But Brian Russell, chief of the Drake’s engineering and maintenance departments, is happy with the results. “People know we’re watching,” he said. “Word travels fast. Fear travels as well.“
Click on over here to read the rest of the piece — it’s part of a big package in today’s Circuits section on surveillance. Johnathan Glater writes about surfing anonymously. Katie Hafner talks about getting spooked by searches. And David Shenk takes a broad look at the erosion of privacy.
Today’s story is one of a bunch I’ve written on video surveillance, over the years. Check out London’s cracking panopticon, Chicago’s spycam police force, and the Pentagon’s simple plan to track everything that moves.
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I like the comment, “fear spreads as well.” I think this neatly sums up the modern relationship between authority and the individual. The American Experiment rested on the theory that people were equals, that they were fundamentally capable of mutually beneficial behavior, and that fear did not enter into the equation. Liberty was the absence of fear.
That’s gone from us now. What is being implanted into our minds is the unfocused, amorphous dread that we are being watched, everywhere, all the time. “If you don’t break the law, you have nothing to be afraid of,” except, of course, fear itself. That fear, the sense that the “nail that stands up will be beaten down,” will put a chill on future generations. This generation has turned its back on America. That country is receding from us, and we’re living in a squiggle on a map.
I got your latest blog via my RSS feed and it intrigued me. I surfed on over to the link you kindly provided, and watched their Flash demo. You might want to try it yourself, and when it’s playing, right click it. It’s attempting to gain access to your webcam and microphone!!!!!
Now, you’ll notice that when you attempt to watch the demo, it asks you to register. So, assuming someone has a relatively poorly secured system (like most) then they have collected all your information (assuming you filled in your real name and details), AND they have your face, AND your voice. Given the type of technology they flog, how’s that for compiling a nice little database.
Kind regards, and I love your work.
Pete, in Australia
Pete, you’ve stumbled onto a little known feature of Flash.
Not only does it try to access your camera & microphone, it allows the webpage to access space on your OS partition so that whoever wrote that webpage can upload anything (s)he wants without fear that antivirus software or a firewall will block it.
Neat, huh?
Amen James. You hit the nail on the head (pun intended). This is EXACTLY what needs to be brought up every time we hear “if you aren’t breaking the law, you have nothing to worry about.“
It isn’t about whether or not these cameras have the capability of capturing real criminals on film (or the digital equivalent thereof), it’s about each of our rights to a certain degree of privacy, even in public places. If we are whispering, for instance, we should feel safe that our secrets are secret, and not being picked up by uber-sensitive microphones or lip reading cameras.
Or that we aren’t going to be arrested for the actions of that mythical “double” with similar eyes and hair we are all rumored to have.
As all the above comments have already summed up my thoughts on this matter I only have one thing to say…
Big Brother is watching.