surveillance

In his celebrated work of dystopian fiction “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” author George Orwell once envisioned a “world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon.” Describing a society menacingly ruled by a dictatorship solely interested in using its considerable political influence to oppress its own citizenry, [1] many readers in Orwell’s time thought that the author was predicting a social scenario that could never actually come into being. In essence, the notion that a government could spy on its citizens through their television screens seemed like the stuff of science fiction to a populace that couldn’t even afford to purchase television sets. At the time, in fact, Orwell was writing about the rise of Stalinism in the then-burgeoning Soviet Union. But a year after “Nineteen Eighty-Four” was written, China experienced its own Communist revolution, [2] and in the wake of that event, the country descended into a surveillance state in all but name. As China ushers in a new age of social surveillance technology 70 years after Maoism became the country’s de facto political philosophy, [Read More…]

Cheap drones, like the DJI Phantom, are becoming a ubiquitous technology. They can be cheaply used for surveillance (unmanned aerial surveillance), and in some cases they are being weaponized. How can you perform counter-drone operations? First of all – we’re assuming you are legally able to do this. There are “no drone airspace” restrictions in place around many government facilities, including Air Force Bases. Let’s look at the options. Kinetic Methods Physical damage to the drone through gunfire is also an option. But, firing off guns (especially up in the air) can lead to more trouble than it is worth. Bullets fired on a high arc have to land somewhere – and that’s both a safety risk to people and it is highly likely to cause collateral damage. Nets can be used to ensnare drones – but this is a relatively short range method. As we’ll see, there are easier ways to counter drones. Command and Control Disruption Systems like the Dronebuster are capable of interfering with the drones radio command frequencies. This effectively neutralizes the drone, and prevents it [Read More…]