Disturbing revelations about the breadth of spying by the U.S. government on its citizens and allies continue to emerge.
In a recent post, I suggested that U.S. security officials never abandoned the concept of “Total Information Awareness,” a program for intensive digital spying proposed and ostensibly withdrawn by the Pentagon shortly after 9/11.
Another Pentagon phrase that keeps popping up in my head is “persistent surveillance.” I first heard this term while researching “The Drones Come Home,” an article for the March issue of National Geographic Magazine. Predators, Global Hawks and other unmanned planes, or drones, were enabling U.S. armed forces to carry out continuous, 24/7 visual, infrared, radar and electronic monitoring of large regions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As this 2011 Pentagon report states, persistent surveillance, which like Total Information Awareness was inspired by 9/11, “facilitates the prediction of an adversary’s behavior and the formulation and execution of preemptive activities to deter or forestall anticipated adversary courses of action.”
Incorporating data from conventional aircraft, satellites, balloons and towers as well as drones, persistent surveillance allows U.S. armed forces to predict enemy attacks and coordinate counter-strikes with greater precision than traditional methods.
Such surveillance can also help identify perpetrators of past attacks. For example, if militants blow up a U.S. convoy with an improvised explosive device, persistent surveillance data allow investigators to watch the whole plot unfold in reverse and track perpetrators back to their hideouts. Persistent surveillance turns an entire city into the equivalent of a convenience store monitored by security cameras.
One of the most detailed, candid discussions I have found of persistent surveillance is a 2009 master’s thesis by Christina Fekkes of the Naval Postgraduate School. Fekkes began her paper by recalling the proposal of 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham to create a “panopticon,” a prison whose inmates are monitored so thoroughly that they do not even contemplate misbehaving.
The Latest Bing News on:
Persistent Surveillance
- Drones and AI are rewriting the rulebook on naval warfare — with uncertain consequenceson May 9, 2024 at 5:00 am
Named after their leader within Ukraine's defence intelligence agency — a man who goes by the nom de guerre Call Sign 13 — this unit of maritime drone operators has destroyed or damaged more than half ...
- Chad opposition, civil society groups complain of vote rigging and threatson May 9, 2024 at 2:13 am
Deby's main challenger, Prime Minister Succes Masra, is asking for international assistance, saying he is under surveillance and faces threats to his safety after at least two people were killed in ...
- Air Force's ULTRA Long-Endurance Glider-Like Drone Is Now Operating In The Middle Easton May 8, 2024 at 1:57 pm
The product of a long program to field a low-cost, long-endurance surveillance drone, ULTRA is now flying missions around the Persian Gulf.
- Poland names aerostat programme, confirms number of unitson May 7, 2024 at 9:23 am
Poland's Armament Agency announced on 6 May that itsaerostat reconnaissance programme will be called Barbara, with four systems expected to be acquired to ...
- The New Propaganda Waron May 6, 2024 at 3:01 am
Autocrats in China, Russia, and elsewhere are now making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world.
- Suspect wanted for theft, fraud after breaking into car, trying to use victim’s credit cardson May 5, 2024 at 4:25 am
APD said the suspect in the surveillance video broke into someone’s car, stole their cards and tried to use them. On April 21, officers responded to vehicle larceny on Santa Monica Drive Northwest.
- Army Releases RFI for Aerostat Sustainment, Life Cycle Support Requirementon April 28, 2024 at 5:00 pm
medium and tactical Persistence Surveillance Systems Tethered aerostats and Persistent Surveillance Dissemination System of Systems, according to a notice posted Thursday on SAM.gov. PD Aerostats ...
- Are your kids being spied on? The rise of anti-cheating software in US schoolson April 18, 2024 at 5:00 am
adding that young people could be more susceptible to the potential harms of persistent surveillance. Young children, he argued, are unable to truly consent to being monitored by the software and ...
- CDC report: Persistent measles importations challenge U.S. elimination effortson April 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Further research is needed to address gaps in vaccine coverage and enhance surveillance systems to prevent future outbreaks and sustain measles elimination. Confirmed measles cases are reported to ...
- Researchers identify new genetic risk factors for persistent HPV infectionson April 10, 2024 at 5:00 pm
They found persistent HPV was associated with variants ... processing and presentation and HLA-DRB1 alleles in immune surveillance and persistence of high-risk HPV infections," said Mark T.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Persistent Surveillance
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Persistent Surveillance” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Surveillance
- Richmond Police arrest suspect in Chamberlayne Ave. homicide with help from video surveillanceon May 9, 2024 at 8:27 am
Richmond Police detectives have made an arrest in a homicide on Chamberlayne Avenue last week. Detectives arrested Jason Morton Jr., 21, of Richmond, in the death of Daniel Mallory. Morton has been ...
- WATCH: Surveillance camera captures moment stolen car crashes, catches fire during OKC chaseon May 9, 2024 at 8:23 am
A company's surveillance cameras captured the moments a stolen vehicle crashed and caught fire during an overnight chase in northwest Oklahoma City.
- Virginia Officials Launch ‘Surveillance System’ To Track Cannabis-Related ‘Adverse Events’ Among Childrenon May 9, 2024 at 7:23 am
At the end of the day, there needs to be proper attribution as to what the child actually consumed.” By Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury Virginia officials are instructing health care providers to ...
- Police seek surveillance video in search for missing manon May 9, 2024 at 6:58 am
East Greenbush Police are seeking surveillance video that could help in their search for a missing man. Joseph Viola was last seen at his residence on Rhode Island Avenue on April 25 around 10:40 p.m.
- Section 702 foreign surveillance law lives on, but privacy fight continueson May 9, 2024 at 5:32 am
That was the choice that Congress faced in April, when it ultimately decided to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA. Section 702 originally became law ...
- Johnston is getting Flock license plate surveillance cameras. Here's what they do:on May 9, 2024 at 4:05 am
The Johnston City Council on Monday approved an agreement with Flock Group Inc. for 11 solar-powered cameras that would be placed in "strategic gateway areas" in Johnston, according to city documents, ...
- Virginia health officials launch ‘surveillance system’ for kids sickened by cannabison May 9, 2024 at 1:48 am
(Source: Virginia Department of Health) The Health Department provided data showing an increase in emergency room visits involving minors being exposed to cannabis, and said the new surveillance ...
- Migrant charity defies Italy over surveillance plane restrictionson May 8, 2024 at 9:22 am
A German rescue charity on Wednesday launched a fresh aerial surveillance mission from Italy to track down migrant boats in difficulty in the central Mediterranean, defying restrictions by Italian ...
- Video surveillance sought for scenic sites in East Oahuon May 8, 2024 at 3:05 am
The Honolulu Police Department is considering using video cameras mounted on at least four mobile security trailers to avert auto burglaries, thefts, vandalism and other crimes at popular scenic ...
- Surveillance Remains Top Priority for Financial Institutionson May 8, 2024 at 12:06 am
Banks have made significant progress during the last decade in better managing market abuse risk, but bad actors continue to evolve their approaches in an attempt to fly under the radar of ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Surveillance
[google_news title=”” keyword=”surveillance” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]