Surveillance

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__Surveillance__** is a very broad topic that can be approached from many different aspects. In sociology, Michel Foucault's theory on panopticism (derived from Jeremy Bentham's panopticon) touches on issues regarding power relations. The panopticism ideology has deep roots in today's society, where we see not only governments, but corporate surveillance systems, such as closed circuit television, fingerprinting, and censorship.

As a result of panopticism, individuals are moved towards the idea of self-regulation. The use of physical surveillance systems encourages self-regulation since individuals are never sure if they are being monitored or not. In a more abstract sense, the panopticon is exemplified through ideologies and hegemonic beliefs within cultures. Individuals in a culture (and subculture) self-monitor their own actions and attempt to live in accordance with the rules which govern them through their respective groups.

Food for Though: Surveillance & Security Current News Issues

**Types of Surveillance**
Surveillance is the art of watching over the activities of persons or groups from a position of higher authority. (Wikipedia) With the advent of innovative computer and communication technoligies, surveillance has taken on a new field of meaning. There are many types of surveillance such as covert, overt, counter, inverse and clincal, just to name a few.

Covert surveillance usually involves using hidden cameras to observe a scene without being seen and without the subject’s knowledge. Overt surveillance involves the subjects being aware that they are being watched, for example the security camera in a bank.

Counter surveillance occurs where by one makes surveillance very difficult by communicating secretly via many communication technologies such as private networks, ghost lines, CB radios and or video scanners to name a few. With its use ever increasing counter surveillance has become very complex and even more private.

Inverse surveillance is known as surveying the surveyor. It is the act whereby the people who are usually watched are now doing the watching. For example, inverse surveillance occurs when citizens photograph the police or when shoppers photograph the shopkeepers.

Clinical surveillance involves the monitoring of infectious diseases that may pose a significant health risk to the public. Its continuing use involves health care resources and meeting patient needs. Clinical surveillance will continue to expand as health care becomes more dependent on information systems.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveillance

Carnivore Software
Was Developed by the FBI in order to record the internet traffic of a suspected party's computer. The software has to be loaded onto the server of the ISP (Internet Service Provider) as long as the FBI has a court order or warrant.

The software works by filtering the massive amounts of data that passes through the internet for specific targets, such as IP addresses and email accounts. One of the problems of this type of system is that it will record this data regardless of circumstances, such as if an attachment was sent to a recipient without their knowledge or who had no previous affiliation with the suspect.

You can find a detailed example of how Carnivor works **[|here].**

Workplace Surveillance
The shift in the nature of employee monitoring is drastically changing and should be recognized. Many companies today are implementing several forms of electronic surveillance and monitoring that is currently taking place. Some examples include
 * keystroke counting;
 * listening in on phone conversations (often to monitor the quality of service provided by customer service staff )
 * telephone call accounting (registering information about the time, duration, destination, and cost of phone calls made);
 * entry and exit controls using ``smart cards'' (enabling tracking of individuals' movements throughout a building);
 * electronic cash registers and product-scanning systems (which provide details on how much merchandise is handled by individual staff members and how quickly);
 * reading of electronic mail; and
 * use of video cameras for visual surveillance (including washrooms, in extreme cases).

The range of occupations that include electronic monitoring is increasing and the positions vary. Some positions to be monitored include: word processors, data-entry clerks, telephone operators, customer service representatives, telemarketers, insurance claims clerks, mail clerks, supermarket cashiers, and bank proof clerks.

In addition, electronic mail surveillances are implemented to monitor employee activities and communications. The most popular form of workplace surveillance is computer surveillance, which is a rapidly growing industry. "Internet surveillance" is the active surveillance of the user’s Internet activities. When users operate a computer on the Internet, a record of the sites that were visited and the operations that were performed by the user can be generated by Internet surveillance software. (Wikipedia)

A similar but different technique involves an employer reading the email traffic sent to and from employees. Generally, if friction arises, the dispute revolves around inappropriate or non-job-related use of email by an employee. As with the telephone, many employers formally or informally permit some amount of personal email. However, inordinate or inappropriate use of a work-related email account, such as soliciting customers for an employee-owned small business, is simply goading the employer into taking action. (Wikipedia)

Bryant, Susana. "Electronic Surveillance in the Workplace. Canadian Journal of Communications. Retrieved on February 9th, 2006. Online at: <[|http://info.wlu.ca/%7Ewwwpress/jrls/cjc/BackIssues/20.4/bryant.html]>.

Impact of Computers on Surveillance
__Four Strands__ //*These 4 strands attempt to explain why surveillance is so important to modernity
 * Nation State
 * Allow for surveillance of nation state, as depicted in George Orwell’s 1984
 * Computerization enhances and extends familiar processes of surveillance
 * Give rise to services such as the KGB, Stasi etc.
 * Closely related to Nation State but by Max Weber
 * Fear is instilled by uncertainty
 * La Technique
 * Integrates the machine into society
 * The machine searches relentlessly for the one best way to operate and in doing so erodes human agency
 * Gandy’s “The Panoptic Sort"
 * The rationalization of marketing
 * Believes that consumer surveillance operates on panoptic principles. Whereby personal data is used to sort populations into consuming types

// =Surveillance, an Invasion of Privacy?=


 * **Types of Surveillance** || **Function** || **Privacy concerns** ||
 * Key stroke logging || Read encrypted data from those who are suspected terrorists. || Read user’s private info. in the form of emails and passwords. ||
 * Internet Service Providers || Provide users with impeccable service and put their safety first. || Too much faith and info. been put in their hands hence they have more control to use it. ||
 * Altivores/ Carnivores || Filter what is being heard. True in the case of emails – they pick up key words. || If someone is not a terrorist it will pick up the language because the software is not perfect. ||
 * RFID || Radio Frequency Identification Chip – used to keep track of items. E.g Walmart. || When item is purchased and brought home the chip is still intact hence customer can be tracked down. ||
 * Google || Consists of search bots that index information as typed to keep track of users. || Can be considered a ‘stalkers paradise’ as little information produces mass amounts of personal info. ||

Groups Against Surveillance
[|New York Surveillance Camera Players]__,__ formed in 1996, is a group which protests surveillance upon people by governments, business owners and other people. They are know for mapping areas of New York City and labelling where all and any camers are placed. Here is an example of one of their maps.



Image courtesy of: New York Surveillance Camera Players http://www.notbored.org/timessquare-map.jpg
 * An example of the paranoid conspiracy theorists.

The group is quite proactive against surveillance. They organize walks/protests around the city to raise awarness of this digital age problem. The group claims that surveillance of video cameras violates U.S. citizen's right to privacy.

Source: Levesque, Michelle. (2006). Surveillance and Information Control. Guest Lecture. CCT 205 – Digital Innovation and Cultural Transformation. February 7th 2006.

=National Surveillance (United States)=

While we can and have all profited from the benefits of increasingly facilited and expedited communication, we are now having to own up to the dangers of it. However many hold "privacy rights" on such a pedestal, believing that they should be limitless and supreme next to issues such as the protection of the public from terrorism. Domestic surveillance is an obvious and natural route to take if we wish the state to be protected. Innocent citizens with the security of their nation in mind should be more than obliging. However there has in fact been recent scandal about the implementation of the wartime sureillance program, which has been leaked and reported on //ad nauseum// in the //New York Times//. Although this has been a secretive operation, it has been internally vetted by the Justice Department, is reviewed every 45 days, has briefed the bipartisan leadership of Congress, including intelligence communities at least a dozen times, and informed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (McCarthy: 2006). Domestic Surveillance has been a touchy subject to say the least ever since the Nixon's era, but we can hardly compare his eavesdropping of political oponents to the current situation. Legislation now recognizing the unconstitutionality of unnecessary electronic surveillance, does recognize presidential authority to conduct national security monitoring. Ever since it became technologically possible to intercept wire communications, presidents have done so (McCarthy: 2006). While the reach of these technologies may come as a shock, wiretapping, biometrics, RFIDs have the potential to prevent the worst of tragedies.

Source: McCarthy, Andrew C. (2006). "How to 'Connect the Dots.'" //National Review//. January 30, 2006.

Other links of interest: Spyware, Myware, Surveillance Cameras, Gated Community and Serveillance