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Archive for the ‘surveillance’ category: Page 14

Jan 3, 2021

Cybersecurity firm FireEye says massive Russia hack was waged inside U.S.

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, surveillance

Intruders took advantage of limits on the NSA’s domestic surveillance capabilities.

Dec 19, 2020

Left of Launch: Artificial Intelligence at the Nuclear Nexus

Posted by in categories: information science, military, policy, robotics/AI, space, surveillance

Popular media and policy-oriented discussions on the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into nuclear weapons systems frequently focus on matters of launch authority—that is, whether AI, especially machine learning (ML) capabilities, should be incorporated into the decision to use nuclear weapons and thereby reduce the role of human control in the decisionmaking process. This is a future we should avoid. Yet while the extreme case of automating nuclear weapons use is high stakes, and thus existential to get right, there are many other areas of potential AI adoption into the nuclear enterprise that require assessment. Moreover, as the conventional military moves rapidly to adopt AI tools in a host of mission areas, the overlapping consequences for the nuclear mission space, including in nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3), may be underappreciated.

AI may be used in ways that do not directly involve or are not immediately recognizable to senior decisionmakers. These areas of AI application are far left of an operational decision or decision to launch and include four priority sectors: security and defense; intelligence activities and indications and warning; modeling and simulation, optimization, and data analytics; and logistics and maintenance. Given the rapid pace of development, even if algorithms are not used to launch nuclear weapons, ML could shape the design of the next-generation ballistic missile or be embedded in the underlying logistics infrastructure. ML vision models may undergird the intelligence process that detects the movement of adversary mobile missile launchers and optimize the tipping and queuing of overhead surveillance assets, even as a human decisionmaker remains firmly in the loop in any ultimate decisions about nuclear use. Understanding and navigating these developments in the context of nuclear deterrence and the understanding of escalation risks will require the analytical attention of the nuclear community and likely the adoption of risk management approaches, especially where the exclusion of AI is not reasonable or feasible.

Dec 17, 2020

Artificial intelligence co-pilots US military aircraft for the first time

Posted by in categories: military, robotics/AI, surveillance

Artificial intelligence helped co-pilot a U-2 “Dragon Lady” spy plane during a test flight Tuesday, the first time artificial intelligence has been used in such a way aboard a US military aircraft.

Mastering artificial intelligence or “AI” is increasingly seen as critical to the future of warfare and Air Force officials said Tuesday’s training flight represented a major milestone.

“The Air Force flew artificial intelligence as a working aircrew member onboard a military aircraft for the first time, December 15,” the Air Force said in a statement, saying the flight signaled “a major leap forward for national defense in the digital age.”

Dec 12, 2020

Autonomous drone carries an 8 lb payload and unlimited flight time

Posted by in categories: drones, military, robotics/AI, surveillance

Easy Aerial claims its Albatross UAS is a tethered machine that has an unbreachable data connection.


Drone startup Easy Aerial has launched a new unmanned aerial system (UAS), called Albatross, a tethered device with unlimited flight time and an unbreachable data connection.

The drone hexacopter can carry an 8.5 lb payload capacity with three hardpoints, two on the side that can carry up to 4 lb and the bottom hardpoint that can carry payloads of up to 8 lb. The side payload stations feature standard mounting as well as Picatinny rails that support a wide range of applications such as floodlights, communications relays, loudspeakers and cyber-related and other commercial and military electronic systems. The bottom hardpoint is designed for gimbaled cameras or large ISR loads such as radar or communication jammers.

Continue reading “Autonomous drone carries an 8 lb payload and unlimited flight time” »

Nov 24, 2020

Moment meteor explodes near Brazil’s border with Uruguay

Posted by in categories: space, surveillance

This is the moment a bright meteor crossed the sky over Brazil and exploded.

The phenomenon was captured on camera by the Heller and Jung Space Observatory early Monday as it entered the Earth’s atmosphere.

Continue reading “Moment meteor explodes near Brazil’s border with Uruguay” »

Nov 18, 2020

Expect the Unexpected: Frontiers of Mathematics, Computation, Systems and Design

Posted by in categories: government, mathematics, robotics/AI, security, surveillance

AI designed to be aware of it’s own competence.


Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador interviews Dr. Jiangying Zhou, DARPA program manager in the Defense Sciences Office, USA.

Continue reading “Expect the Unexpected: Frontiers of Mathematics, Computation, Systems and Design” »

Nov 17, 2020

Robotic dogs to start patrolling Florida military base

Posted by in categories: drones, military, robotics/AI, surveillance

Fido, meet F1d0.

Newly developed robotic K9s will soon be prowling Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida, to enhance security and surveillance patrolling, WMBB-TV reported Monday.

The 325th Security Forces Squadron, which handles security for the base, said the robo-dogs are weatherproof, four-legged, unmanned patrolling drones that have two-way communication abilities and high-tech sensors that cost about $100,000 a pop, the outlet reported.

Nov 9, 2020

SpaceX gets $29 million Space Force contract for surveillance of non-military launches

Posted by in categories: military, space, surveillance

WASHINGTON — SpaceX was awarded a $29.6 million contract under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract that allows the U.S. Space Force to monitor and study data from the company’s commercial and civil space missions.

The one-year contract “provides early integration studies and fleet surveillance for non-national security space missions,” said the Space Force contract announcement Nov. 9.

Fleet surveillance includes access to proprietary “tools, systems, processes and launch site activities developed by the launch service provider for non-national security space missions,” said the Space Force.

Oct 25, 2020

French Court Asks Microsoft for Safeguards Against U.S. Surveillance of Health Data

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, government, health, law, robotics/AI, surveillance

U.S. company can keep hosting vast coronavirus-related project but must protect French citizens’ health data from American government, court rules.


A French court has ruled that Microsoft Corp. can continue hosting a government-run project aggregating citizens’ anonymous health data to use for AI-based research, but must guarantee no data will be sent to the U.S. or be shared with American intelligence authorities.

The ruling, handed down last week, contradicts the stance of France’s data protection authority, which told the court this month that any U.S. cloud provider could be forced to comply with U.S. surveillance laws and should therefore not be allowed to host sensitive health data. The regulator’s opinion could provide clues for other companies handling such data, legal experts say.

Continue reading “French Court Asks Microsoft for Safeguards Against U.S. Surveillance of Health Data” »

Oct 13, 2020

Tesla update lets you lock Sentry Mode/TeslaCam storage in glovebox

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, surveillance, transportation

Tesla is updating the interior of the Model 3 to let owners lock their Sentry Mode/TeslaCam storage device in the glovebox.

Sentry Mode is Tesla’s integrated surveillance system inside its vehicles using the Autopilot cameras around the car to record potential vandalism or other incidents.

Tesla owners have to plug a storage device in one of the USB ports in the center console and footage recorded by Sentry Mode and TeslaCam, the automaker’s dashcam feature, will be stored on it.

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