Is the benefits to be derived from the use of geospatial data to
improve productivity, efficiency and more transparent government
and a more energy efficient and safer supply chain for industry worth the
trade off of our security and privacy?
I have to admit that I'm fairly torn on this issue. As an investigator I am excited at the prospect of having this information at my fingertips, without having to go to the expense of developing the intelligence along the way, and without having to go to the courts for a warrant every time. It would make my job a whole lot easier if I could open u pa program and take a look at what's going on in real time, usually to determin if there is anyting of a criminal nature happening in the first place. As a citizen, I really feel that if you are not doing anything wtong then you have nothing to hide, and except for the fact that one might like to partake in a little nude sunbathing in the privacy of ones own backyard, without fear of being watched by the eye in the sky, I really think most people would not have a problem with a little oversight to help keep the peace. The question of whether this technology would be abused for purposes other than a good faith attempt to fight major crime is an issue for another class. I understand that there are many people who disagree on pronciple with the concept.
How does this data change the way you feel about your privacy
and security? How does it change the way you look at your business or
profession?
I think that privacy and security are two distinct concepts, at least with respect to this issue. My privacy might be infringed upon by the use of this technology, but if it increases my level of security then I feel that the trade-off might be worth it. I suppose it is like the idea of watching your kids. On the one hand you would like them to grow up in the carefree environment that you did, with very little parental oversight, but on the other hand you realize that you are living in a different time and want to know where your kids are at all times, if even for their own protection. I think my profession is the same way. I know that I personally would use the technology to try and prevent a serious crime or catch an offender. But I also acknowledge that some people would mistrust my intentions.
The current GE satellite image database is not real time, nor is it uniform. In eastern Massachusetts the data is often accurate enough to resolve objects about 6 inches in diameter. The data is about 2 years old. What if we could get online data everyday that could look into your back yard?
Again, I'm not as excited at the idea of someone looking into my backyard, even though I have nothing worth looking at. But I would love to be able to look into the yards of people who do have something to hide. As outdated as the images are, I have still used them to good effect. In one case the Google Street View image clearly showed a target's vehicle parked in front of a property. It didn;t tell us exactly when, nor could we use the information reliably in an affidavit, but it loet us know quickly that we were on the right track.
With the advent of Unmanned Aerospace Vehicles (UAV)s and downloadable satellite feeds it is possible to give government agencies that ability now. It could be fed into Google Earth and other geospatial applications with great benefit in times of natural diaster, acts of terrorism, and to protect our borders.
Hollywood makes a big deal about the potential of the government to utilize satellite imagery and all sorts of technical wizadry to get a realtime view of events as they occur. The reality is that while the technology is there, the capability to utilize it at the apeed and accuracy that is portrayed in the movies is not. The truth is that it is practically impossible, at the current levels of deployment, to cover every square inch of the country at all times. So, much in the same way as police officers are deployed, you cover the likely targets and hope that you have someone neatby when something happens elsewhere. And although some in the European Union may be concerned about Google StreetView and Google Earth as an infringement of privacy, it is in fact the Europeans who have taken the lead when it comes to closed circuit surveillance in public area. The British police have large scale CCTV coverage over wide areas of their cities and towns, much more so than in the US. And they believe that it is a serious deterrent to street level crime. Again, beyond the people who disagree on principle, a lot of people are happy to live a more peaceful and secure life as a result.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Week 5: The Blog gets all high-tech. Now with video!!!
This is me in a previous life. Ahh, how simple life was!
This is me in a current life..
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Deeper than the deepest web
I think that the next few years will see a lot of changes in the area of search engines and internet searches. I remember when Google was first introduced, and recall discussing the leap in technology that it represented in terms of finding information. Before Google, most search engines relied on the fact that web pages had to be registered with them before they could regurgitate them as search results. Google introduced what at the time was referred to as "spider-bots", that literally went out and found the information that you were looking for, whether the page had been registered or not. It was an advancement that changed how a lot of people viewed the internet. Of course, the technology has evolved and the world has adapted to it, so that now retailers are tailoring their websites in order to rank higher in the results page of a search.
I think that Google will continue to be the major player in this market. After all, none of the others have been officially entered into the dictionary as a verb. Microsoft recently introduced a new search engine, "Bing", that is pruported to be more intuitive than any of the others. This is noteworthy because now the problem a lot people have is too much information being returned, and then having to weed through the results to find what you are really after. Again, since the majority of retailers have come to understand the power of internet searching, they are striving to have their page be at the top. You might not necessarily be interested in buying a product when you do a search.
Google might not have create a second act, considereing that they have also been one of the most successful at expanding their brand. Yahoo is still known for email, messaging and searches, but they have not moved too far beyond that. But Google has created Google Earth, Android, Latitude, Calendar, Maps, yada, yada, yada. I think as many people go to Google Maps for directions as they do Mapquest, a site that was designed specifically for that purpose.
The "deep web" is becoming more accessible every day, as developers find ways to dig further into the net, based primarily on demand and bandwidth. As it is, a search is likely to find things like message board postings, social networking sites, and other non-commercial web pages that would not have been returned as search results even five years ago.
Intellectual property issues are, and will continue to become, a big issue. All of this technology costs money to create and develop, money that needs to be recouped through sales. A lot of developers have begun using Google Maps on their websites and mobile applications. Google has begun cracking down on the ones that infringe on their business lines. On the other hand, some new legal issues emerged, namely the controversy surrounding the Google Library, where there is a backlash of sorts against the internet giant for making too much available on the internet, effectively squeezing in on the traditional printing media.
I think that Google will continue to be the major player in this market. After all, none of the others have been officially entered into the dictionary as a verb. Microsoft recently introduced a new search engine, "Bing", that is pruported to be more intuitive than any of the others. This is noteworthy because now the problem a lot people have is too much information being returned, and then having to weed through the results to find what you are really after. Again, since the majority of retailers have come to understand the power of internet searching, they are striving to have their page be at the top. You might not necessarily be interested in buying a product when you do a search.
Google might not have create a second act, considereing that they have also been one of the most successful at expanding their brand. Yahoo is still known for email, messaging and searches, but they have not moved too far beyond that. But Google has created Google Earth, Android, Latitude, Calendar, Maps, yada, yada, yada. I think as many people go to Google Maps for directions as they do Mapquest, a site that was designed specifically for that purpose.
The "deep web" is becoming more accessible every day, as developers find ways to dig further into the net, based primarily on demand and bandwidth. As it is, a search is likely to find things like message board postings, social networking sites, and other non-commercial web pages that would not have been returned as search results even five years ago.
Intellectual property issues are, and will continue to become, a big issue. All of this technology costs money to create and develop, money that needs to be recouped through sales. A lot of developers have begun using Google Maps on their websites and mobile applications. Google has begun cracking down on the ones that infringe on their business lines. On the other hand, some new legal issues emerged, namely the controversy surrounding the Google Library, where there is a backlash of sorts against the internet giant for making too much available on the internet, effectively squeezing in on the traditional printing media.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Chapter 2: The Cyber Wars
The text refers to a cyber attack allegedly perpetrated by a Chinese political movement against the US and other UN allies in 2007. That attack seems like a bug bite compared to the full-on assault that occurred in July, 2009, when a wide range of US and South Korean government, news and financial interests were besieged by a major Distributed Denial-of-Service attack. In this instance, it is suspected that North Korea was responsible for utilizing a botnet, basically a network of hijacked computers, to access targeted websites with the intention of overloading the servers.
Although the attack was not designed to hack into or take over the targeted systems, in this age of widespread internet usage, any disruption of service means lost productivity and revenue. Even the government websites, which are not necessarily intended to generate income, are susceptible to the negative impacts of these attacks because a lot of general government business is now conducted online, whether it be applying for benefits, bidding on or awarding contracts, etc. Shutting down the White House website only brings the issue home to the country's leadership.
Of course, this type of warfare is not restricted to nation-states. The tactic can be, and is, used every day by a wide variety of people, for their own monetary gain, or simply for the sheer joy of screwing with someone. Gone are the days of calling your ex in the middle of the night and hanging up. Now a jilted lover has a wide variety of options at their disposal. Text and email harrassment is a good start, followed up with a nice flaming on Facebook, Twitter or Youtube. And the benefit of attacking someone through social networking sites like Facebook is that your message can be automatically spread to everyone on their contact list. Now all your ex-girlfriend's friends will know that she pads her bra.
Although the attack was not designed to hack into or take over the targeted systems, in this age of widespread internet usage, any disruption of service means lost productivity and revenue. Even the government websites, which are not necessarily intended to generate income, are susceptible to the negative impacts of these attacks because a lot of general government business is now conducted online, whether it be applying for benefits, bidding on or awarding contracts, etc. Shutting down the White House website only brings the issue home to the country's leadership.
Of course, this type of warfare is not restricted to nation-states. The tactic can be, and is, used every day by a wide variety of people, for their own monetary gain, or simply for the sheer joy of screwing with someone. Gone are the days of calling your ex in the middle of the night and hanging up. Now a jilted lover has a wide variety of options at their disposal. Text and email harrassment is a good start, followed up with a nice flaming on Facebook, Twitter or Youtube. And the benefit of attacking someone through social networking sites like Facebook is that your message can be automatically spread to everyone on their contact list. Now all your ex-girlfriend's friends will know that she pads her bra.
Week One: Impact of the internet
The internet had a huge impact on the 2008 presidential campaign, both by use of internet resources directly by the candidates, as well as an increase in the use of the internet by political pundits, professional and self-appointed, to either support their candidate of choice or decry the opposition. Non-traditional internet media, such as blogs like the Drudge Report, had a much greater voice in the 2008 campaign than in any previous election. A lot more people, particularly the young, are getting their news and information from the internet, whether it be sports scores sent to their phones from ESPN.com, or news headlines from CNN.com, or simply turning to Google to find out what things that they hear in the news are all about.
The Spartan Internet Political Performance (SIPP) Index (http://www.spartaninternet.com/2008/) tracked the internet performance of each candidate in the 2008 election. It is not surprising that Barack Obama is shown to have taken an early lead in the standings, eventually outperforming his competition by almost double. Obama clearly made excellent use of the internet to organize and motivate a legion of mostly young, first-time voters. This grassroots campaign was mostly set up and maintained using the internet, incorporating blogs, networking sites, and messaging services. Obama held an all on-line townhall meeting, and used the internet to speak directly to young voters in a language that they understood.
As mentioned in the text, the concepts of google-bombing and google-washing became prevelant in the run-up to the 2008 election. The fact that these tactics were even concieved, let alone implemented, is testament to the power that google specifically, and the internet in general, has over influencing the hearts and minds of the American voter.
After all, you're reading this in the internet, right?
The Spartan Internet Political Performance (SIPP) Index (http://www.spartaninternet.com/2008/) tracked the internet performance of each candidate in the 2008 election. It is not surprising that Barack Obama is shown to have taken an early lead in the standings, eventually outperforming his competition by almost double. Obama clearly made excellent use of the internet to organize and motivate a legion of mostly young, first-time voters. This grassroots campaign was mostly set up and maintained using the internet, incorporating blogs, networking sites, and messaging services. Obama held an all on-line townhall meeting, and used the internet to speak directly to young voters in a language that they understood.
As mentioned in the text, the concepts of google-bombing and google-washing became prevelant in the run-up to the 2008 election. The fact that these tactics were even concieved, let alone implemented, is testament to the power that google specifically, and the internet in general, has over influencing the hearts and minds of the American voter.
After all, you're reading this in the internet, right?
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