thwarting facial recognition software

polymoog

Superstar
Joined
Jun 17, 2017
Messages
8,207
https://www.bitchute.com/video/DHh1lhKbkH52/

some of this is stupid, i agree, but the silicone/rubber mask isnt a bad idea at all. but do i have to pay extra for the double chin?

joking aside, i like the spirit of what this guy is doing. good for him for being active.

hes selling them for $200 USD/pop.
http://www.urmesurveillance.com/urme-prosthetic
theres a list to see if its legal to wear a mask in your state.

his paper ones are dumb. if i do a paper one, ill cut out mine from my old mad magazine of bernard goetz.
1569982653524.png

------------------------

this might help some women:

Style Tips for Reclaiming Privacy
1 Makeup
Avoid enhancers: They amplify key facial features. This makes your face easier to detect. Instead apply makeup that contrasts with your skin tone in unusual tones and directions: light colors on dark skin, dark colors on light skin.
2 Nose Bridge
Partially obscure the nose-bridge area: The region where the nose, eyes, and forehead intersect is a key facial feature. This is especially effective against OpenCV's face detection algorithm.
3 Eyes
Partially obscure one of the ocular regions: The position and darkness of eyes is a key facial feature.
4 Masks
Avoid wearing masks as they are illegal in some cities. Instead of concealing your face, modify the contrast, tonal gradients, and spatial relationship of dark and light areas using hair, makeup, and/or unique fashion accessories.
5Head
Research from Ranran Feng and Balakrishnan Prabhakaran at University of Texas, shows that obscuring the elliptical shape of a head can also improve your ability to block face detection. Link: Facilitating fashion camouflage art
6Asymmetry
Facial-recognition algorithms expect symmetry between the left and right sides of the face. By developing an asymmetrical look, you may decrease your probability of being detected.
source: https://cvdazzle.com/

there is also stealth wear:
1569983733038.png
https://ahprojects.com/stealth-wear/


you could also rock a full burqa. at least its cotton and can breathe, unlike the synthetic stealth wear.

1569984399564.png
 

Frank Badfinger

Superstar
Joined
Aug 4, 2019
Messages
15,775
https://www.bitchute.com/video/DHh1lhKbkH52/

some of this is stupid, i agree, but the silicone/rubber mask isnt a bad idea at all. but do i have to pay extra for the double chin?

joking aside, i like the spirit of what this guy is doing. good for him for being active.

hes selling them for $200 USD/pop.
http://www.urmesurveillance.com/urme-prosthetic
theres a list to see if its legal to wear a mask in your state.

his paper ones are dumb. if i do a paper one, ill cut out mine from my old mad magazine of bernard goetz.
View attachment 26068

------------------------

this might help some women:

Style Tips for Reclaiming Privacy
1 Makeup
Avoid enhancers: They amplify key facial features. This makes your face easier to detect. Instead apply makeup that contrasts with your skin tone in unusual tones and directions: light colors on dark skin, dark colors on light skin.
2 Nose Bridge
Partially obscure the nose-bridge area: The region where the nose, eyes, and forehead intersect is a key facial feature. This is especially effective against OpenCV's face detection algorithm.
3 Eyes
Partially obscure one of the ocular regions: The position and darkness of eyes is a key facial feature.
4 Masks
Avoid wearing masks as they are illegal in some cities. Instead of concealing your face, modify the contrast, tonal gradients, and spatial relationship of dark and light areas using hair, makeup, and/or unique fashion accessories.
5Head
Research from Ranran Feng and Balakrishnan Prabhakaran at University of Texas, shows that obscuring the elliptical shape of a head can also improve your ability to block face detection. Link: Facilitating fashion camouflage art
6Asymmetry
Facial-recognition algorithms expect symmetry between the left and right sides of the face. By developing an asymmetrical look, you may decrease your probability of being detected.
source: https://cvdazzle.com/

there is also stealth wear:
View attachment 26069
https://ahprojects.com/stealth-wear/


you could also rock a full burqa. at least its cotton and can breathe, unlike the synthetic stealth wear.

View attachment 26070
Screenshot_2019-10-01 VoatArchive.png
proxy.ducu5tri75i5kduckgo.com.jpeg
That mask looks like Billy Corgan.
Got to admit they are Interesting.
The style tips are worthwhile looking into...down the road.
 
Last edited:

saki

Star
Joined
Dec 11, 2017
Messages
1,277
....a $5.00 gift card.... rather insulting, if you ask me.... and I'm not black....

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7534415/Google-targeted-black-people-test-new-facial-recognition-software-offered-5-gift-cards.html

Google targeted black people to test new facial recognition software and offered $5 gift cards to homeless and students to take part – but didn't tell them what tests were for
  • Temps targeted people with darker skin to improve Pixel 4 security measures
  • Were asked to tell people they were playing a 'selfie game' not being recorded
  • Thought homeless people would be less likely to talk to media
By MICHAEL THOMSEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 17:35 EDT, 3 October 2019 | UPDATED: 17:59 EDT, 3 October 2019

Google has been seeking facial scans of people with 'darker skin' as part of its efforts to improve the company's facial scan software.

The company has sent out teams of temp workers, hired through the staffing agency Randstad, to scan people's faces in exchange for $5 gift cards.

Workers for the program said they were directed to target homeless people and college students.



Facial recognition software has been notoriously unreliable for people with dark skin, something Google wanted to improve for the upcoming launch of the Pixel 4 (pictured above).

The workers were encouraged to conceal the fact that they were collecting facial data and instead asked if people would be interested in playing a 'selfie game' using specially equipped smart phones.

'We were told not to tell them that it was video, even though it would say on the screen that a video was taken,' one of the temps told the NY Daily News.

The program is intended to improve the accuracy of Google's facial recognition software for its forthcoming Google Pixel 4, which will use the technology as part of its expanded security measures.

'It's critical we have a diverse sample, which is an important part of building an inclusive product,' a Google spokesperson said in a statement.



Google is promoting the facial recognition tools in the Pixel 4 (pictured above) as a major advance in smartphone security.

The goal of the project, Google claimed, was to make sure the phone's security measures 'protects as wide a range of people as possible.'

One person who formerly worked on the project claims they were asked to target homeless people because they were less likely to speak to the media.

Earlier this week, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib criticized the Detroit Police Department's facial recognition software for not being able to accurately recognize black people.

The Detroit Police Department's facial recognition software had an error rate of 60% for black people, and was especially error prone with black women.

HOW DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY WORK?
Facial recognition software works by matching real time images to a previous photograph of a person.

Each face has approximately 80 unique nodal points across the eyes, nose, cheeks and mouth which distinguish one person from another.

A digital video camera measures the distance between various points on the human face, such as the width of the nose, depth of the eye sockets, distance between the eyes and shape of the jawline.



A different smart surveillance system (pictured) can scan 2 billion faces within seconds has been revealed in China. The system connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets. The military is working on applying a similar version of this with AI to track people across the country

This produces a unique numerical code that can then be linked with a matching code gleaned from a previous photograph.

A facial recognition system used by officials in China connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets.

Experts believe that facial recognition technology will soon overtake fingerprint technology as the most effective way to identify people.

Shanghai Jiao Tong researchers test facial recognition software

In China, facial recognition software has become a part of daily life.

Chinese citizens must now submit to having their faces scanned by the government before having internet installed in their homes.

The Chinese program is part of an initiative that aims to connect to 626 million CCTV cameras around the country by 2020.

https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2016/11/28/5241532042003892942/640x360_MP4_5241532042003892942.mp4
 
Last edited:

saki

Star
Joined
Dec 11, 2017
Messages
1,277
...from Daily Mail....

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7529453/Chinese-internet-users-pass-facial-recognition-test-use-web.html

Chinese citizens must pass a facial-recognition test to use the internet as part of Beijing's social credit system
  • Citizens in China must have their faces scanned to have the internet installed
  • The rule is part of China's social credit system and will take effect on Dec. 1
  • Authority claimed the move could help improve the nation's internet security
  • China has been building the world's most powerful facial-recognition system
  • The nation is due to be equipped with 626 million CCTV cameras by 2020
By BILLIE THOMSON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 12:23 EDT, 2 October 2019 | UPDATED: 13:01 EDT, 2 October 2019

China has stepped up its internet censorship by demanding its citizens pass a facial-recognition test to be able to use web services.

People who want to have the internet installed at home or on their phones must have their faces scanned by the Chinese authority to prove their identities, according to a new regulation.

The rule, which will take effect on December 1, is said to be part of the social credit system which rates the Chinese citizens based on their daily behaviour.


Chinese citizens must have their faces scanned by the authority to prove their identity before they are allowed to have internet connection at home or on their phones from December 1


The nation's internet watchdog said the news rule could help improve internet security

At present, a Chinese citizen will need to show his or her ID card while applying for a landline or the internet.

The facial-recognition test is set to verify that the ID card belongs to the applicant.

The directive was issued by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology late last month.

The Ministry claimed the move would help improve the country's internet security and combat terrorism.

Chinese citizens are also banned from re-selling their SIM cards by the regulation to prevent unregistered users from making calls from mobile phones.

China has been building the world's largest facial-recognition surveillance system.

The Big-Brother-style scheme is powered by hundreds of millions of AI street cameras aiming to identify any of the country's citizens within three seconds.


China's 1.4 billion population are set to be carefully watched by 626 million street monitors - many having facial-recognition functions - as early as next year, according to a survey


The world's five most-monitored cities are Chongqing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Tianjin and Ji'nan

The country's 1.4 billion population are set to be carefully watched by 626 million CCTV monitors - many having facial-recognition functions - as early as next year, a recent study revealed.

That's one camera for every two people.

The most-surveilled city in China, Chongqing, is equipped with more than 2.5 million street cameras, or one for every six people.

Critics, however, have voiced concerns over the system, claiming it's a way for the government to invade citizens' privacy and restrict their freedom.

Many have also compared it to a dystopian system run by a fictional state leader, Big Brother, in George Orwell's novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'.


China has the five most-monitored cities in the world. Pictured, a security camera is seen in Shenzhen, the second most-surveilled city on the list with more than 1.9 million CCTV cameras

Paul Bischoff, a researcher on surveillance topics, previously told MailOnline: 'China is rapidly adopting CCTV surveillance as a means to monitor the movements of its population at a huge scale.

'CCTV in China is not just about stopping crime, but also enforcing social norms and behaviors that the government approves of.'

China's surveillance network also supports the nation's social credit system, which rates its citizens based on their daily behaviour.

Once complete next year, the national system could determine how easy a citizen could rent a flat, buy travel tickets or pay for a cup of tea.

The system will help the country restore morality, according to China's state-run newspaper Global Times.

Latest statistics show the Chinese social credit system blocked what it called 'discredited entities' from taking 2.56 million flights and 90,000 high-speed train journeys in July alone.

How is China building the world's most powerful facial recognition system?
China has been aiming to build the world's most powerful facial recognition system.

The cutting-edge network aims to identify any one of its 1.4 billion citizens within three seconds.

The project was launched by the Ministry of Public Security in 2015. It is under development in collaboration with a security company based in Shanghai.

As of last year, China has installed over 200 million security cameras across the nation.


A Chinese police officer wears a pair of smartglasses with a facial recognition system at Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Zhengzhou in China's central Henan province
  • High-tech sunglasses: Police at Zhengzhou, central China use sunglasses equipped with facial recognition technology to spot criminal suspects at train stations.
  • On the road: Traffic police in Shenzhen has implemented 40 sets of surveillance cameras dubbed 'robocops' to identify the faces of unruly drivers and regulate traffic.
  • At pedestrian crossings: Jaywalkers in Shenzhen would receive an instant notification and a fine as soon as they violate the rules. Images and names of people crossing the road against red traffic lights would get projected onto large LED screens.

Jaywalkers in Shenzhen, south-eastern China would receive an instant notification as soon as they violate the rules thanks to a new spy scheme (file photo)


A suspect was arrested by police using facial recognition technology in place at Jacky Cheung's show in Zhejiang province, south-eastern China (file photo)
  • Concert stadiums: Using facial recognition technology as part of security measures, police arrested three fugitives within two months at the concerts of Hong Kong pop singer Jacky Cheung in China.
  • In bathrooms: Bathrooms in Changsha and Chongqing were outfitted with facial recognition systems to prevent greedy patrons from nabbing extra toilet paper.
  • In classrooms: A high school in Zhejiang province uses a smart classroom system that monitors students' behaviour via facial-recognition technology. The cameras installed at the front of each classroom would document the students' attentiveness and even their facial expressions.

A teacher uses facial recognition technology to check the ID students (file photo)


Surveillance cameras installed at the front of the classroom at Hangzhou No. 11 High School in Zhejiang province would record students' attentiveness (file photo)
 

saki

Star
Joined
Dec 11, 2017
Messages
1,277
...also from Daily Mail...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7546417/How-make-balaclava-hair-Tutorial-goes-viral-Hong-Kong-ban-masks.html

.......pretty ingenious.... braid the hair in front, then pull open eye-holes....

How to make a balaclava with your hair: Defiant tutorial goes viral in Hong Kong after ban on protesters wearing face masks
  • Telegram video shows novel method following a face mask ban on Saturday
  • First protesters, aged 18 and 38, were charged under the new law on Monday
  • Forms part of widespread emergency powers enacted over the weekend
  • Instead of quashing violence, it sparked three days of massive demonstrations
By ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 10:01 EDT, 7 October 2019 | UPDATED: 10:02 EDT, 7 October 2019

A defiant tutorial video showing how to arrange your hair in a balaclava has gone viral in Hong Kong after a ban on protesters wearing face masks came into force.

In footage spreading through the encrypted messaging app Telegram, a young woman shows how a plait tied across the front of her face acts as a natural balaclava, with two holes for her eyes.

The video is perhaps only half satire with the first two protesters being charged for wearing masks on Monday. The 18-year-old student and 38-year-old woman face up to a year in prison if convicted.

The mask ban is part of a range of emergency powers which came into effect on Saturday, aimed at quashing violence in the protests for more democratic freedoms.

...watch a girl do this technique at vid below...

https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2019/10/07/2985468955406873103/640x360_MP4_2985468955406873103.mp4
 

Dalit

Star
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
Messages
1,911
...also from Daily Mail...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7546417/How-make-balaclava-hair-Tutorial-goes-viral-Hong-Kong-ban-masks.html

.......pretty ingenious.... braid the hair in front, then pull open eye-holes....

How to make a balaclava with your hair: Defiant tutorial goes viral in Hong Kong after ban on protesters wearing face masks
  • Telegram video shows novel method following a face mask ban on Saturday
  • First protesters, aged 18 and 38, were charged under the new law on Monday
  • Forms part of widespread emergency powers enacted over the weekend
  • Instead of quashing violence, it sparked three days of massive demonstrations
By ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 10:01 EDT, 7 October 2019 | UPDATED: 10:02 EDT, 7 October 2019

A defiant tutorial video showing how to arrange your hair in a balaclava has gone viral in Hong Kong after a ban on protesters wearing face masks came into force.

In footage spreading through the encrypted messaging app Telegram, a young woman shows how a plait tied across the front of her face acts as a natural balaclava, with two holes for her eyes.

The video is perhaps only half satire with the first two protesters being charged for wearing masks on Monday. The 18-year-old student and 38-year-old woman face up to a year in prison if convicted.

The mask ban is part of a range of emergency powers which came into effect on Saturday, aimed at quashing violence in the protests for more democratic freedoms.

...watch a girl do this technique at vid below...

https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2019/10/07/2985468955406873103/640x360_MP4_2985468955406873103.mp4
"In December, drinking horchata, I look psychotic in a balaclava." Vampire Weekend, "Horchata"
 

Johnny5

Veteran
Joined
Jun 20, 2019
Messages
575
...also from Daily Mail...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7546417/How-make-balaclava-hair-Tutorial-goes-viral-Hong-Kong-ban-masks.html

.......pretty ingenious.... braid the hair in front, then pull open eye-holes....

How to make a balaclava with your hair: Defiant tutorial goes viral in Hong Kong after ban on protesters wearing face masks
  • Telegram video shows novel method following a face mask ban on Saturday
  • First protesters, aged 18 and 38, were charged under the new law on Monday
  • Forms part of widespread emergency powers enacted over the weekend
  • Instead of quashing violence, it sparked three days of massive demonstrations
By ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 10:01 EDT, 7 October 2019 | UPDATED: 10:02 EDT, 7 October 2019

A defiant tutorial video showing how to arrange your hair in a balaclava has gone viral in Hong Kong after a ban on protesters wearing face masks came into force.

In footage spreading through the encrypted messaging app Telegram, a young woman shows how a plait tied across the front of her face acts as a natural balaclava, with two holes for her eyes.

The video is perhaps only half satire with the first two protesters being charged for wearing masks on Monday. The 18-year-old student and 38-year-old woman face up to a year in prison if convicted.

The mask ban is part of a range of emergency powers which came into effect on Saturday, aimed at quashing violence in the protests for more democratic freedoms.

...watch a girl do this technique at vid below...

https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2019/10/07/2985468955406873103/640x360_MP4_2985468955406873103.mp4
That's pretty ingenious. Unfortunately it will probably lead their government to require everyone shave their heads.
 

TempestOfTempo

Superstar
Joined
Jan 29, 2018
Messages
8,076
....a $5.00 gift card.... rather insulting, if you ask me.... and I'm not black....

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7534415/Google-targeted-black-people-test-new-facial-recognition-software-offered-5-gift-cards.html

Google targeted black people to test new facial recognition software and offered $5 gift cards to homeless and students to take part – but didn't tell them what tests were for
  • Temps targeted people with darker skin to improve Pixel 4 security measures
  • Were asked to tell people they were playing a 'selfie game' not being recorded
  • Thought homeless people would be less likely to talk to media
By MICHAEL THOMSEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 17:35 EDT, 3 October 2019 | UPDATED: 17:59 EDT, 3 October 2019

Google has been seeking facial scans of people with 'darker skin' as part of its efforts to improve the company's facial scan software.

The company has sent out teams of temp workers, hired through the staffing agency Randstad, to scan people's faces in exchange for $5 gift cards.

Workers for the program said they were directed to target homeless people and college students.



Facial recognition software has been notoriously unreliable for people with dark skin, something Google wanted to improve for the upcoming launch of the Pixel 4 (pictured above).

The workers were encouraged to conceal the fact that they were collecting facial data and instead asked if people would be interested in playing a 'selfie game' using specially equipped smart phones.

'We were told not to tell them that it was video, even though it would say on the screen that a video was taken,' one of the temps told the NY Daily News.

The program is intended to improve the accuracy of Google's facial recognition software for its forthcoming Google Pixel 4, which will use the technology as part of its expanded security measures.

'It's critical we have a diverse sample, which is an important part of building an inclusive product,' a Google spokesperson said in a statement.



Google is promoting the facial recognition tools in the Pixel 4 (pictured above) as a major advance in smartphone security.

The goal of the project, Google claimed, was to make sure the phone's security measures 'protects as wide a range of people as possible.'

One person who formerly worked on the project claims they were asked to target homeless people because they were less likely to speak to the media.

Earlier this week, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib criticized the Detroit Police Department's facial recognition software for not being able to accurately recognize black people.

The Detroit Police Department's facial recognition software had an error rate of 60% for black people, and was especially error prone with black women.

HOW DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY WORK?
Facial recognition software works by matching real time images to a previous photograph of a person.

Each face has approximately 80 unique nodal points across the eyes, nose, cheeks and mouth which distinguish one person from another.

A digital video camera measures the distance between various points on the human face, such as the width of the nose, depth of the eye sockets, distance between the eyes and shape of the jawline.



A different smart surveillance system (pictured) can scan 2 billion faces within seconds has been revealed in China. The system connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets. The military is working on applying a similar version of this with AI to track people across the country

This produces a unique numerical code that can then be linked with a matching code gleaned from a previous photograph.

A facial recognition system used by officials in China connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets.

Experts believe that facial recognition technology will soon overtake fingerprint technology as the most effective way to identify people.

Shanghai Jiao Tong researchers test facial recognition software

In China, facial recognition software has become a part of daily life.

Chinese citizens must now submit to having their faces scanned by the government before having internet installed in their homes.

The Chinese program is part of an initiative that aims to connect to 626 million CCTV cameras around the country by 2020.

https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2016/11/28/5241532042003892942/640x360_MP4_5241532042003892942.mp4
 

saki

Star
Joined
Dec 11, 2017
Messages
1,277
....now far above and beyond mere facial recognition.... Amazon is behind it, of course..... HART is the new watchword....

https://www.zerohedge.com/health/forget-facial-recog-dhs-new-amazon-based-database-uses-scars-tattoos-your-voice-id-you

Forget Facial Recog: DHS New Amazon-Based Database Uses Scars, Tattoos, & Your Voice To ID You
by Tyler Durden

Wed, 10/09/2019 - 23:45

Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper blog,

These days, you can’t really go anywhere without encountering cameras. Going into a store? Chances are there are security cameras. Getting money at an ATM? More cameras. Driving through the streets of a city? More cameras still. Your neighbors may have those doorbells from Amazon that are surveilling the entire neighborhood.

And many of these cameras are tied into facial recognition databases, or the footage can be quite easily compared there if “authorities” are looking for somebody.

But as it turns out, it isn’t just facial recognition we have to worry about.



DHS has a new recognition system called HART.
Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology system is the alarming new identity system being put in place by the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS is retiring its old system that was based on facial recognition. It’s being replaced with HART, a cloud-based system that holds information about the identities of hundreds of millions of people.
The new cloud-based platform, called the Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology System, or HART, is expected to bring more processing power, new analytics capabilities and increased accuracy to the department’s biometrics operations. It will also allow the agency to look beyond the three types of biometric data it uses today—face, iris and fingerprint—to identify people through a variety of other characteristics, like palm prints, scars, tattoos, physical markings and even their voices. (source)​
Incidentally, the cloud hosting for HART is being done by none other than Amazon – you know, the ones with surveillance devices like the Ring doorbell and the Alexa home assistant and the Nest home security system. Does anyone see a pattern here?

Also note that Amazon Web Services also hosts data for the CIA, the DoD, and NASA.

More about HART
As HART becomes more established, that old saying “you can run but you can’t hide” is going to seem ever more true. The DHS is delighted at how much further the new system can take them into surveilling Americans.
And by freeing the agency from the limitations of its legacy system, HART could also let officials grow the network of external partners with whom they share biometric data and analytics capabilities, according to Patrick Nemeth, director of identity operations within Homeland Security’s Office of Biometric Identity Management.
“When we get to HART, we will be better, faster, stronger,” Nemeth said in an interview with Nextgov. “We’ll be relieved of a lot of the capacity issues that we have now … and then going forward from there we’ll be able to add [capabilities].” (source)​
The DHS wants to break free of the limitations of the old system with their new and “improved” system. HART will use multiple pieces of biometric data to increase identification accuracy.
Today, when an official runs a person’s face, fingerprint or iris scans through IDENT’s massive database, the system doesn’t return a single result. Rather, it assembles a list of dozens of potential candidates with different levels of confidence, which a human analyst must then look through to make a final match. The system can only handle one modality at a time, so if agent is hypothetically trying to identify someone using two different datapoints, they need to assess two lists of candidates to find a single match. This isn’t a problem if the system identifies the same person as the most likely match for both fingerprint and face, for example, but because biometric identification is still an imperfect science, the results are rarely so clear cut.
However, the HART platform can include multiple datapoints in a single query, meaning it will rank potential matches based on all the information that’s available. That will not only make it easier for agents to analyze potential matches, but it will also help the agency overcome data quality issues that often plague biometric scans, Nemeth said. If the face image is pristine but the fingerprint is fuzzy, for example, the system will give the higher-quality datapoint more weight.
“We’re very hopeful that it will provide better identification surety than we can provide with any single modality today,” Nemeth said. And palm prints, scars, tattoos and other modalities are added in the years ahead, the system will be able to integrate those into its matching process. (source)​
HART will also use DNA.
Remember a while back when we reported that DNA sites were teaming up with facial recognition software? Well, HART will take that unholy alliance even further.
The phase-two solicitation also lists DNA-matching as a potential application of the HART system. While the department doesn’t currently analyze DNA, officials on Wednesday announced they would start adding DNA collected from hundreds of thousands of detained migrants to the FBI’s criminal database. During the interview, Nemeth said the agency is still working through the legal implications of storing and sharing such sensitive data. It’s also unclear whether DNA information would be housed in the HART system or a separate database, he said. (source)​
Nifty.

The DHS is operating without any type of regulation.
Currently, there’s no regulation or oversight of government agencies collecting and using this kind of data. Civil liberty activists and some lawmakers are alarmed by this, citing concerns about privacy and discrimination. This hasn’t slowed down the DHS one iota, however.
Critics have taken particular issue with the government’s tangled web of information sharing agreements, which allow data to spread far beyond the borders of the agency that collected it. The Homeland Security Department currently shares its biometric data and capabilities with numerous groups, including but not limited to the Justice, Defense and State departments.
In the years ahead, HART promises to strengthen those partnerships and allow others to flourish, according to Nemeth. While today the department limits other agencies’ access to IDENT to ensure they don’t consume too much of its limited computing power, HART will do away with those constraints. (source)​
Mana Azarmi, the policy counsel for the Freedom, Security and Technology Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology is one of those people voicing concern.
A person might give information to a single agency thinking it would be used for one specific purpose, but depending on how that information is shared, they could potentially find themselves subjected to unforeseen negative consequences, Azarmi said in a conversation with Nextgov.
“The government gets a lot of leeway to share information,” she said. “In this age of incredible data collection, I think we need to rethink some of the rules that are in place and some of the practices that we’ve allowed to flourish post-9/11. We may have overcorrected.” (source)​
You think?

Many people voluntarily provide biometric data.
Many folks provide biometric data without giving it a second thought. They cheerfully swab a cheek and send it into sites like Ancestry.com, providing not only their DNA, but matches to many relatives who never gave permission for their DNA to be in a database.

Then there are cell phones. If you have a newer phone, it’s entirely possible that it has asked you to set up fingerprint login, facial recognition, and even voice recognition. It isn’t a stretch of the imagination to believe that those samples are shared with folks beyond the device in your hand. Add to this that your device is tracking you every place you go through a wide variety of seemingly innocuous apps, and you start to get the picture.

You can’t opt-out.
Back in 2013, I wrote an article called The Great American Dragnet. At that time, facial recognition was something that sounded like science fiction or some kind of joke. Our drivers’ licenses were the first foray into creating a database but even in 2013, it far exceeded that.
Another, even larger, database exists. The US State Department has a database with 230 million searchable images. Anyone with a passport or an immigration visa may find themselves an unwilling participant in this database. Here’s the breakdown of who has a photo database:
  • The State Department has about 15 million photos of passport or visa holders
  • The FBI has about15 million photos of people who have been arrested or convicted of crimes
  • The Department of Defense has about 6 million photos, mainly of Iraqis and Afghans
  • Various police agencies and states have at least 210 million driver’s license photos
This invasion of privacy is just another facet of the surveillance state, and should be no surprise considering the information Edward Snowden just shared about the over-reaching tentacles of the NSA into all of our communications. We are filing our identities with the government and they can identify us at will, without any requirement for probable cause. (source)​
Some people don’t even seem to mind that their identities have been tagged and filed by the US government. And even those of us who do mind have no option. If you wish to drive a car or travel outside of the country or have any kind of government ID, like it or not, you’re in the database. Six years ago, I wrote:
The authorities that use this technology claim that the purpose of it is to make us safer, by helping to prevent identity fraud and to identify criminals. However, what freedom are we giving up for this “safety” cloaked in benevolence? We are giving up the freedom of having the most elemental form of privacy – that of being able to go about our daily business without being watched and identified. And once you’re identified, this connects to all sorts of other personal information that has been compiled: your address, your driving and criminal records, and potentially, whatever else that has been neatly filed away at your friendly neighborhood fusion center.
Think about it: You’re walking the dog and you fail to scoop the poop – if there’s a surveillance camera in the area, it would be a simple matter, given the technology, for you to be identified. If you are attending a protest that might be considered “anti-government”, don’t expect to be anonymous. A photo of the crowd could easily result in the identification of most of the participants.
Are you purchasing ammo, preparedness items, or books about a controversial topic? Paying cash won’t buy you much in the way of privacy – your purchase will most likely be captured on the CCTV camera at the checkout stand, making you easily identifiable to anyone who might wish to track these kinds of things. What if a person with access to this technology uses it for personal, less than ethical reasons, like stalking an attractive women he saw on the street? The potential for abuse is mind-boggling.
If you can’t leave your house without being identified, do you have any real freedom left, or are you just a resident in a very large cage? (source)​
When I wrote that, it still seemed far-fetched but remotely possible, even to me. This was before we were really aware of anything like the social credit program in China or how crazy the censorship was going to become or how social media would change the very fabric of our society.

Now, it’s here and it looks like there’s no stopping it.

 

TempestOfTempo

Superstar
Joined
Jan 29, 2018
Messages
8,076
....now far above and beyond mere facial recognition.... Amazon is behind it, of course..... HART is the new watchword....

https://www.zerohedge.com/health/forget-facial-recog-dhs-new-amazon-based-database-uses-scars-tattoos-your-voice-id-you

Forget Facial Recog: DHS New Amazon-Based Database Uses Scars, Tattoos, & Your Voice To ID You
by Tyler Durden

Wed, 10/09/2019 - 23:45

Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper blog,

These days, you can’t really go anywhere without encountering cameras. Going into a store? Chances are there are security cameras. Getting money at an ATM? More cameras. Driving through the streets of a city? More cameras still. Your neighbors may have those doorbells from Amazon that are surveilling the entire neighborhood.

And many of these cameras are tied into facial recognition databases, or the footage can be quite easily compared there if “authorities” are looking for somebody.

But as it turns out, it isn’t just facial recognition we have to worry about.



DHS has a new recognition system called HART.
Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology system is the alarming new identity system being put in place by the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS is retiring its old system that was based on facial recognition. It’s being replaced with HART, a cloud-based system that holds information about the identities of hundreds of millions of people.
The new cloud-based platform, called the Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology System, or HART, is expected to bring more processing power, new analytics capabilities and increased accuracy to the department’s biometrics operations. It will also allow the agency to look beyond the three types of biometric data it uses today—face, iris and fingerprint—to identify people through a variety of other characteristics, like palm prints, scars, tattoos, physical markings and even their voices. (source)​
Incidentally, the cloud hosting for HART is being done by none other than Amazon – you know, the ones with surveillance devices like the Ring doorbell and the Alexa home assistant and the Nest home security system. Does anyone see a pattern here?

Also note that Amazon Web Services also hosts data for the CIA, the DoD, and NASA.

More about HART
As HART becomes more established, that old saying “you can run but you can’t hide” is going to seem ever more true. The DHS is delighted at how much further the new system can take them into surveilling Americans.
And by freeing the agency from the limitations of its legacy system, HART could also let officials grow the network of external partners with whom they share biometric data and analytics capabilities, according to Patrick Nemeth, director of identity operations within Homeland Security’s Office of Biometric Identity Management.​

“When we get to HART, we will be better, faster, stronger,” Nemeth said in an interview with Nextgov. “We’ll be relieved of a lot of the capacity issues that we have now … and then going forward from there we’ll be able to add [capabilities].” (source)​
The DHS wants to break free of the limitations of the old system with their new and “improved” system. HART will use multiple pieces of biometric data to increase identification accuracy.
Today, when an official runs a person’s face, fingerprint or iris scans through IDENT’s massive database, the system doesn’t return a single result. Rather, it assembles a list of dozens of potential candidates with different levels of confidence, which a human analyst must then look through to make a final match. The system can only handle one modality at a time, so if agent is hypothetically trying to identify someone using two different datapoints, they need to assess two lists of candidates to find a single match. This isn’t a problem if the system identifies the same person as the most likely match for both fingerprint and face, for example, but because biometric identification is still an imperfect science, the results are rarely so clear cut.​

However, the HART platform can include multiple datapoints in a single query, meaning it will rank potential matches based on all the information that’s available. That will not only make it easier for agents to analyze potential matches, but it will also help the agency overcome data quality issues that often plague biometric scans, Nemeth said. If the face image is pristine but the fingerprint is fuzzy, for example, the system will give the higher-quality datapoint more weight.​

“We’re very hopeful that it will provide better identification surety than we can provide with any single modality today,” Nemeth said. And palm prints, scars, tattoos and other modalities are added in the years ahead, the system will be able to integrate those into its matching process. (source)​
HART will also use DNA.
Remember a while back when we reported that DNA sites were teaming up with facial recognition software? Well, HART will take that unholy alliance even further.
The phase-two solicitation also lists DNA-matching as a potential application of the HART system. While the department doesn’t currently analyze DNA, officials on Wednesday announced they would start adding DNA collected from hundreds of thousands of detained migrants to the FBI’s criminal database. During the interview, Nemeth said the agency is still working through the legal implications of storing and sharing such sensitive data. It’s also unclear whether DNA information would be housed in the HART system or a separate database, he said. (source)​
Nifty.

The DHS is operating without any type of regulation.
Currently, there’s no regulation or oversight of government agencies collecting and using this kind of data. Civil liberty activists and some lawmakers are alarmed by this, citing concerns about privacy and discrimination. This hasn’t slowed down the DHS one iota, however.
Critics have taken particular issue with the government’s tangled web of information sharing agreements, which allow data to spread far beyond the borders of the agency that collected it. The Homeland Security Department currently shares its biometric data and capabilities with numerous groups, including but not limited to the Justice, Defense and State departments.​

In the years ahead, HART promises to strengthen those partnerships and allow others to flourish, according to Nemeth. While today the department limits other agencies’ access to IDENT to ensure they don’t consume too much of its limited computing power, HART will do away with those constraints. (source)​
Mana Azarmi, the policy counsel for the Freedom, Security and Technology Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology is one of those people voicing concern.
A person might give information to a single agency thinking it would be used for one specific purpose, but depending on how that information is shared, they could potentially find themselves subjected to unforeseen negative consequences, Azarmi said in a conversation with Nextgov.​

“The government gets a lot of leeway to share information,” she said. “In this age of incredible data collection, I think we need to rethink some of the rules that are in place and some of the practices that we’ve allowed to flourish post-9/11. We may have overcorrected.” (source)​
You think?

Many people voluntarily provide biometric data.
Many folks provide biometric data without giving it a second thought. They cheerfully swab a cheek and send it into sites like Ancestry.com, providing not only their DNA, but matches to many relatives who never gave permission for their DNA to be in a database.

Then there are cell phones. If you have a newer phone, it’s entirely possible that it has asked you to set up fingerprint login, facial recognition, and even voice recognition. It isn’t a stretch of the imagination to believe that those samples are shared with folks beyond the device in your hand. Add to this that your device is tracking you every place you go through a wide variety of seemingly innocuous apps, and you start to get the picture.

You can’t opt-out.
Back in 2013, I wrote an article called The Great American Dragnet. At that time, facial recognition was something that sounded like science fiction or some kind of joke. Our drivers’ licenses were the first foray into creating a database but even in 2013, it far exceeded that.
Another, even larger, database exists. The US State Department has a database with 230 million searchable images. Anyone with a passport or an immigration visa may find themselves an unwilling participant in this database. Here’s the breakdown of who has a photo database:​

  • The State Department has about 15 million photos of passport or visa holders
  • The FBI has about15 million photos of people who have been arrested or convicted of crimes
  • The Department of Defense has about 6 million photos, mainly of Iraqis and Afghans
  • Various police agencies and states have at least 210 million driver’s license photos

This invasion of privacy is just another facet of the surveillance state, and should be no surprise considering the information Edward Snowden just shared about the over-reaching tentacles of the NSA into all of our communications. We are filing our identities with the government and they can identify us at will, without any requirement for probable cause. (source)​
Some people don’t even seem to mind that their identities have been tagged and filed by the US government. And even those of us who do mind have no option. If you wish to drive a car or travel outside of the country or have any kind of government ID, like it or not, you’re in the database. Six years ago, I wrote:
The authorities that use this technology claim that the purpose of it is to make us safer, by helping to prevent identity fraud and to identify criminals. However, what freedom are we giving up for this “safety” cloaked in benevolence? We are giving up the freedom of having the most elemental form of privacy – that of being able to go about our daily business without being watched and identified. And once you’re identified, this connects to all sorts of other personal information that has been compiled: your address, your driving and criminal records, and potentially, whatever else that has been neatly filed away at your friendly neighborhood fusion center.​

Think about it: You’re walking the dog and you fail to scoop the poop – if there’s a surveillance camera in the area, it would be a simple matter, given the technology, for you to be identified. If you are attending a protest that might be considered “anti-government”, don’t expect to be anonymous. A photo of the crowd could easily result in the identification of most of the participants.​

Are you purchasing ammo, preparedness items, or books about a controversial topic? Paying cash won’t buy you much in the way of privacy – your purchase will most likely be captured on the CCTV camera at the checkout stand, making you easily identifiable to anyone who might wish to track these kinds of things. What if a person with access to this technology uses it for personal, less than ethical reasons, like stalking an attractive women he saw on the street? The potential for abuse is mind-boggling.​

If you can’t leave your house without being identified, do you have any real freedom left, or are you just a resident in a very large cage? (source)​
When I wrote that, it still seemed far-fetched but remotely possible, even to me. This was before we were really aware of anything like the social credit program in China or how crazy the censorship was going to become or how social media would change the very fabric of our society.

Now, it’s here and it looks like there’s no stopping it.

Excellent post and info here.
 

Lisa

Superstar
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
20,288
Seems like a good idea...no way to get out of that. Reminds me that I had to take my glasses off for my drivers license picture.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been working with airlines to implement biometric face scanners in domestic airports to better streamline security. In fact, they're already in place in certain airports around the country.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2019/08/16/biometric-airport-screening-facial-recognition-everything-you-need-know/1998749001/
 

polymoog

Superstar
Joined
Jun 17, 2017
Messages
8,207
Seems like a good idea...no way to get out of that. Reminds me that I had to take my glasses off for my drivers license picture.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been working with airlines to implement biometric face scanners in domestic airports to better streamline security. In fact, they're already in place in certain airports around the country.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2019/08/16/biometric-airport-screening-facial-recognition-everything-you-need-know/1998749001/
can one opt out of that crap, like the body scanner? (link wont open for me, and i refuse to turn off my adblocker)
 
Top