Diebold safecracking

Mars One To Build Simulated Colony For One-Way Astronauts

              

 

Mars colony

Mars One

Creating a permanent human settlement on Mars by 2025 will require serious training. To prepare its future astronauts for the task, the Netherlands-based private spaceflight project Mars One announced today its plans to construct Earth-based outposts that replicate the cramped, isolated, crazy-making conditions of a Red Planet colony.
In an email statement this morning, Mars One also named Kristian von Bengston—co-founder of Copenhagen Suborbitals, a private effort to build and launch a crewed suborbital rocket—as leader of the new effort to establish multiple training outposts at yet-to-be-determined locations. For now Von Bengston is seeking out construction companies and courting financial sponsors. The first simulated colonies won't contain actual life-support systems, at least to begin with, but they will be retrofitted with the technology later on, according to the statement.
More than 200,000 people applied for the one-way mission. Late last year, Mars One narrowed the selection pool to 1,058. Their ultimate goal: select 24 to 40 candidates who will travel to Mars in groups of four (two men and two women, ideally from four different continents, says CEO Bas Lansdorp). Mars One wants to send the first group in 2025, with the subsequent crews launching one at a time, every two years thereafter. The organization intends to televise the final rounds of the search. 
Spaceflight contractors Lockheed Martin and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. are already working with Mars One to develop a robotic lander and a data-link satellite for an unmanned, exploratory mission to Mars in 2018. Should this initial mission get off the ground, it would test several technologies required to support human life on another world.
Last August, Popular Science spoke with one of the applicants, video game designer Katrina Wolfe, who has since made it to round two of the selection process.

High-Tech Thieves and the Gadgets They Use

Curious about the latest in gadgets and gizmos thieves are using these day?
As our world rushes into the futuristic realm of technology and the geniuses of our time continue to think up revolutionary software, gadgets, gizmos, as well as other high-tech tools, thieves become ever more skilled in using them.
There are many products that I will bring to your attention today in an effort to look inside the tool box of high-tech thieves and what gadgets they use to victimize the unsuspecting public. I was planning on only writing on one or two of the ‘most used' items but there were so many to choose from that I decided to incorporate quite a few to broaden the spectrum of technologies being used today.
Manufacturers aren't fessing up to who made these dandy delights and buying these items can be hard to do if you don't know where to look. But nevertheless, I figured it was worth the heads up. Incidentally, BBC has an article about these thieves and the motivation behind their actions that I found very interesting in my research.

Super Flexible Cameras

Thousands of homes have a biological alarm system called a dog. Thieves that target a home have to watch out for this natural anti-theft device, so they use a small video camera that can slide under a door or into a small hole in the wall to help them find any vicious critters that would like to greet them with all of their sharp pointy teeth. Counter Intelligence Technologies, Inc. manufactures fiber optic digital cameras that are highly affordable. But they are certainly not the only ones to make them.  Many online retailers have them and one  example of a good super flex micro camera is from Amazon.
Flexible CameraSnake Camera

Radio Frequency Code Grabbers

Okay, now on to another gadget that high-tech thieves use. Scanners that find specific radio frequencies are often used to gain access into a home via the garage door or car. As technology advances the alarms will need to be updated. If you are still using an old electronic garage door or an old car alarm system chances are the frequency can be duplicated. Hacker Central has devices like the RF (Radio Frequency) Detectors and Code Grabbers as well as providing lists of cars and garage doors/gates they open. Amazon has a well rated one here. The functions are pretty simple. The device itself locks on to the radio frequencies when the victim opens their garage door to leave or come home. By activating the code grabber it finds the exact frequency to open the door and duplicates it for future use. (Read more about Mobile Scanner and Radar laws in the U.S at afn.org.)
Code Scanner
Code Grabber

Credit Card Cloners and Skimmers

ATM Scammer
Endless reports across the globe are reporting on credit card cloning and skimming. Devices are designed to be placed in plain site, usually on ATM's or even gas pumps for those of us looking for a fast transaction in our hectic lives. The Age and Sun Herald in Australia are reporting small covert cameras that not only record the pin numbers being entered but also the numbers on the credit card as well and all data on the magnetic strip. This is the very recipe for cloning an unlimited credit account at someone else's expense.

Car Key Code Scanning Laptops

Laptop
Car thieves are going high-tech too, well at least those with expensive tastes are. David Beckham just had his vehicle stolen according to MSNBC by way of a laptop... that's right, a laptop. The computer, along with an antenna and of course special software was able to extract a code that was transmitted by a Radio Frequency (RFID) chip located in the key.

Magnetic Keyboards

Magnetic Keyboard (from Neowin.net)
While we are on the topic of cars I found another object of desire for thieves today... yep, you guessed it, gasoline. Because of the high price of petrol at the pumps, high-tech thieves are targeting new ways to get the juice for free. ABC news reports enlighten the public to the fact that magnetic keyboards are the culprit. The keyboard was basically used to ‘turn on' the pumps from a closed Citgo gas station in Rhode Island. They were able to get 134 gallons in that one trip that they loaded into empty metal drums.

Keystroke Catchers

Keystroke Catcher (from Spy-solutions.com)
Although "pharming" or "phishing" scams are still all the rage with dishonest thieves via the internet, specialists at truecredit.com (a branch of TransUnion) say that there is one more thing to watch out for... "Keystroke catchers". Small devices are affixed to the cable which goes from the keyboard to the computer itself and are as cheap as $100. The connector is what they call a "catcher" and it records whatever you type into your computer. They are usually slipped into public computer areas like libraries and internet cafés. The moral of this story kiddies, is to never pay bills or shop online in a public terminal where just anybody has access to the data you transmit. You can pick one of these up on Amazon here.
Well, what do you think of the latest gadgets being used criminals? Do you think these technologies should be allowed in the marketplace at all? Do you think this article will facilitate criminal behaviour by explaining how these technologies are being used? Should we not be writing about these types of security related devices?

Manda Spring
Surveillance and Security Innovations
InventorSpot.com

- See more at: http://inventorspot.com/articles/hightech_thieves_and_gadgets_they_use_15452#sthash.0tY9hJ5A.dpuf

Handheld Scanner Can Copy Car Keys Just By Peeking At The Lock

              

Locksmiths and car thieves can both get excited over a new handheld device that electronically maps the inside of car locks and then provides the key code within seconds via USB cable connection to a computer. The key code, matched to the make of the car, allows key-cutting machines to churn out a replacement key. Popular Mechanics reports that the key replication only works for Ford vehicles so far -- news that may leave bemused expressions on the faces of Ford owners.
The Electronic Key Impressioner (EKI) comes with common vehicle keyway inserts, a USB cable, and lock mapping software. That software connects to a database full of updated key codes, which also allows the system to remotely "brick" devices that have fallen into the wrong hands. But car manufacturers may not accept that reassurance, even as the EKI creators hope to expand their device's ability to work with a wider range of cars. Unhappy automakers could render it useless by changing their lock technology completely.
Another caveat is

Either way
, look for this magical key replacement (or Grand Theft Auto) device to come your way late this year.
that the

Key Replicator

Here, let me unlock your car for you

Alternative Product Solutions

system mainly works for old-fashioned keys, as opposed to newer car keys that contain transponders. But tools already exist for locksmiths or less savory characters to crack the transponder codes.
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-02/lock-diving-sensor-creates-replacement-car-keys-good-or-ill

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Anti-Drone Camouflage : What to wear in total surveillance

The future of privacy is looking grim. Artist Adam Harvey wants to design something about that.
For the past four years, Harvey has been exploring the possibilities of counter-surveillance fashion. His latest addition is a collection of clothes and accessories called Stealth Wear. The collection includes an anti-drone hoodie and scarf that are designed to thwart the thermal-imaging technology widely used by UAVs, and the OFF Pocket, a phone accessory that blocks all incoming and outgoing communication from your phone. Harvey’s earlier work includes the CamoFlash, a set of powerful LEDs that trigger when it detects camera flashes, turning the tools of the paparazzi against them, and CV Dazzle, a experiment with makeup and hair styles that will confuse facial-recognition systems.
In total, it’s a body of work that pushes against a future of total surveillance. Like the best fashion, Harvey’s work is at once practical and wearable and an artistic provocation.
“Total surveillance is a term I first heard from Anders Sandberg during this presentation at a Tabula Rasa conference,” says Harvey. “He predicts that by 2050 a country can execute total surveillance on a population for .01% of their GDP.”
What does he mean by total surveillance? “I asked him what he meant — I was also confused — and it basically pertains to recording audio/video 24/7 of every citizen. This was based on some research he’s done.” It’s Moore’s law for the surveillance age. As sensors get cheaper and more ubiquitous, and as we wire ourselves and our spaces up with cameras and other gear, it becomes harder and harder to not record everything.
Here’s a quick tour of the contemporary surveillance landscape. A father accidentally spies on his daughter with a smart meter; the iPhone’s location database accidentally tracks everywhere you’ve been; Facebook users’ public info turns out to be great for stalker applications; more and more companies are coming out with life cams; and everyone’s getting a drone.
Wired chatted with Harvey about the story behind his pieces.
Wired: How did you get into countermeasure clothing in the first place?
Adam Harvey: I aestheticize something that I’m passionate about. Privacy and surveillance are defining who we, how we dress, and how we act with each other. I’m very interested in seeing how this will play out in terms of how we treat other’s data and how we balance security with privacy. As the security industry grows, we’re forced to define and redefine what privacy means. Also, each new generation will have a different idea of what privacy means.
I don’t want the next generation to grow up thinking that giving away all of your personal data for free is the norm. If we’re on track for total surveillance, then good countermeasures are essential. These don’t have to be limited to fringe interest groups either. Counter surveillance could become the norm. The OFF Pocket is designed with everyone in mind from high schoolers to hackers to politicians. We’re all being tracked, but some of it can be controlled.
Wired: How did the Stealth Wear project come about?
Harvey: Stealth Wear started as an experiment using the fabrics I was researching for the OFF Pocket. I did research on thermal surveillance and was very interested in where it was going and at some point realized that metalised fabrics work as a shield against thermal imagining cameras. I was able to get access to a thermal camera and started testing swatches of fabric. When I realized that it worked well enough, I got in touch with my friend Johanna Bloomfield and she came up with the hoodie design. Everything was pretty much still an experiment at this point. Then we showed the hoodie to Andrew Green from PRIMITIVE. He loved it and decided to include it and make it a major part of this upcoming show. Originally this show was to be based on work from CV Dazzle and a few other counter surveillance art projects. This whole idea of stealth wear line was very emergent.
Wired: Any specific symbolism in a hoodie and a scarf or simply practicality?
Harvey: I wanted to do a hoodie because it assumes that there is a high enough demand for anti-thermal imaging clothes that one would want to add style. I’m creating the future I want to see: people wearing stylish clothes that block surveillance and enhance privacy. Functionally, the hoodie is designed to thwart thermal surveillance from above and is wide enough to block a vertical over shot. The hood is exaggerated to provide additional face concealment.
The scarf is intended to be worn as a hijab. It is also inspired by the rationale behind the hijab, “the veil which separates man or the world from God”, replacing God with drone. The interior color is the the inverse color scheme of the heat map gradient.
Wired: Is there a particular reason you’re intervening at this particular scale?
Harvey: I see a future where individuals are more in control of their privacy. And I see fashion as a vehicle for getting there. Conformity is what surveillance wants and fashion is anti-conformist. And I think the decision to conform or not happens on a personal level. The projects I’ve been working on act upon surveillance in a way that exploits a vulnerability and makes this vulnerability accessible through using something ordinary (hair, makeup, or fashion) in a non-conformist and legal way.
So far, I haven’t had any problems with legal issues. In fact, I’ve been invited to a biometrics conference to discuss my work and really enjoy meeting people in this field. Even someone from DARPA recognized my work and seemed to enjoy it. Ideally, these projects, which take place at a personal level, could function to influence people at a higher policy-making level.
Wired: To what extent do you think these clothing/tools will actually be effective?
Harvey: I designed the OFF Pocket to be inconspicuous. The “Anti-Drone” Hoodie is more or less indistinguishable from other high fashion. Hiding in plain sight if definitely the goal. But what we define as familiar versus conspicuous changes everywhere we go. In Williamsburg I see people riding 10 ft tall bicycles and it’s normal. On the NYC subway, crazy people scream and no one even notices. In Penn Station there are soldiers with automatic weapons. These are all normal.
What I think we don’t realize is that surveillance is taking place almost everywhere we go now, and it should be normal for us to dress in a way that is conscious of this. At some point, it might be weird to not have an OFF Pocket or a thermally reflective garment. Or, maybe just unfashionable.
The collection is being hosted by PRIMITVE in London and opens to the public on January 18.
http://www.wired.com/2013/01/anti-drone-camouflage-apparel/
 

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