The Times: Tech column - Surveillance tech/The M-recession/Blackberry season
In our new technology column, David Rowan asks if we could have prevented the terrorist attacks, and explains why you need a blackberry
In any war, the side with the superior technology - from the bludgeon to the Enigma machine - can determine the outcome. The war against terror is no different: each day, new technologies are being promoted as the most urgent priority, usually by those with a vested interest. Sure, one or two of them may prove decisive. But let's not be taken in by the hype.
In the past few days, we've been told that face-recognition software could have spotted the terrorists before they boarded their planes; that greater electronic surveillance could have captured their crucial phonecalls or e-mails; even that onboard computers could have been programmed to steer aircraft away from buildings. Why, it has even being suggested that terror suspects should undergo "brain fingerprinting" - a method developed by an Iowa scientist to measure brain activity and, he claims, identify liars. The CIA has already invested about a million dollars in it.
Some companies are actively pitching for business. "If our technology had been deployed, the likelihood is would have been recognised," claims the chief executive of Visage Technology, a leading producer of face-recognition software that casinos, in particular, are using to spot troublemakers. Well, he would say that: in these anxious times, his firm stands to do nicely. But remember the elaborate promises made for Patriot missiles a decade ago? Not much to show there, for all the money spent amid the panic.
The current fears are proving especially useful to those who are uncomfortable about the relatively open nature of the Internet. The Bush Administration quickly sought the introduction of new surveillance technology, including Internet wiretaps, as a means of fighting terrorism.
Privacy campaigners are warning against greater use of the FBI's Carnivore system, which uses powerful software to monitor e-mails. There is also growing pressure to give lawmakers the security "keys" that allow them to monitor encrypted messages. No evidence has been presented that the terrorists in this case went to such lengths to communicate.
The truth about this enemy is that it is low rather than high-tech. Osama bin Laden has put aside his satellite phone in favour of face-to-face meetings with his brethren; it was failures in human intelligence, rather than a lack of expensive and invasive technology, that allowed the suspects to achieve their goals. Certainly, the fast pace of innovation will provide an endless stream of products that will offer powerful ways of targeting civilisation's new enemies. But for the moment, let's not forget that psychology will probably do more to win this battle than electronic surveillance.
++++
Remember when the mobile Internet was going to reshape the economic order, and we'd all brandish our phones to watch videos and feed parking meters?
Ah, how moods change. Last week "the world's largest mobile commerce event" brought what's left of the industry to the London Arena, and the tone was gloomier than a BA board meeting. Still, there remains one boom sector: the generation of jargon. For every "mission-critical turnkey solution" being offered, you could find a "seamless best-of-breed monetisation platform", or a "next-generation customer-centric m-payment system". All leading-edge, value-added and state-of-the-art, you understand.
You may have your own list of shame: send it in, and together we'll fight to rid this world of meaningless techno-blather. In a best-in-class kind of way, clearly.
++++
Back in 1999, when we Brits had barely discovered text-messaging, American executives were excitedly e-mailing each other using a wireless hand-held gadget called a BlackBerry. Innovative, elegant and lightweight, the BlackBerry soon gained a cult following - not least because the indispensable (or neurotic) could send and receive normal e-mails while on the road.
The BlackBerry has finally arrived here, and with it the promise to liberate corporate life. As long as you are within network coverage, a bleep or a vibration will alert you to each new message. It's a useful, timesaving device that will attract many fans here - though it does come at a cost.
It is palm-sized, at about 12cm by 8cm, and just 140g in weight. A black-and-white screen takes up most of its face, and below it a basic keyboard that allows one-thumb typing - a vast improvement on SMS phone keypads, but enough of a strain to keep your e-mails succinct. There are fewer applications than for a Palm - e-mail, memo pad, calendar and address book are pretty much it. But for sending and receiving e-mails, it works a treat, provided you can live without attachments. They are also encrypted at every step, which is why security-conscious banks and law firms are among the UK's first users.
(The Times, October 1 2001)
In any war, the side with the superior technology - from the bludgeon to the Enigma machine - can determine the outcome. The war against terror is no different: each day, new technologies are being promoted as the most urgent priority, usually by those with a vested interest. Sure, one or two of them may prove decisive. But let's not be taken in by the hype.
In the past few days, we've been told that face-recognition software could have spotted the terrorists before they boarded their planes; that greater electronic surveillance could have captured their crucial phonecalls or e-mails; even that onboard computers could have been programmed to steer aircraft away from buildings. Why, it has even being suggested that terror suspects should undergo "brain fingerprinting" - a method developed by an Iowa scientist to measure brain activity and, he claims, identify liars. The CIA has already invested about a million dollars in it.
Some companies are actively pitching for business. "If our technology had been deployed, the likelihood is would have been recognised," claims the chief executive of Visage Technology, a leading producer of face-recognition software that casinos, in particular, are using to spot troublemakers. Well, he would say that: in these anxious times, his firm stands to do nicely. But remember the elaborate promises made for Patriot missiles a decade ago? Not much to show there, for all the money spent amid the panic.
The current fears are proving especially useful to those who are uncomfortable about the relatively open nature of the Internet. The Bush Administration quickly sought the introduction of new surveillance technology, including Internet wiretaps, as a means of fighting terrorism.
Privacy campaigners are warning against greater use of the FBI's Carnivore system, which uses powerful software to monitor e-mails. There is also growing pressure to give lawmakers the security "keys" that allow them to monitor encrypted messages. No evidence has been presented that the terrorists in this case went to such lengths to communicate.
The truth about this enemy is that it is low rather than high-tech. Osama bin Laden has put aside his satellite phone in favour of face-to-face meetings with his brethren; it was failures in human intelligence, rather than a lack of expensive and invasive technology, that allowed the suspects to achieve their goals. Certainly, the fast pace of innovation will provide an endless stream of products that will offer powerful ways of targeting civilisation's new enemies. But for the moment, let's not forget that psychology will probably do more to win this battle than electronic surveillance.
++++
Remember when the mobile Internet was going to reshape the economic order, and we'd all brandish our phones to watch videos and feed parking meters?
Ah, how moods change. Last week "the world's largest mobile commerce event" brought what's left of the industry to the London Arena, and the tone was gloomier than a BA board meeting. Still, there remains one boom sector: the generation of jargon. For every "mission-critical turnkey solution" being offered, you could find a "seamless best-of-breed monetisation platform", or a "next-generation customer-centric m-payment system". All leading-edge, value-added and state-of-the-art, you understand.
You may have your own list of shame: send it in, and together we'll fight to rid this world of meaningless techno-blather. In a best-in-class kind of way, clearly.
++++
Back in 1999, when we Brits had barely discovered text-messaging, American executives were excitedly e-mailing each other using a wireless hand-held gadget called a BlackBerry. Innovative, elegant and lightweight, the BlackBerry soon gained a cult following - not least because the indispensable (or neurotic) could send and receive normal e-mails while on the road.
The BlackBerry has finally arrived here, and with it the promise to liberate corporate life. As long as you are within network coverage, a bleep or a vibration will alert you to each new message. It's a useful, timesaving device that will attract many fans here - though it does come at a cost.
It is palm-sized, at about 12cm by 8cm, and just 140g in weight. A black-and-white screen takes up most of its face, and below it a basic keyboard that allows one-thumb typing - a vast improvement on SMS phone keypads, but enough of a strain to keep your e-mails succinct. There are fewer applications than for a Palm - e-mail, memo pad, calendar and address book are pretty much it. But for sending and receiving e-mails, it works a treat, provided you can live without attachments. They are also encrypted at every step, which is why security-conscious banks and law firms are among the UK's first users.
(The Times, October 1 2001)
posted by David Rowan at Monday, October 01, 2001
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