Credit and debit cards have taken the place of cash for most modern transactions.信用卡和借記卡已取代現金為最現代化的交易。 What’s next?下一步做什麼？ According to research from Emme Kozloff, a Sanford Bernstein analyst, the power to buy groceries will soon be at your fingertips.據考證，從emme kozloff ，一個機構Sanford Bernstein分析師，有權在購買食品雜貨將很快在你的指尖。

Wal Mart and Costco are looking into biometric payment systems.沃爾瑪沃爾瑪和Costco正考慮生物識別支付系統。 These work by recognizing the fingerprint of registered users.這些工作，由認識到指紋的註冊用戶。 The customers place their fingertip on a pad, then select which form of payment they would like to use — check, debit, or credit.客戶把他們的指尖上的跳板，然後選擇其中的付款方式，他們想用-檢查，借記卡或信用卡。 Proponents of the new system applaud its benefits to customer security and faster checkout speeds.倡議者的新系統讚揚它的好處，以客戶安全性和更快的結帳速度。

Critics of biometric payment point out that fingerprints are left on everything a person touches.批評者的生物統計金指出，指紋是左對一切人觸及。 It would be fairly easy to take a piece of tape and “lift” these latent fingerprints for fraudulent use.這將是相當容易採取的一塊帶和"搭便車" ，這些潛伏指紋為冒用。 There is also concern about having one’s fingerprint images stored in a computer, but biometric vendors insist that the prints themselves are not stored.還有人擔心，大約有一個人的指紋圖像存儲在一台電腦，生物識別廠商堅持認為，版畫本身都沒有儲存。 Instead, encrypted measurements of the prints are kept.反之，加密測量的版畫保存。 These do not permit recreation of a full print.這些不容許康樂一個完整的打印。

Customers are advised to keep their hands clean when making biometric transactions.顧客宜保持雙手清潔時，有生物特徵資料的交易。 If hands are too dirty, the machine might not be able to read the fingerprint.如果手中有太多骯髒的，這台機器可能無法讀取指紋。

Credit Card Blog信用卡博客

By由 David Morrison大衛摩利臣

FORT WORTH, Texas – OmniAmerican Bank, an institution that started life as OmniAmerican Credit Union before converting to a bank charter in 2005, has suffered a date security breach that allowed some of the bank depositors to have money stolen, according to local press reports.在沃斯堡-o mniamerican銀行，一所院校開始的人生o mniamerican信用合作社前轉換到一個行章程，在2 005年，已遭到了最新的安全漏洞，使一些該銀行的存戶將錢被盜，據當地新聞報導。

The local media quoted Tim Carter, president of the former CU bank, as saying that the scheme was “pretty sophisticated.” Carter is quoted in the Fort Worth Star Telegram as calling the amount stolen minimal and that the former CU had fewer than 100 accounts compromised.當地媒體援引添卡特總統的前銅銀行，稱該計劃是"相當成熟" 。卡特是引述在沃思堡星電報作為通話金額被盜減至最低，而且在於前者銅已不到100賬戶失密。

Nevertheless the bank has placed limits on some ATM and debit card transactions, particularly those outside the state of Texas and had reported to have reissued 40,000 debit cards.不過，銀行已放在限制一些ATM和借記卡的交易，特別是那些國家之外的德克薩斯州，並已據報已頒發40000借記卡。

According to the bank, the criminals were able to hack into the bank records and obtain card numbers and personal identification numbers as well as create new PINs.據該銀行，犯罪分子能夠潛入銀行紀錄，並取得卡號及個人識別號碼，以及創造新的旗桿。 They then fabricated debit cards and withdrew cash from ATMs across Eastern Europe, including Russia.然後，他們偽造借記卡，並撤回現金從銀行櫃員機整個東歐，包括俄羅斯在內。

When the government announced last month that a top-secret spy satellite would, in the next few months, come falling out of the sky, American officials said there was little risk to people because satellites fall out of orbit fairly frequently and much of the planet is covered by oceans. 當政府上月宣布一項絕密的間諜衛星將在未來數個月內，前來鬧翻了天，美國官員說，當時幾乎沒有什麼風險的人，因為衛星落下的軌道相當頻繁，大部分的星球是涵蓋的海洋。

But they said precious little about the satellite itself. 但他們說，寶貴的不多，衛星本身。

Such information came instead from Ted Molczan, a hobbyist who tracks satellites from his apartment balcony in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada, and fellow satellite spotters around the world.這些資料來，而是由泰德molczan ，癖者軌道衛星，從他的公寓陽台上，在加拿大安大略省多倫多消息，在加拿大，和同胞衛星檢舉員世界各地。 They have grudgingly become accustomed to being seen as “propeller-headed geeks” who “poke their finger in the eye” of the government’s satellite spymasters, said Molczan, taking no offense.他們不情願地成了習慣被視為"助推器戶主怪傑"的"戳自己的手指在眼"的，政府的衛星spymasters說， molczan ，不採取進攻。 “I have a sense of humor,” he said. "我也有幽默感， "他說。

Molczan, a private energy conservation consultant, is the best known of the satellite spotters who, needing little more than a pair of binoculars, a stop watch and star charts, uncover some of the deepest of the government’s expensive secrets and share them on the Internet. molczan ，一個私人節約能源顧問公司，是最知名的衛星檢舉員的人，需要多一點對雙筒望遠鏡，秒錶和星圖，發現一些最深的，政府的昂貴機密和分享他們對互聯網。

Thousands of people form the spotter community.成千上萬的人，組成檢舉。 Many look for historical relics of the early space age, working from publicly available orbital information.不少尋找歷史文物的早期太空時代，工作，從公開的軌道信息。 Others watch for phenomena like the distinctive flare of sunlight glinting off bright solar panels of some telephone satellites.別人觀賞供現象一樣鮮明耀斑的陽光glinting小康光明太陽能電池板的一些衛星電話。 Still others are drawn to the secretive world of spy satellites, with about a dozen hobbyists who do most of the observing, said Molczan.還有一些是提請隱秘世界的間諜衛星，與大約12名愛好者，他們做大部分的觀察，說molczan 。

In the case of the mysterious satellite that is about to plunge back to earth, Molczan had an early sense of which one it was, identifying it as USA-193, which gave out shortly after reaching space in December 2006.在案件的神秘衛星，這是即將投身回地球， molczan了早期意義上的哪一個，它是確定它作為美國- 193 ，這使得在短期內達成後，太空在2006年12月。 It is said to have been built by the Lockheed Martin Corporation and operated by the secretive National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).據說這是已建成由洛克希德馬丁公司和經營的，由秘密的國家偵察辦公室（美國家偵察局） 。

Another hobbyist, John Locker, of Britain, posted photos of the satellite on a Web site,另一癖者，約翰衣櫃，英國，張貼照片的衛星上了一個網站， galaxypix.com . 。

John E. Pike, director of約翰派克說，主任 GlobalSecurity.org globalsecurity.org , a private group in Alexandria, Virginia, that tracks military and space activities, said the hobbyists exemplified fundamental principles of openness and of the power of technology to change the game.一個民間團體在維吉尼亞州亞歷山大市，可以追踪軍事和航天活動時表示，玩家體現了基本原則的開放性和對技術的力量來改變遊戲。

“It has been an important demystification of these things,” said Pike, “because I think there is a tendency on the part of these agencies just to try to pretend that they don’t exist, and that nothing can be known about them.” "這一直是一個重要的demystification這些東西， "派克說， "因為我覺得有一種趨勢是對的一部分，這些機構只是試圖假裝它們不存在，並沒有任何東西可以被稱為他們。 "

The spotters are also pursuing a thoroughly unusual pastime, one that calls for long hours outside, freezing in the winter and sweating in the summer, straining to see a moving light in the sky and hoping that a slip of the finger on the stopwatch does not delete an entire night’s work.該檢舉員也在採取徹底不尋常的消遣方式，就是要求很長的時間外，凍結在冬季出汗在夏季，緊張，看到一個移動光在空中的希望溜了手指上的秒錶不刪除一整夜的工作。 And for the adept, there is math.並為擅長，有數學。 Lots of math.大量的數學。

“It’s somewhat time consuming and tedious,” said Molczan, acknowledging that the precise and methodical activities might seem, to the uninitiated, “a close approximation to work.” "這有點耗費時間和繁瑣的，說： " molczan ，我承認是準確和有條不紊的活動可能看似龐大，以不了解情況" ，密切近似的工作" 。

When a new spy satellite is launched, the hobbyists will collaborate on sightings around the world to determine its orbit, and even guess at its function, sharing their information through the e-mail network SeeSat-L, which can be found via the Web site當一個新的間諜衛星啟動時，玩家將合作踪跡世界各地，以確定它的軌道，甚至猜測，在其功能，分享他們的信息通過電子郵件網絡seesat - L時，可以發現，透過網站 satobs.org . 。

From his 23rd-floor balcony, or the roof of his 32-floor building, Molzcan will peer through his binoculars at a point in the sky he expects the satellite to cross, which he locates with star charts.從他的第23樓陽台上，或者屋頂上的32層大樓， molzcan將同行通過他的雙筒望遠鏡在一個點，在空中，他預計該衛星過境，而他的位置，與星圖。 When the moving dot appears, he determines its direction and the distance it travels across the patch of sky over time, which he can use to calculate its speed.當移動斑點出現後，他決定了它的方向和距離，在穿越整個片天空隨著時間的推移，他可以用來計算它的速度。

Molzcan declined a request to visit him in Toronto and to be photographed for this article, saying: “No offense intended, but this is beginning to sound like more of a human interest story than one about the substance of the hobby. molzcan婉拒請求來看望他，在多倫多，並合影留念，為這個文章，說： "沒有進攻的意圖，但這種情況正在開始聽起來更像是一個人的故事，有興趣超過一個關於物質的嗜好。 My preference is for the latter.我的意願，是在為後者。 Also, I prefer not to have photos of myself published.”另外，我寧願不要有照片的個人出版" 。

Locker, who favors a telescope for his camera work, said that people like him and Molczan were not, as he put it, “nerdy buffs who lie on our backs and look into the sky and try to undermine governments.” Spotting, he said, is simply a hobby.更衣室，他們主張通過望遠鏡為他的相機工作時說，人們喜歡他，並molczan沒有，因為他的話講， " nerdy發燒友，他們的謊言，我們要看看天空，並試圖破壞政府" 。檢舉，他說： ，只是一種愛好。

“There are people who look at train timetables and go watch trains,” he said. "有一些人看看火車時刻表及前往觀賞火車， "他說。 People are drawn to what interests them, he said, and “it’s what draws people to any hobby.”人們得出什麼利益，他說， "這是什麼觸及人們的任何業餘愛好" 。

While recent news coverage has focused on the current satellite’s threat to people when it falls from above, that threat is, statistically, very small.而最近的新聞報導都集中在目前的衛星的威脅，以人時，適逢從以上，這種威脅是，在統計上，非常小。 Even when the space shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas five years ago and rained debris over two states, no one on the ground was injured.甚至當哥倫比亞號航天飛機解體，在德克薩斯州上空5年前的碎片，下雨超過兩個國家，沒有一個是關於地面人員受傷。

Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council, noted that 328 satellites had come down in the past five years without injury to anyone.戈登Johndroe ）的一名發言人在談到美國國家安全委員會指出， 328顆衛星已回落在過去的五年裡，沒有傷害到任何人。 While Johndroe declined to divulge much about the current satellite aside from the fact that it carries no nuclear material, he said that the government would take responsibility in the remote chance of damage or injury.而Johndroe ）拒絕透露不多，目前的衛星除了事實，即它沒有核材料，他說，政府會承擔責任，在偏遠的機會，損害或傷害。

The government’s relationship with the hobbyists is not a comfortable one.政府的關係，與愛好者，是不是不好受。 Spokesmen for the National Reconnaissance Office have stated that they would prefer the hobbyists not publish their information, and suggest that foreign countries try to hide their activities when they know an eye in the sky will be passing overhead.代言人，為國家偵察辦公室已經表示，他們寧願愛好者沒有公佈他們的資料，並表明外國嘗試隱藏自己的活動，當他們知道一個天上的眼睛，將穿越架空。

The satellite spotters acknowledge that this may be so, though they doubt that such tactics are effective.衛星檢舉員承認，這可能是這樣，雖然他們懷疑這種策略是有效的。 Molczan said he believed that the hobbyists hurt no one but that “you can’t say with absolute certainty what effect you’re having.” molczan說，他相信，這次愛好者傷害任何人，但"你不能說絕對肯定有什麼影響你有" 。

Pike said the officials who complained about the hobbyists “don’t like it, but they’ve got to lump it.” Despite the many clever ways that the spy agencies try to minimize the likelihood that their satellites will be spotted, he said, they will be.派克說，官員抱怨愛好者" ，不喜歡它，但是他們要有一筆，它" ，雖然有很多聰明的方法，間諜機構，盡量減少可能性，他們的衛星將被檢舉時，他說，他們會如何。 And that, he said, is a valuable warning: a world with so many eyes on the skies renders deep secrets shallow.而且，他說，是一種寶貴的警示：一個世界有這麼多著眼於天空變得深機密淺。

“If Ted can track all these satellites,” said Pike, “so can the Chinese.” "如果泰德能追踪所有這些衛星說： "派克" ，這樣的中國人" 。

http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=15189

PM hits the streets and gets looked at more than ever before, then heads to the shop for first-look details on a futuristic car so efficient it’ll make your jaw drop. 時觸礁街道賊看比以往任何時候更加元首，然後向店首次看看細節，對一個未來的汽車，讓有效率的，它可以使你的下巴下降。 The good news? 好消息嗎？ It’s coming next year. 它的未來明年。

Three hundred miles per gallon and a Jetsons -style look are enough to get anyone excited. 300英里每加侖和jetsons式看，是足以讓任何人感到興奮。 But ever since但自從 the word got out on it last month字失控，就在上個月 , Aptera’s innovative Typ-1 three-wheeler has been the target of relentless theorizing and conjecture across the Web. ， aptera創新的典型- 1 3 -惠勒一直的目標，無情的論調，推測整個網絡。 Is it real?是真？ Does it have what it takes to be a practical vehicle for daily transport?它有沒有什麼需要的是一個實用的工具，日常的交通嗎？ Is it stable enough to drive?是它不夠穩定，以推動？ Does it even actually drive?難道連其實駕駛？ Well we wondered some of those things, too, so we scouted out if a drivable prototype really exists.好，我們想知道的一些東西，也使我們觀察出，如果一輛原型確實存在。

It does.的確如此。

This week we visited Aptera’s headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., and became the very first outside of the company to hit the street in the Typ-1 e.這個星期我們走訪了aptera的總部設在加州Carlsbad ，並成為第一個境外公司，以擊中街道，在典型- 1體育 And, as you can see from the video of our 20-mile test drive above, we’re impressed.而且，正如你可以看到從視訊我國20英里試駕以上的，我們留下深刻的印象。

Aptera has two innovative models that are almost production-ready at $30,000 and below: for next year, the all-electric, 120-mile-range Typ-1 e that we drove; and, by 2009, the range-extended series gasoline Typ-1 h, which Aptera says will hit 300 mpg. aptera有兩種創新模式，這幾乎是生產就緒在$ 30000以下：從明年起，全電式， 120英里的中程典型- 1 E的，我們驅車，以及到2009年，其範圍延伸型系列汽油典型-1 h後，其中aptera說，將達到300哩。 A more conventional third model, called “Project X” or perhaps Typ-2, is now in the design phase, with plans for a four-wheeled chassis and seating up for to five passengers.一個更傳統的第三個模式，所謂的"項目X "的，或者典型- 2 ，目前正處於設計階段，並計劃為四個輪子的底盤和座位，為到五名乘客。

For now, though, the Typ-1 will certainly do.不過，目前的典型- 1一定會做的。 Check out a full gallery for the inside scoop on all the specs from the shop and the street …簽出充分畫廊為內鬥上的所有規格，從車間和街頭… …

The Typ-1’s exposed chassis shows how the company has taken inspiration from aircraft, boats and high-performance cars.這個典型- 1的暴露底盤顯示出該公司已採取了靈感，從飛機，船隻和高性能的汽車。 For durability as well as weight and cost savings, the majority of the Typ-1 is constructed from a top and bottom advanced composite structures bonded together along the midsection.耐用性以及重量和節約成本，大多數的典型- 1 ，是由一個底部和頂部的先進複合材料結構件的保稅一起沿著中間。 With the top and bottom weighing in at a mere 160 and 180 pounds, respectively, the entire vehicle sits at approximately 1480 pounds today.與頂部和底部稱量在僅僅160和180磅，分別後，整個車輛坐落於大約1480磅今天。

The chassis has steel reinforcements in key areas: at the roll hoop, along the bottom of the windshield, in the doors (for side impact protection) and, of course, in the front subframe (for the suspension system as well as the engine and battery cradle).底盤鋼增援，在關鍵領域：在軋輥箍，沿底部的擋風玻璃，在門（側面碰撞保護） ，當然，在前面的副車架總成（為懸架系統以及引擎和電池搖籃） 。

On the all-electric model, the battery pack lives in the center space of the subframe.對全電式模型，電池組生活在空間中心的副車架總成。 A tiny gasoline internal combustion engine in the hybrid models shares that space.彈丸之地汽油內燃發動機，在混合動力型號的股份空間。 In fact, this chassis has part of the hybrid’s exhaust, which you can see just below and to the left of the subframe.事實上，這種底盤部分的混合的排氣管，你可以看到，僅低於和向左邊的副車架總成。

The rear-drive wheel is mounted to a steel swing arm similar to that of motorcycle—but with a design optimized to handle the Aptera’s loads.該後輪驅動車輪裝到一個鋼擺臂類似當年的摩托車，但與設計優化，以處理aptera的負荷。 The rear wheel has 3 in. of up travel and 2 in. of droop.後輪已3英寸高達旅行和2英寸的下垂。

A belt drive system connects to an electric motor that has regenerative braking to help charge the battery pack.皮帶驅動系統連接到一個電動馬達具有再生制動，以幫助電池充電套。 The tires on the prototype are the same 165/65R14 tires from the Honda Insight.輪胎上的原型是相同的165/65r14輪胎從本田Insight 。

The Typ-1 e is expected to have a target range of 120 miles per charge.這個典型- 1 E是預期有一個目標範圍內的120英里不等。 A ful1 recharge of the pack will take about 4 to 6 hours with a standard 110-volt outlet.一ful1回灌的紀念套折，需時約4至6個小時，一個標準的110伏特的電源插座。 Aptera’s team is still evaluating lithium phosphate battery packs from a few suppliers, so the final specs of the 10-kWh batteries remain confidential. aptera的團隊仍然在評估磷酸鋰電池組，由數個供應商，所以最終規格的10萬千瓦的電池一直保密。 (The hybrid model will use a smaller battery pack.) （混合模式將使用一個較小的電池組） 。

This wall of equipment is part of the battery test station.這道牆的設備，部分的電池測試站。 Twin super capacitors augment the battery pack for when you neeed quick boosts of power (think passing stupefied fellow drivers on the highway).孿生超級電容器充實電池包，因為當你neeed快速提升的功率（覺得及格愣研究員司機對高速公路） 。

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Intrusive Brain Reading Surveillance Technology 侵入腦部讀監測技術

“We need a program of psychosurgery for political control of our society. "我們需要一個程序psychosurgery為政治控制的社會。 The purpose is physical control of the mind. 目的是有形的精神控制。 Everyone who deviates from the given norm can be surgically mutilated. The individual may think that the most important reality is his own existence, but this is only his personal point of view. 凡是偏離既定的規範，可手術肢解。個體可能認為最重要的現實是，他自己的存在，不過，這只是他個人的觀點。 This lacks historical perspective. 這種缺乏歷史的眼光。 Man does not have the right to develop his own mind. 男子沒有權利發展自己的心態。 This kind of liberal orientation has great appeal. 這種自由取向有很大的吸引力。 We must electronically control the brain. 我們一定要通過電子控制大腦。 Someday armies and generals will be controlled by electric stimulation of the brain. 總有一天，軍隊和將領，將控制電刺激大腦。 ~~Dr José Delgado. 〜 〜醫生何塞德爾加多。 Director of Neuropsychiatry, Yale University Medical School Congressional Record, No. 26, Vol. 總的神經精神科，耶魯大學醫學院國會紀錄，第26號，第二卷。 118 February 24, 1974. 118 1974年2月24日。

The Guardian newspaper, that defender of truth in the 衛報，即捍衛真理的，在 United Kingdom聯合王國 , published an article by the Science Correspondent, Ian Sample, on 9 February 2007 entitled: ，發表了一篇文章，是由科學的通訊員，伊恩樣本，對2007年2月9日，題為：

‘The Brain Scan that can read people’s intentions’, with the sub-heading: ‘Call for ethical debate over possible use of new technology in interrogation”. '腦掃描，可以閱讀人的意圖' ，與子標題： '請為倫理爭論有可能利用新的技術在審問" 。

“Using the scanner, we could look around the brain for this information and read out something that from the outside there’s no way you could possibly tell is in there. "用掃瞄器，我們可以看看周圍的腦組織，為這方面的資料，並宣讀了東西，從外面有沒有辦法，你可能會說，是在這裡。 It’s like shining a torch around, looking for writing on a wall”, the scientists were reported as saying.這就像擦火把靠近，尋找寫在牆上" ，但科學家報告說。

At the same time,在同一時間內， London倫敦 ’s Science Museum was holding an exhibition entitled ‘Neurobotics: The Future of Thinking’. '科學博物館舉行的展覽題為' neurobotics ：未來的思考' 。 This venue had been chosen for the launch in October 2006 of the news that human thoughts could be read using a scanner.這個場地已被選定為發射在2006年10月的消息說，人類的思想可以閱讀使用掃描器。 Dr Geraint Rees’ smiling face could be seen in a photograph at the Neurobotics website, under the heading “The Mind Reader”.博士（ Geraint里斯'笑臉，可以看到一張照片，在neurobotics網站上的標題下， "思維閱讀" 。 Dr Rees is one of the scientists who have apparently cracked the problem which has preoccupied philosophers and scientists since before Plato: they had made entry into the conscious mind.博士里斯是一位科學家，他們已明顯地破獲了這方面的問題，惹來哲學家和科學家，因為前柏拉圖：他們已進入自覺心。 Such a reversal of human historical evolution, announced in such a pedestrian fashion, makes one wonder what factors have been in play, and what omissions made, in getting together this show, at once banal and extraordinary.這樣一個顛倒的人的歷史沿革，宣布在這樣一個行人時裝，讓人不知是什麼因素一直在玩，有什麼遺漏的，在聚在一起，這顯示，一旦陳腐和非同尋常。 The announcement arrives as if out of a vacuum.公佈抵猶如走出一個真空。 The neuroscientist - modern-style hunter-gatherer of information and darling of the “Need to Know” policies of modern government - does little to explain how he achieved this goal of entering the conscious mind, nor does he put his work into any historical context.該神經學家-現代氣派的狩獵採集信息和親愛的"需要知道"的政策，現代政府-無助解釋他如何做到這一點的進入自覺心，他也沒有把他的工作納入任何歷史背景。 Instead, we are asked in the Science Museum’s programme notes:相反，我們被要求在科學博物館的計劃說明：

How would you feel if someone could read your innermost thoughts? 怎樣你會不會覺得，如果有人能夠看到你的內心想法？ Geraint Rees of UCL says he can. （ Geraint里斯的UCL的說，他可以。 By using brain-imaging technology he’s beginning to decode thought and explore the difference between the conscious and unconscious mind. 利用腦成像技術，他的開始解碼思路，並探討差異，意識和無意識記。 But how far will it go? 但將走多遠？ And shouldn’t your thoughts remain your personal business? 應該不是你的想法仍是你的個人商務？

If Dr Rees has decoded the mind sufficiently for such an announcement to be made in an exhibition devoted to it, presumably somewhere is the mind which has been, and is continuing to be, decoded.如果醫生里斯已解碼頭腦，足以為這樣一個公告，以取得一個展覽專門為它投入，大概某個地方，是考慮到它一直是，並將繼續得到，解碼。 He is not merely continuing his experiments using functional magnetic resolution scanning (fMRI) in the way neuroscientists have been observing their subjects under scanning devices for years, asking them to explain what they feel or think while the scientists watch to see which area lights up, and what the cerebral flow in the brain indicates for various brain areas.他不只是繼續他的實驗，利用功能性核磁共振掃描（功能磁共振成像）在道路神經科學家已觀察其科目下的掃描裝置，多年來，要求他們解釋什麼，他們覺得還是覺得，而科學家們觀賞，看看哪方面的燈，什麼腦血流在大腦中顯示，各腦區。 Dr Rees is decoding the mind in terms of conscious and unconscious processes.博士里斯是解碼心而言，意識和無意識過程。 For that, one must have accessed consciousness itself.對於這一點，必須有存取意識本身。 Whose consciousness?其意識？ Where is the owner of that consciousness – and unconsciousness?哪裡是老闆說，意識-與無意識？ How did he/she feel?怎麼他/她什麼感覺呢？ Why not ask them to tell us how it feels, instead of asking us.為什麼不請他們告訴我們如何感覺，而不是問我們。

The Neurobotics Exhibition was clearly set up to make these exciting new discoveries an occasion for family fun, and there were lots of games for visitors to play.該neurobotics展覽顯然是成立的，目的是使這些令人振奮的新發現，一個機會，全家共享的樂趣，並有大量的遊戲，讓遊人玩。 One gets the distinct impression that we are being softened up for the introduction of radical new technology which will, perhaps, make the mind a communal pool rather than an individual possession.人們得到的印象是，我們正在軟化了，為推行激進的新技術，這將可能使心公用游泳池，而不是一個單獨的藏。 Information technology seeks to connect us all to each other in as many ways as possible, but also, presumably, to those vast data banks which allow government control not only to access all information about our lives, but now also to our thoughts, even to our unconscious processing.信息技術的目的是連接我們大家互相補足的，因為有很多方法，為可能的，但同時，據推測，這些巨大的數據銀行，讓政府控制，不僅獲得的全部資料，我們的生命，但現在也對我們的思想，甚至以我們的無意識加工。 Does anyone care?有沒有人照顧？

One of the most popular exhibits was the ‘Mindball’ game, which required two players to go literally head-to-head in a battle for brainpower, and used ‘brainpower’ alone.其中最熱門的展品是' mindball '的遊戲，這需要兩名球員去字面上一對一一場戰鬥，為爭取人才，用'腦力' 。 Strapped up with headbands which pick up brain waves, the game uses neurofeedback, but the person who is calm and relaxed wins the game.緊張了，這頭拿起腦波，遊戲利用神經反饋的，但人是平靜和輕鬆勝出遊戲。 One received the impression that this calmness was the spirit that the organisers wished to reinforce, to deflect any undue public panic that might arise from the news that private thoughts could now be read with a scanner.一收到的印象，這是冷靜的精神，主辦單位希望，以強化轉移任何不必要的公眾恐慌可能出現的，由新聞，私人的想法，現在可以改為使用掃描儀。 The ingress into the mind as a private place was primarily an event to be enjoyed with the family on an afternoon out:該浸入到心作為一個私人地方，主要是一項活動，享有與家人於一個下午出來：

Imagine being able to control a computer with only the power of your mind. 想像可以控制一台電腦只有電源的主意。 Or read people’s thoughts and know if they’re lying. 或閱讀人的思想，並知道如果他們在說謊。 And what if a magnetic shock to the brain could make you more creative…but should we be able to engineer our minds? Think your thoughts are private? 什麼如果一個磁衝擊到大腦，可以使你更有創意的… …但是我們應該能夠工程師主意？覺得你的想法是私人？ Ever told a lie and been caught red-handed? 告訴一個謊言被人當場捉住交給了嗎？ Using brain-scanning technology, scientists are beginning to probe our minds and tell if we’re lying. 用腦掃描技術，科學家已開始探索著我們的頭腦，告訴如果我們想要在說謊。 Other scientists are decoding our desires and exploring the difference between our conscious and unconscious mind. 其他科學家解碼我們的慾望和探索的區別，我們有意識和無意識記。 But can you really trust the technology? 但你能真心信任你的技術嗎？

Other searching questions are raised in the program notes, and more games:其他搜尋問題，提出了該計劃中註解，以及更多遊戲：

Find out if you’ve got what it takes to be a modern-day spy in this new interactive family exhibition. 找出如果你有什麼需要的是一個現代日常間諜在這種新的互動家庭展覽。 After being recruited as a trainee spy, explore the skills and abilities required by real agents and use some of the latest technologies that help spies gather and analyse information. 被招募為間諜，見習，探索技能和能力所需要的真正的代理商，並利用一些最新的技術，可幫助間諜，蒐集和分析信息。 Later go on and discover what it’s like to be spied upon. 後來去發現什麼，它的喜歡被刺探。 Uncover a secret store of prototype gadgets that give you a glimpse into the future of spy technologies and finally use everything you’ve learnt to escape before qualifying as a fully-fledged agent! 發現了一個秘密商店的原型小玩意，讓你一窺未來的間諜技術，並最終利用一切你已經學會了逃生，才符合作為一個完全獨立的代理人！

There were also demonstrations of grateful paraplegics and quadriplegics showing how the gods of science have so unselfishly liberated them from their prisons: this was the serious也有一些示威的感激截癱和四肢癱瘓，載明如何神明的科學有這麼無私地解放了他們從自己的監獄：這是嚴重 Nobel Prize諾貝爾文學獎 side of the show.一邊的文戲。 But there was no-one representing Her Majesty’s government to demonstrate how these very same devices can be used quite freely, and with relative ease, in our wireless age, to conduct experiments on free-ranging civilians tracked anywhere in the world, and using an infinitely extendable form of electrode which doesn’t require visible contact with the scalp at all.不過，卻沒有一個是代表英國政府，以說明如何用這些非常相同的器件可用於相當自由，並相對容易，在我們的無線年齡，可以進行試驗，對自由放養的平民履帶式在世界上任何地方，並用一個無限延展的形式電極不需要有形接觸頭皮都沒有。 Electrodes, like electricity, can also take an invisible form – an electrode is a terminal of an electric source through which electrical energy or current may flow in or out.電極，如電力，也可以採取一種無形的形式-一個電極是一個終端的一個電源通過電能或電流可能流進或調出。 The brain itself is an electrical circuit.大腦本身是一個電氣線路。 Every brain has its own unique resonating frequency.每個大腦有自己獨特的共振頻率。 The brain is an infinitely more sensitive receiver and transmitter than the computer, and even in the wireless age, the comprehension of how wireless networks operate appears not to extend to the workings of the brain.大腦是一個無窮更為敏感接收器和發射器比電腦，而且即使在無線時代，理解如何無線網絡的運作似乎沒有延伸到運作的大腦。 The monotonous demonstration of scalps with electrodes attached to them, in order to demonstrate the contained conduction of electrical charges, is a scientific fatuity, in so far as it is intended to demonstrate comprehensively the capability of conveying charges to the brain, or for that matter, to any nerve in the body, as a form of invisible torture.單調示範scalps電極重視他們，以顯示包含傳導的電氣費，是一個科學的昏庸，在目前為止，因為這是為了表現出全面的能力，輸送費到腦部，或就此，對任何神經在體內，作為一種無形的折磨。

As Neurobotics claims: ‘Your brain is amazing’, but the power and control over brains and nervous systems achieved by targeting brain frequencies with radiowaves must have been secretly amazing government scientists for many years.作為neurobotics還聲稱： '你的大腦，是了不起的' ，但權力並控制大腦和神經系統，實現了針對腦頻率電波，必須是被秘密了不起的科學家多年。 The problem that now arises, at the point of readiness when so much has been achieved, is how to put the technology into action in such a way, as it will be acceptable in the public domain.這個問題，現在發生時，在點的準備情況時，使已經取得了很大成就，是如何把科技轉化為行動，在這樣一種方式，因為這將是可以接受的是在公共領域。 This requires getting it through wider government and legal bodies, and for that, it must be seen to spring from the unbiased scientific investigations into the workings of the brain, in the best tradition of the leading universities.這就要求它獲得通過更廣泛的政府和法律機構，以及為此，它要被視為春天，由無偏見的科學調查，將運作的大腦，在優良傳統的一流大學。 It is given over to Dr Rees and his colleague, Professor Haynes, endowed with the disclosure for weightier Guardian readers, to carry the torch for the government.這是由於給醫生里斯和他的同事，教授海恩斯，賦有披露為重監護人讀者，對我進行了火炬傳遞，為政府。 Those involved may also have noted the need to show the neuroscientist in a more responsible light, following US neuroengineer for government sponsored那些參與，也可能注意到，有必要以顯示神經學家在一個更負責任的輕，繼美國neuroengineer為政府贊助 Lockheed Martin洛克希德馬丁公司 , John Norseen’s, ingenuous comment, in 2000, about his belief about the consequences of his work in fMRI:約翰norseen的，巧妙包裝的評論，在2000年，對他的信仰有關的後果，他的工作，在功能性磁共振成像：

‘If this research pans out’, said Norseen, ‘you can begin to manipulate what someone is thinking even before they know it.’ And added: “The ethics don’t concern me, but they should concern someone else.” '如果這項研究平底鍋出' ，說norseen ' ，你就可以開始操縱什麼人，是思想，甚至在他們知道這一點。 ' ，並補充說： "倫理不關心我，但他們應該關心別人" 。

While the neuroscientists report their discovery (without even so much as the specific frequency of the light employed by this scanner/torch), issuing ethical warnings while incongruously continuing with their mind-blowing work, the government which sponsors them, remains absolutely mute.雖然神經學家報告，他們發現了（甚至沒有這麼多，作為特定頻率的光受僱於這掃描器/噴燈） ，發行倫理警告，而incongruously繼續與他們心目中吹工作，政府贊助，仍然是絕對靜音。 The present probing of people’s intentions, minds, background thoughts, hopes and emotions is being expanded into the more complex and subtle aspects of thinking and feeling.目前探索的人的意圖，思想，背景，思想，希望和情緒正在擴大到更為複雜和微妙方面的思想和感情。 We have, however, next to no technical information about their methods.不過，我們已旁邊沒有任何技術資料，他們的方法。 The description of ‘shining a torch around the brain’ is as absurd a report as one could read of a scientific endeavour, especially one that carries such enormous implications for the future of mankind.描述的'光輝火把周圍大腦'一樣荒謬一份報告，由於其中一個可閱讀的科學努力中，尤其是一個有這樣巨大的影響，為人類的未來。 What is this announcement, with its technical obfuscation, preparing us for?這是什麼公告，其技術令人困惑的，我們準備為？

Writing in Wired contributing editor Steve Silberman points out that the lie-detection capability of fMRI is ‘poised to transform the security system, the judicial system, and our fundamental notions of privacy’.寫作有線撰稿編輯史蒂夫曾任指出，有關測謊偵查能力的功能性磁共振成像是'充分準備，改造的安全體制，司法體制，我們的根本觀念的隱私' 。 He quotes Cephos founder, Steven Laken, whose company plans to market the new technology for lie detection.他援引cephos創始人，潘國laken ，其公司計劃向市場的新技術測謊。 Laken cites detainees held without charge at laken舉被拘留者在未經指控在 Guantanamo Bay關塔那摩灣 as a potential example.作為一個潛在的例子。 ‘If these detainees have information we haven’t been able to extract that could prevent another 9/11, I think most Americans would agree that we should be doing whatever it takes to extract it’. '如果這些被拘留者的資料，我們已不再能提取物可以防止另外9 / 11 ，我想大多數美國人都同意，我們應做的一切所能提取物' 。 Silberman also quotes Paul Root Wolpe, a senior fellow at the Center for Bioethics at the曾任也尋獲保羅根沃爾普，資深研究員生物倫理中心在 University of Pennsylvania賓夕法尼亞大學 , who describes the accelerated advances in fMRI as ‘ a textbook example of how something can be pushed forward by the convergence of basic science, the government directing research through funding, and special interests who desire a particular technology’. ，他們描述了加速進步的fMRI作為'一本教科書的例子，如何可以向前推進，由收斂的基礎科學，政府指導研究通過提供資金，和特殊利益的人的願望，一個特殊技術' 。 Are we to believe that with the implied capability to scan jurors’ brains, the judiciary, the accused and the defendant alike, influencing one at the expense of the other, that the legal implications alone of mind-accessing scanners on university campuses, would not rouse the Minister for Justice from his bench to say a few words about these potential mind weapons?我們相信，隨著暗示的能力，以掃描陪審員動腦筋，司法機關，被告和被告一樣，是影響一個建立在犧牲另外，在法律上的影響，僅記存取掃描器對大學校園裡，將不會振奮司法部長，由他的替補說幾句話，對這些潛在的心目中武器？

So what of the ethical debate called for by the busy scientists and the Guardian ’s science reporter?那麼什麼的倫理辯論中所要求的忙碌科學家和監護人的科學記者？ Can this technology- more powerful in subverting thought itself than anything in prior history – really be confined to deciding whether the ubiquitously invoked terrorist has had the serious intention of blowing up the train, or whether it was perhaps a foolish prank to make a bomb out of chapatti flour?可這技術更強大的顛覆思想的本身比什麼都在事先歷史-真的只限於決定是否引用了無所不在的恐怖了嚴重的意圖炸毀火車，還是也許是一個愚蠢的惡作劇製造炸彈列對chapatti麵粉？ We can assume that the government would certainly not give the go-ahead to the Science Museum Exhibition, linked to Imperial College, a major government-sponsored institution in laser-physics, if it was detrimental to surveillance programs.我們可以假設，政府一定不會讓方能首肯到香港科學館展覽，掛帝國學院的一個主要由政府贊助的機構，在激光物理，如果是不利的監控程式。 It is salutary to bear in mind that government intelligence research is at least ten years ahead of any public disclosure.這是有益的，以銘記政府情報研究是至少十年前的任何公開披露。 It is implicit from history that whatever affords the undetectable entry by the gatekeepers of society into the brain and mind, will not only be sanctioned, but funded and employed by the State, more specifically by trained operatives in the security forces, given powers over defenceless citizens, and unaccountable to them.這是隱從歷史中，無論提供了undetectable入境守門的社會進入腦和心，不僅會受到制裁，但資金並受聘於國家，更具體地說，由受過訓練的操作工在安全部隊，由於權力手無寸鐵公民和不負責任給他們。

The actual technology which is now said to be honing the technique ‘to distinguish between passing thoughts and genuine intentions’ is described by Professor John-Dylan Haynes in the Guardian in the most disarmingly untechnical language which must surely not have been intended to enlighten.該技術的實際也就是現在說是珩磨技術'區分合格的思想和真正的意圖是描述教授約翰-迪倫海恩斯在監護人在最disarmingly untechnical語言必須是絕對不會有意啟迪。

The Guardian piece ran as follows: 衛片冉如下：

A team of world-leading neuroscientists has developed a powerful technique that allows them to look deep inside a person’s brain and read their intentions before they act. The research breaks controversial new ground in scientists’ ability to probe people’s minds and eavesdrop on their thoughts, and raises serious ethical issues over how brain-reading technology may be used in the future. 一隊是世界最先進的神經科學家們制定了一個強大的技術，讓他們照顧我內心深處，一個人的大腦，並宣讀了他們的意圖之前，他們的行為。休息研究新的爭議，在地面科學家的能力，探索人們的思想和竊聽對他們的思想，並引起了嚴重的倫理問題，如何腦讀技術，有可能在將來使用。

‘Using the scanner, we could look around the brain for this information and read out something that from the outside there’s no way you could possibly tell is in there. '用掃瞄器，我們可以看看周圍的腦組織，為這方面的資料，並宣讀了東西，從外面有沒有辦法，你可能會說，是在這裡。 It’s like shining a torch around, looking for writing on a wall,’ said John-Dylan Haynes at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in這就像擦火把靠近，尋找寫在牆上，說：約翰-迪倫海恩斯在馬克斯普朗克研究所，為人類認知和腦科學 Germany德國 , who led the study with colleagues at University College ，領導這項研究的同事與大學學院 London倫敦 and及 Oxford University牛津大學 . 。

We know therefore that they are using light, but fMRI has been used for many years to attempt the unravelling of neuronal activity, and while there have been many efforts to record conscious and unconscious processes, with particular emphasis on the visual cortex, there has been no progress into consciousness itself.我們知道，所以說，他們是利用光，但功能磁共振成像已使用多年，試圖瓦解的神經元活動，雖然有很多的努力，以記錄意識和無意識過程中，尤其注重對視覺皮層，出現了沒有進展到意識本身。 We can be sure that we are not being told the real story.我們可以肯定的是，我們並沒有被告知的真實情況。

Just as rats and chimpanzees have been used to demonstrate findings from remote experiments on humans, electrode implants used on cockroaches to remotely control them, lasers used to steer fruit-flies , and worms engineered so that their nerves and muscles can be controlled with pinpricks of light, the information and techniques that have been ruthlessly forged using opportunistic onslaughts on defenceless humans as guinea pigs - used for myriad purposes from creating 3D haptic gloves in就像老鼠和黑猩猩已被用來研究結果表明，從偏遠的實驗在人體上，電極植入用於對蟑螂遠程控制他們，激光器用來引導果實蠅，及蠕蟲病毒設計，使他們的神經和肌肉可以得到控制與pinpricks的輕，信息和技術，已被無情地利用偽造伺機攻擊，對手無寸鐵的人，作為豚鼠-用於多種用途，從創建三維觸覺手套 computer games電腦遊戲 to creating artificial intelligence to send visual processing into outer space - require appropriate replication for peer group approval and to meet ethical demands for scientific and public probity.以創造人工情報派遣視覺處理進入外層空間-需要適當的複製同儕團體審批，並滿足倫理要求的科學的大眾的操守。

The use of light to peer into the brain is almost certainly that of terahertz, which occurs in the wavelengths which lie between 30mm and 1mm of the electromagnetic spectrum.使用輕朋輩影響到大腦幾乎可以肯定是說，太赫茲，這是發生在波長位於之間30毫米和1 mm的電磁頻譜。 Terahertz has the ability to penetrate deep into organic materials, without (it is said) the damage associated with ionising radiation such as x-rays.太赫茲有能力深入滲透到有機材料，如果沒有（這是說）的損害與電離輻射，如X光檢查。 It can distinguish between materials with varying water content – for example fat versus lean meat.它可以分辨出材料在不同水分含量-例如脂肪與瘦肉。 These properties lend themselves to applications in process and quality control as well as biomedical imaging.這些特性使它們應用在工藝和質量控制以及生物醫學成像。 Terahertz can penetrate bricks, and also human skulls. Terahertz波可以穿透磚，也是人頭骨。 Other applications can be learnt from the major developer of terahertz in the其他申請可以據悉，從大的開發商，太赫茲波在 UK英國 , Teraview, which is in ， teraview ，這是在 Cambridge劍橋 , and partially owned by Toshiba. ，並部分擁有的東芝。

Efforts to alert human rights’ groups about the loss of the mind as a place to call your own, have met with little discernible reaction, in spite of reports about over decades of the dangers of remote manipulation using technology to access the mind, Dr Nick Begich’s book, Controlling the human mind , being an important recent contribution.努力提高警覺，人權團體約損失頭腦作為一個地方打電話給你自己的，已經受到了小辨反應，儘管有報導說是幾十年來的危險，遙控操縱，利用高科技儀器進入頭腦，醫生尼克貝吉奇的書， 控制人的頭腦 ，作為一項重要最近的貢獻。 A different approach did in fact, elicit a response.不同的方式，在事實上，做出回應。 When informed of the use of terahertz at當得知利用太赫茲波在 Heathrow希思羅 and Luton airports in the和盧頓機場在 UK英國 to scan passengers, the news that passengers would be revealed naked by a machine which looked directly through their clothes produced a small, but highly indignant, article in the spring 2007 edition of the leading human rights organisation, Liberty.掃描乘客的消息，乘客會被發現赤裸，由一台機器看上去直接通過自己的衣服製作了一個小型的，但非常氣憤，文章在2007年春季版的著名人權組織，自由。 If the reading of the mind met with no protest, seeing through one’s clothes certainly did.如果讀的心靈滿足，沒有抗議，透過現象看一個人的衣服當然。 It seems humans’ assumption of the mind as a private place has been so secured by evolution that it will take a sustained battle to convince the public that, through events of which we are not yet fully informed, such former innocence has been lost.看來，人類承擔了大量本該銘記作為一個私人的地方，已使擔保演變，這是需要持續的戰鬥，以說服公眾，通過活動，而我們尚未充分了解，如前無罪推定原則已經消失。

Trained light, targeted atomic spectroscopy, the use of powerful magnets to absorb moisture from human tissues, the transfer of radiative energy – these have replaced the microwave harassment which was used to transmit auditory messages directly into the hearing.訓練有素的輕，有針對性的原子光譜法，使用威力強大的磁鐵，以吸收水分，人體組織，轉讓輻射能量-這些已取代微波騷擾被用來傳送聽覺信息直接到聽證會。 With the discovery of light to disentangle thousands of neurons and encode signals from the complex circuitry of the brain, present programs will not even present the symptoms which simulated schizoid states.與發現輕解開數以千計的神經元和編碼信號，從複雜的電路部分的大腦，目前的計劃將不會出席，甚至症狀，其中模擬精神分裂。 Medically, even if terahertz does not ionise, we do not yet know how the sustained application of intense light will affect the delicate workings of the brain and how cells might be damaged, dehydrated, stretched, obliterated.醫學上，即使太赫茲波並不ionise ，我們還不知道如何持續地採用激烈的輕型會影響微妙的運作，大腦和細胞如何可能受到損害，脫水，緊張的功績。

This year, 2007, has also brought the news that terahertz lasers small enough to incorporate into portable devices had been developed.這一年， 2007年，同時也帶來了巨大的消息，太赫茲激光器小到足以納入便攜設備已制定的。

Sandia National Laboratories in the US in collaboration with MIT have produced a transmitter-receiver (transceiver) that enables a number of applications.桑迪亞國家實驗室在美國的合作與麻省理工學院已經產生了發射機接收器（收發器） ，使許多應用場合。 In addition to scanning for explosives, we may also assume their integration into hand-held communication systems. ‘These semiconductor devices have output powers which previously could only be obtained by molecular gas lasers occupying cubic meters and weighing more than 100kg, or free electron lasers weighing tons and occupying buildings.’ As far back as 1996 the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board predicted that the development of electromagnetic energy sources would ‘open the door for the development of some novel capabilities that can be used in armed conflict, in terrorist/hostage situations, and in training’ and ‘new weapons that offer the opportunity of control of an adversary … can be developed around this concept’. ‘These semiconductor devices have output powers which previously could only be obtained by molecular gas lasers occupying cubic meters and weighing more than 100kg, or free electron lasers weighing tons and occupying buildings.’ As far back as 1996 the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board predicted that the development of electromagnetic energy sources would ‘open the door for the development of some novel capabilities that can be used in armed conflict, in terrorist/hostage situations, and in training’ and ‘new weapons that offer the opportunity of control of an adversary … can be developed around this concept’.

The surveillance technology of today is the surveillance of the human mind and, through access to the brain and nervous system, the control of behaviour and the body’s functions. The messaging of auditory hallucinations has given way to silent techniques of influencing and implanting thoughts. The development of the terahertz technologies has illuminated the workings of the brain, facilitated the capture of emitted photons which are derived from the visual cortex which processes picture formation in the brain, and enabled the microelectronic receiver which has, in turn, been developed by growing unique semi-conductor crystals. The development of the terahertz technologies has illuminated the workings of the brain, facilitated the capture of emitted photons which are derived from the visual cortex which processes picture formation in the brain, and enabled the microelectronic receiver which has, in turn, been developed by growing unique semi-conductor crystals. In this way, the technology is now in place for the detection and reading of spectral ‘signatures’ of gases. All humans emit gases. Humans, like explosives, emit their own spectral signature in the form of a gas. With the reading of the brain’s electrical frequency, and of the spectral gas signature, the systems have been established for the control of populations – and with the necessary technology integrated into a cell-phone.

‘We are very optimistic about working in the terahertz electromagnetic spectrum,’ says the principal investigator of the Terahertz Microelectronics Transceiver at Sandia : ‘This is an unexplored area, and a lot of science can come out of it. We are just beginning to scratch the surface of what THz can do to improve national security’.

~~~~~~

Carole Smith was born and educated in Australia, where she gained a Bachelor of Arts degree at Sydney University. She trained as a psychoanalyst in London where she has had a private practice. In recent years she has been a researcher into the invasive methods of accessing minds using technological means, and has published papers on the subject.

She has written the first draft of a book entitled: “The Controlled Society”.The ethical implications of building machines to read people’s minds, DISSENT, Issue 25, http://www.dissent.com.au/index.htm

From Carole Smith newcriteria@blueyonder.co.uk Dec 12/07. The Canberra-based magazine DISSENT is sold at selected bookshops and by subscription.

Hackers have succeeded in breaking into the computer systems of two of the US’ most important science labs, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

John E. Dunn

Hackers have succeeded in breaking into the computer systems of two of the US ‘ most important science labs, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee田納西 and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico新墨西哥 .

In what a spokesperson for the Oak Ridge facility described as a “sophisticated cyber attack,” it appears that intruders accessed a database of visitors to the Tennessee lab between 1990 and 2004, which included their social security numbers and dates of birth. Three thousand researchers reportedly visit the lab each year, a who’s who of the science establishment in the US

The attack was described as being conducted through several waves of phishing emails with malicious attachments, starting on Oct. 29. Although not stated, these would presumably have launched Trojans if opened, designed to bypass security systems from within, which raises the likelihood that the attacks were targeted specifically at the lab.

ORNL director, Thom Mason , described the attacks in an email to staff earlier this week as being a “coordinated attempt to gain access to computer networks at numerous laboratories and other institutions across the country.”

“Because of the sensitive nature of this event, the laboratory will be unable for some period to discuss further details until we better understand the full nature of this attack,” he added.

The ORNL has set up a web page giving an official statement on the attacks, with advice to employees and visitors that they should inform credit agencies so as to minimize the possibility of identity theft.

Less is known about the attacks said to have been launched against the ORNL’s sister-institution at Los Alamos , but the two are said to be linked. It has not been confirmed that the latter facility was penetrated successfully, though given that a Los Alamos spokesman said that staff had been notified of an attack on Nov. 9 - days after the earliest attack wave on the ORNL - the assumption has to be that something untoward happened there as well, and probably at other science labs across the US It has not been confirmed that the latter facility was penetrated successfully, though given that a Los Alamos spokesman said that staff had been notified of an attack on Nov. 9 - days after the earliest attack wave on the ORNL - the assumption has to be that something untoward happened there as well, and probably at other science labs across the US

The ORNL is a multipurpose science lab, a site of technological expertise used in homeland security and military research, and also the site of one of the world’s fastest supercomputers. Los Alamos operates a similar multi-disciplinary approach, but specializes in nuclear weapons research, one of only two such sites doing such top-secret work in the US

Los Alamos has a checkered security history, having suffered a sequence of embarrassing breaches in recent years. In August of this year, it was revealed that the lab had released sensitive nuclear research data by email, while in 2006 a drug dealer was allegedly found with a USB stick containing data on nuclear weapons tests.

“This appears to be a new low, even drug dealers can get classified information out of Los Alamos,” Danielle Brian , executive director of the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), said at the time. Two years earlier, the lab was accused of having lost hard disks

The possibility that the latest attacks were the work of fraudsters will be seen by some as optimistic - less positive would be the possibility of a rival government having been involved. Given the apparently coordinated nature of events, speculation will inevitably point to this scenario, with the data theft a cover motivation for more serious incursions.

Iain Thomson

Boeing and Ford have successfully tested a new hydrogen aircraft engine with a simulated flight that lasted nearly four days.

The project, called the High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft, is being run to test the feasibility of having unmanned craft in permanent flight to act as communications systems that can be quickly and cheaply set up where coverage by traditional means isn’t available. The project, called the High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft, is being run to test the feasibility of having unmanned craft in permanent flight to act as communications systems that can be quickly and cheaply set up where coverage by traditional means isn’t available 。

“This test could help convince potential customers that hydrogen-powered aircraft are viable in the near-term,” said Boeing Advanced Systems president George Muellner.

“This is a substantial step towards providing the persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities our customers desire.”

The HALE’s engine is a modified four cylinder Ford engine that can use hydrogen as a fuel and run for extended period. In a simulation chamber the engine ran for nearly four days, powering the craft up to an equivalent of 65,000 feet. In a simulation chamber the engine ran for nearly four days, powering the craft up to an equivalent of 65000 feet.

“This simulated flight allows us to showcase the capabilities of Ford’s proprietary hydrogen engine technology and the durability of our four-cylinder engines,” said Gerhard Schmidt, vice president of Ford Research and Advanced Engineering.

“We are very pleased with the results. The gasoline version of this same engine can be found in our Ford Fusion and Escape Hybrid vehicles.”

By John E. Dunn

Large organisations in the UK are being offered a new service that could be the ultimate in physical security – building surveillance via satellite.

The service is the work of two companies, Scyron and Datasat , which have spied a need among large multi-nationals and government agencies to secure remote buildings and assets remotely. Scyron supplies the software analysis element, which can assess threat using satellite imagery, while Datasat has access to a satellite network to supply input for the application.

Scyron - which invested in its partner Datasat in July - uses the example of a shipping company watching over its fleet in any part of the world. If suspicious incidents are recorded, the system can adjust bandwidth to ensure the efficient transfer of images back to its monitoring HQ. It can also be tied into biometric and audio security systems as an extra layer.

Such a service doesn’t come cheap, but then again neither does any remote security analysis. The company claims its approach will still save time and money when compared to manual incident analysis.

In addition to maritime and transport, other industries that might be interested include border controls, utilities, and even the military, though the latter might be expected to have their own systems in place for such security.

“The system gives a solution to the headache of permanently manned controls at numerous locations across the world. It is more targeted as it only alerts to suspicious activity but also in conjunction with satellite – it reaches the parts which others just cannot reach,” said Phil Emmel, Datasat’s managing director.

What the company describes as an ‘entry-level’ system would set an organisation back 50,000 euros, but an accurate cost would depend on the number and type of sites being secured, the company said. What the company describes as an ‘entry-level’ system would set an organisation back 50000 euros, but an accurate cost would depend on the number and type of sites being secured, the company said. The service was demonstrated at the Alarmes, Protection Securite Expo, held this week in Paris.

By William Thomas

The story sounded like a sequel to “Dr. Strangelove”. Leaked by the Pentagon’s news service, Military Affairs to quell scuttlebutt racing through the ranks-and perhaps warn the world-a US Air Force B-52 strategic bomber “mistakenly” loaded with six nuclear cruise missiles took off from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota on August 30, 2007 and flew for more than three hours over at least five states, before landing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Leaked by the Pentagon’s news service, Military Affairs to quell scuttlebutt racing through the ranks-and perhaps warn the world-a US Air Force B-52 strategic bomber “mistakenly” loaded with six nuclear cruise missiles took off from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota on August 30, 2007 and flew for more than three hours over at least five states, before landing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

The mistake was so egregious, the National Command Authority comprising President George BU.Sh and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates were quickly informed. The SecDef has since been assured that nuclear weapons “were part of a routine transfer between the two bases… at no time was the public in danger.”

Both statements are false.

In fact, nuclear weapons like these are carefully crated for shipment between bases, and placed inside the bomb bays or cargo compartments of transporting aircraft. In stunning contrast, this reporter has learned from two independent and highly placed sources that the six Advanced Cruise Missiles dangling from the B-52’s fatigued and flexible wings were fully armed and ready to fire-except for a single fail/safe switch under the Command Pilot’s control. In stunning contrast, this reporter has learned from two independent and highly placed sources that the six Advanced Cruise Missiles dangling from the B-52’s fatigued and flexible wings were fully armed and ready to fire-except for a single fail/safe switch under the Command Pilot’s control.

The quickly blacked out episode has prompted an Air Force investigation. Gates, whose official defense computer was hacked last June, necessitating the shutdown of the entire SecDef network, has ordered daily briefings on the Air Force inquiry. The Minot base commander, who might turn out to be the hero in this frightening affair, was relieved of his command.

DR. STRANGELOVE VISITS BOURBON STREET
As far as anyone knows, no US aircraft has ever been armed with a full wartime loadout of six nuclear weapons. “Nothing like this has ever been reported before and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible,” declared Representative Markey, co-chair of the House Task Force on Nonproliferation. [AP Sept 5/07; Seattle Times Sept 5/07] “Nothing like this has ever been reported before and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible,” declared Representative Markey, co-chair of the House Task Force on Nonproliferation. [AP Sept 5/07; Seattle Times Sept 5/07 ]

Hans Kristensen, an expert on US nuclear forces, says he knows of no other publicly acknowledged case of live nuclear weapons being flown on bombers since the late 1960s. [http://ace.mu.nu]

Director Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” was released in 1964 Each of the six ACMs carried a “dialable” 150-kiloton W80-1 warhead–for a combined total of 60-times the destructive power of the bomb that melted the city and inhabitants of Hiroshima–over the unsuspecting residents of five states. Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” was released in 1964 Each of the six ACMs carried a “dialable” 150-kiloton W80-1 warhead–for a combined total of 60-times the destructive power of the bomb that melted the city and inhabitants of Hiroshima–over the unsuspecting residents of five states. Depending on the route flown, a half-dozen armed nuclear weapons wafted for three-and-a-half hours over North Dakota and either South Dakota or Minnesota, Nebraska or Missouri, Oklahoma or Arkansas, and Louisiana.

It’s no secret that Dick Cheney and his presidential surrogate intend to bomb Iran into the Kingdom to Come. [BBC News Aug 29/07]

But New Orleans? “What does the government have against Louisiana?” asked a blogger named Lobster Martini. [www.democraticunderground.com]

TOUGH LOVE
The “mistake” was supposedly discovered when the B-52 landed at Barskdale, where the plane should have been secured by an armed security detail. Instead, it simply parked on the flight line, where ground crew noticed the words “nuclear armed” stenciled on the sides of the missiles. [ ]

Three officers confirmed the warheads were, in Bush’s argot, “nucular.” But the mission could have ended in a “broken arrow” nuclear calamity if the bomber had crashed, or inadvertently dropped its ordnance. Munitions, and even entire engines-such as the No. 1 turbine that fell off an American Airlines DC 10 after taking off from Chicago’s O’Hare airport in May, 1979, killing two people on the ground and all 271 people onboard-occasionally drop from underwing pylons in flight. [Chicago Tribune May 26-30/79; National Transportation Safety Board Aircraft Accident Report NSTB-AAR-79-17] Munitions, and even entire engines-such as the No. 1 turbine that fell off an American Airlines DC 10 after taking off from Chicago’s O’Hare airport in May, 1979, killing two people on the ground and all 271 people onboard- occasionally drop from underwing pylons in flight. [Chicago Tribune May 26-30/79; National Transportation Safety Board Aircraft Accident Report NSTB-AAR-79-17]

A few other examples: — A B-36 ferrying a nuclear weapon from Biggs Air Force Base, Texas to Kirtland accidentally drops a bomb in the New Mexico desert.

[ww.nuclearfiles.org] – A fighter pilot accidentally dropped a BDU-33 dummy bomb into a house, narrowly missing a family of three. [www.f-117a.com ]

– A 500-pound bomb fell from an FA-18 plane during a routine training exercise and exploded on the edge of a US base 100 miles north of Sarajevo. [ AP July 17/02]

– A National Guard F-16 fighter jet on a nighttime training mission strafed an elementary school in New Jersey with 25 rounds of depleted uranium ammunition. [AP Nov 4/04]

– Another US Air Force practice bomb accidentally on the Yorkshire countryside in England. [ BBC Jan 12/04]

– Electromagnetic interference from military transmitters may have caused an F-16 jet to accidentally drop a 500 pound bomb on rural West Georgia. [Montreal Gazette May 12/89]
A crash, mid-air explosion or structural breakup-not uncommon occurrences with heavily-laden B-52s-could have ignited the high explosives used to implode the warheads. The ultimate dirty bomber’s fantasy could have seen plutonium–the deadliest substance ever conjured by humans-raining down over what would become a statewide “national sacrifice zone”, off-limits to all life-forms for more than 4 billion years.

Barksdale AFB is no stranger to nuclear accidents. On July 6, 1959, a C-124 “Flying Boxcar” crashed on takeoff, completely destroying the aircraft and the nuclear weapon it was carrying. [www.cdi.org]

[See: “Broken Arrows” ]

PROTOCOLS
The Air Combat Command has ordered a command-wide stand down for September 14, 2007 to “review procedures.” Though they actually responded flawlessly to apparently authentic orders, the highly trained specialists who carried out the nuclear loadout have been temporarily “decertified” from handling nukes. The Air Combat Command has ordered a command-wide stand down for September 14, 2007 to “review procedures.” Though they actually responded flawlessly to apparently authentic orders, the highly trained specialists who carried out the nuclear loadout have been temporarily “decertified” from handling nukes. Representative Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the mishandling of arms capable of destroying cities “deeply disturbing. There is no more serious issue than the security and proper handling of nuclear weapons.”

[AP Sept 5/07]

The crewdogs who flew their assigned mission without mishap have been ordered not to mention that all pilots are required to perform a “walk around” inspection of their airplanes and calculate elaborate “weight-and-balance” graphs before attempting to aviate. Failure to notice or be informed of the much heavier nuclear casings on the missiles they were carrying would have jeopardized flight safety. According to a well-informed and extremely thorough US military source I call “Hank” (with whom I have broken major stories over the past 15 years), someone “must have adjusted the bomber’s balance. Failure to notice or be informed of the much heavier nuclear casings on the missiles they were carrying would have jeopardized flight safety. According to a well-informed and extremely thorough US military source I call “Hank” (with whom I have broken major stories over the past 15 years), someone “must have adjusted the bomber’s balance. It had to have been done.”

In addition to knowing what is externally attached to their airplane, the amount of paperwork, signatures, and discrete passwords involved in releasing a nuclear weapon from its storage bunker and loading it onto an airframe are more formidable than flak.

And there were six of them.
PICKUP AND DELIVERY
The coded message to upload and launch the B-52 from Minot with six live nuclear weapons carried the signature of the
“football” containing the day’s nuclear launch codes that is carried close to the president at all times by a specially detailed aide. After checking and counter-checking their coded orders, as few as a dozen people in uniform were actually involved in the subsequent secret nuclear mission. According to Hank, at least three high-ranking officers were escorted into Minot AFB’s nuclear arms bunker after passing through multiple doors secured by pass codes, whose complete sequences were supplied each officer, who only knew part of each code. After checking and counter-checking their coded orders, as few as a dozen people in uniform were actually involved in the subsequent secret nuclear mission. According to Hank, at least three high-ranking officers were escorted into Minot AFB’s nuclear arms bunker after passing through multiple doors secured by pass codes, whose complete sequences were supplied each officer, who only knew part of each code. One hiccup, a fumbled code sequence, or “the wrong wrench” would have cancelled the loadout instantly.

SAFETY FIRST
Because the base had stood down for Labor Day, the timing was ideal for security. In his standing orders for August 30, 2007, 5th Bomb Wing commander Colonel Bruce Emig encouraged his troops to “Enjoy a safe Labor Day weekend.

“Warbirds, It’s hard to believe that Labor Day weekend is already here!” the colonel wrote. “Though cooler temperatures are right around the corner, the weather forecasters tell me that we should have a warm, summer-like weekend. Since Air Combat Command and Air Force Space Command have declared Friday a Family Day, many of you should be able to enjoy a nice, 4-day break as we transition from summer to fall. I wish all of you a relaxing and enjoyable time off, and urge you all once again to please keep safety in mind in all you do!” [www.libertypost.org]

Under a bomber’s nuclear umbrella in a discrete corner of the sprawling airbase, air, ground and ordnance crews did not converse with each other. Or anyone else. Everyone involved knew better than to ask questions that could abruptly end their careers by inadvertently tipping people who did not need to know.
LOADOUT
Within hours, an airplane with a wingspan longer than the Wright Brothers’ first flight was safely loaded with avgas, sandwiches, and six nuclear weapons. Uploaded to the bomber using an accordion cradle on each missile trolley, each Advanced Cruise Missile was fueled once it was secured to a hard point under the aircraft’s wings. Because the ACMs were not inside a bomb bay, where they could be armed in flight, each underslung missile had to be fully armed before takeoff. “Wing walker” is not a B-52 job description. The plates connecting the firing circuits of each warhead to the cockpit were then activated, and the safeties were pulled from each clearly marked “nuclear weapon”-rendering it “live”. For the Explosive Ordnance Disposal detail who performed the loadout, there could be no doubt they were activating six nuclear weapons.

Alarms on the flight line should have sounded as soon as they sniffed hot ions leaking from the pulled pile rods in six slowly fissioning warheads. But the alarms remain silenced. That order, Hank insisted, could only have come under the properly coded signature of the National Command Authority-Commander-in-Chief GW Bush or Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates.

The ensuing takeoff was an event branded on the central nervous system of every creature in auditory range as eight jet engines at maximum takeoff thrust levitated six missiles, up to 46,000 gallons of fuel, and an airplane the length of a 150-foot ship into a blue yonder that had just become much wilder. The ensuing takeoff was an event branded on the central nervous system of every creature in auditory range as eight jet engines at maximum takeoff thrust levitated six missiles, up to 46000 gallons of fuel, and an airplane the length of a 150-foot ship into a blue yonder that had just become much wilder. Everyone within miles knew that a B-52 had come into Minot and taken off again. But only God and the devil knew where it was going. [www.boeing.com]

And they weren’t saying.
WHO DUNNIT?
In the silence left by this momentous departure, if there were questions, nobody voiced them. Perhaps there were a few quietly delivered high-fives instead. Despite the high stress that runs counter to every human instinct, everyone involved had carried out their assigned duties with complete attention to the details required to launch a half-dozen live nuclear weapons “safely”. The professionally conducted operation was carried off in complete secrecy, without a hitch, only after the loadout and launch order had been digitally confirmed as coming from the NCA. There was only one problem regarding the originators of those orders, Hank emailed me:

“IT WAS NOT US.”
FAULTY (COMPUTER) TOWERS
Let us quickly review. My earlier exclusive on my former website, willthomas.net, disclosed how in October 2006, North Korea’s leaders asked China to take out Japan’s shiny new recon satellite before it could be tasked by American officers to monitor Pyongyang’s first atomic test. My earlier exclusive on my former website, willthomas.net, disclosed how in October 2006, North Korea’s leaders asked China to take out Japan’s shiny new recon satellite before it could be tasked by American officers to monitor Pyongyang’s first atomic test. Blowing up someone’s satellite is an act of war. But overriding its “Made In China” microchips with a remote command from the ground could never be proven. Even if no solar flares were recorded at the time. This first Chinese demo got the Pentagon’s attention. After all, their stated goal of “Full Spectrum Dominance” over Earth’s land, seas, airspace and electromagnetic spectrum depends on America’s successful weaponization of space. But as the Joint Chiefs are only now discovering, many of the supposedly secure chips in America’s civilian infrastructure-as well as all military communications, surveillance and weapons systems-have been “Wal-Marted” by US corporations to low-bid Chinese suppliers-who rigged them for failure or takeover by “command override” in the event of war. But as the Joint Chiefs are only now discovering, many of the supposedly secure chips in America’s civilian infrastructure-as well as all military communications, surveillance and weapons systems-have been “Wal-Marted” by US corporations to low-bid Chinese suppliers-who rigged them for failure or takeover by “command override” in the event of war.

[See: “Faulty Microchips Threaten US Attack On Iran” ]

SEE DICK RUN
The second demonstration of China’s newfound capabilities to manipulate microchips came in late February 2007, when Dick Cheney’s 757, flying home from Australia where the Vice President had not been well received by the locals, was forced to divert to Singapore. In a story intriguingly tagged, “US Denies Cheney Forced To Land,” Agence France-Presse reported that the White House admitted the Vice-President’s “specially secured” Boeing 757 had “suffered electrical problems” before landing in Singapore. But Cheney spinner Lea Anne McBride insisted, “This was the preplanned, scheduled refueling stop. We were not diverted. The vice president did not get off the plane during his refueling stop.” [AFP Feb 26/07]

Wrong again. According to US military personnel present on the tarmac at Paya Lebar Air Base-who according to Hank said were “trying to yak with the locals: ‘Can you get us this part? Do you have a Radio Shack?’”-a small Chinese delegation met with Cheney outside his electronically-challenged aircraft. Wandering in and out of the brief conversation, Hank’s sources described the brief encounter, which occurred shortly after 1400 hours Singapore time.

Disembarking Air Force One, Cheney said something like, “Gosh, we got this kind of interesting problem…”

“No, you don’t understand sir,” a Chinese official interrupted. “This is how we brought you here. And this is why.”

Cheney’s visitors itemized the separately wired galley stoves, reading lights, in-flight video, and power outlets onboard the Vice President’s aircraft that had all conked out in flight. They knew this, they said, because the electronic signals that had disabled the microchips controlling these various devices had been directed by their government. In an impressive feat, the Chinese military had located and selectively targeted a stealthy aircraft painted with radar-absorbent materials flying at nearly 500 knots at 35,000 feet without a public itinerary. In an impressive feat, the Chinese military had located and selectively targeted a stealthy aircraft painted with radar-absorbent materials flying at nearly 500 knots at 35000 feet without a public itinerary.

According to Hank’s boots-on-the-tarmac sources, the mostly one-way conversation in Singapore concerned “Gulf of Tonkin possibilities.”

“They reached out and touched someone,” Hank related. “They had a message they wanted to get across: ‘You’ve got ships out there in the Gulf. If this thing cooks off, all bets are off because some of the things that are put out there, we are really now wanting people to talk about.’”

The Chinese were referring to their control of most of the microchips on this planet.

A very thoughtful Dick Cheney departed two hours later.

OPENING THE GATES
The next Chinese digital demo came last June. In what came to be called “the most successful cyber attack ever mounted on the US defence department,” Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network serving the defense secretary’s personal office. Like their American counterparts, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) regularly probes US military networks. In what came to be called “the most successful cyber attack ever mounted on the US defence department,” Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network serving the defense secretary’s personal office. Like their American counterparts, the People’s Liberation Army ( PLA) regularly probes US military networks. But American officials said these latest cyber attack caused grave concern when China demonstrated it “could disrupt US defenses systems at critical times.”

“The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disable our system… and the ability in a conflict situation to re-enter and disrupt on a very large scale,” revealed a former official, adding that the PLA has also penetrated the networks of US arms corporations and war-launching think-tanks. [Financial Times Sept 3/07] “The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disable our system… and the ability in a conflict situation to re-enter and disrupt on a very large scale,” revealed a former official, adding that the PLA has also penetrated the networks of US arms corporations and war-launching think-tanks. [Financial Times Sept 3/07]

A Chinese official named Jiang repeated his government’s denial that it had penetrated other government and military computer networks. But British and German newspapers cited intelligence and other officials saying that government and military networks in Germany, the United States and Britain had been broken into by Chinese army hackers this summer. According to the Associated Press: “China’s military has openly discussed using cyber attacks as a means of harrying or defeating a more powerful conventional military. But British and German newspapers cited intelligence and other officials saying that government and military networks in Germany, the United States and Britain had been broken into by Chinese army hackers this summer. According to the Associated Press: “China’s military has openly discussed using cyber attacks as a means of harrying or defeating a more powerful conventional military. In a 1999 paper on unconventional strategies titled ‘Unlimited Warfare’ two top Chinese military figures wrote that a hacker could have more power than a nuclear bomb.”

In a report this year, security software maker Symantec Corp. listed China as having the second most malicious computer activity in the world-after the United States. [AP Sept 6/07]

Speaking as a soldier, Hank commented, “The June hack showed an enormous hole in our ability to protect and communicate our information.

LOST IN SPACE
The next hack came almost immediately, when Russian computers controlling the International Space Station’s orientation and supplies of oxygen and water inexplicably failed while the station’s three crewmembers were hosting seven visiting shuttle astronauts.

Among the station’s network of six Russian computers, only two remained functioning. A system-wide re-boot usually resolved smaller hitches, But this time, the system was unable to re-boot.

“A failure of this type has not occurred before,” the BBC reported. [BBC June 14/07]

“This is serious,” stated James Oberg, a retired rocket scientist turned author and consultant. “These computers run their life support, so if they can’t be restored, the space station could become uninhabitable.” Oberg added, “Statistically, this is not random. There is some new environmental factor that must identified and isolated, and neither step is trivial.” [TechNewsWorld June 14/07]

Russian flight controllers and onboard engineers traced the problem to “odd readings” in electrical power cables feeding the Russian computers through a corroded junction box labeled BOK 3. [Space.com July 16/07]

The gremlins returned to the Russian machines on February 5, when another ISS computer system crashed in the Zvezda Service Module that routes data between orientation sensors and four positioning gyroscopes. The space station’s solar power stopped supplying power, and communications were cut with Earth.

Though power and comms were restored three hours later, New Scientist reports, “The cause of the computer crash remains a mystery. NASA has so far not identified the cause of the crash.” [New Scientist Feb 5/02]

But Hank was on it. “They had limited oxygen, a limited time frame,” he observed. The astronauts onboard the space station didn’t know if the next computer malfunction “would open an airlock.” But like an airliner in flight, the station should have smoothly shifted over to backup systems.

It didn’t.

“The word ‘redundancy’ never got into the story,” Hank pointed out. Instead, all three backup circuit boards wired into three isolated circuits, “had to blow out in the same way at the exact same time. The fault that occurred in the first board, the second board, and the third board all had to be the same damn thing at the same damn time.”

“Impossible,” he declared. Especially, since each of the simultaneously faulty microchips had been “stress tested to hell and back. Except for internal stressors.”

Except for “Made In China” microchip mischief.

While it is not yet confirmed that the February 5 microchip malfunction was related to the June 14 space station hack, according to Hank’s sources, on that earlier date the Chinese pulled the equivalent of Cheney’s Singapore diversion–in space. “Nobody got busted for it,” he adds. “You always hear about the company at fault.”

Not this time.
AC WE SEE
While White House fundamentalists remained mesmerized by the firepower ostensibly under their command, Beijing kept trying to send a very different message. Their next installment came in early September 2007, when US Air Force officers passed through multiple levels of security and entered the inner computer sanctum of America’s Air and Space Command deep under Cheyenne Mountain. This digital repository stores regularly updates archives needed to execute “clean reinstalls” in case air force computer systems crash or are otherwise compromised.

Entering the quietly humming room, the air force officers were shocked to see monitors aglow with light. The displays were supposed to be off. As they watched in shock and awe, randomly typed letters scrolled across a screen. The words were gibberish. But the message was heart-stoppingly clear: “We Can Play With Your Toys!”

The sender “left breadcrumbs,” Hank related. The deliberately attached ISP (Internet Service Provider) pointed to China.

This was bad enough. But what really freaked out the officers was the realization that none of these “stand alone” machines was online. None of them contained a modem!

The only way to access these machines, Hank revealed, is to “use the sneaker net to walk up to it and tap on the keyboard. And yet they were interacting, and they were doing it in real time. They fussed with our stuff. These guys were able to go into what was a stand alone system and take control of it.”

How did the PLA hack supposedly secure air force computers lacking network modems? Just like as select power companies can now pipe the Internet to home computers through electrical power lines, the Chinese were able to play on SAC’s supposedly secure computers through the AC power cables connecting them to the national power… “grid”.

But how did they break supposedly “unbreakable” military encryption?

And how were they able to transmit signals to override specific chips buried under a mountain of granite halfway around the globe? According to Hank, the International Space Station was not in line-of-sight with China when it’s onboard computers and back-up systems simultaneously went down.

HIT MAN
When it comes to dialing up a bomber to drop nuclear weapons on another country, “It’s kind of like hiring a hit man,” Hank explained. You meet him in the parking lot with the assignment, a weapon, and cash. Later, you confirm that you haven’t changed your mind. Then the mission proceeds, and either the target or the hit man is taken out.

In the case of the mission out of Minot, the First Phase began with an initiation order authorizing weapons release to arm a B-52 specially flown in for this operation. Proper codes and paperwork provided the Pilot in Command with an initial heading to fly, and initial waypoints or nav points to punch into the plane’s GPS. No destination was provided. The pilots were just supposed to get in and drive.

They did.

Once the B-52 was airborne, it flew into an electronic black hole. No electromagnetic emissions came from the bomber. There were no radio calls to home base asking, “Are you guys sure you really want to do this?” Even more startling, no coded IFF squawks identified the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fucker) as friendly to prowling post-9/11 fighters. There were no radio calls to home base asking, “Are you guys sure you really want to do this?” Even more startling, no coded IFF squawks identified the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fucker) as friendly to prowling post-9/11 fighters 。 And no transponder beeps identified the airplane and its mission.

This is not the normal procedure for transporting weapons, or flying a B-52 through heavily-trafficked air corridors over the Continental United States. Every aircraft flying at high altitudes over CONUS, (or through Controlled Airspace around airports at lower attitudes) must transmit their identity on an assigned transponder frequency.

Commercial planes squawk in their own dialect. “When you’re talking a government vehicle, like a C-130 [military transport], that’s another level up,” Hank noted. “It’sa different kind of squawk. ATC knows how to treat that kind of traffic differently. A B-52 is another level up. Controllers don’t see that every day. A C-5 [flying down from Colorado to dust a hurricane, for example]-they really don’t see that every day.”

The transponder code of the B-52 out of Minot would have prioritized it to civilian Air Traffic Control, and they would have cleared a corridor for its exclusive track-much like a presidential motorcade.

If this Bad Boy had been transferring six advanced nuclear cruise missiles to Barksdale, as official spin insisted, its transponder would have squawked: “Hey, guess what? We’ve got nukes onboard! Make sure no one runs into us. And if this signal stops scramble recovery people wearing proper attire.”

Or code to that effect.

But this did not happen.

“The Situation Room in the White House was not stood up, but they still have people there,? Hank continued. ?One of their jobs is to track nuclear weapons. Somebody in that head shed should have seen a transponder code matched up with nuclear weapons loaded onto that aircraft. That should have been something that went up on the board. They would have known that a B-52 was getting a full loadout, and that all procedures had been followed. And someone else would have said, ‘ Mmm , six nukes. We’ll keep an eye on it.”

And given an order for radar operators to push a button to highlight that particular blip.

Instead, the blacked-out BUFF flew on.

TARGET IRAN
High in the stratosphere, where the nitrous oxide exhaust from eight fuel-hungry turbines attacked this planet’s shredding ozone layer, boosting global warming another notch toward a catastrophic methane meltdown, wings never designed to carry heavy ordnance flexed up and down like a bird in flight. High in the stratosphere, where the nitrous oxide exhaust from eight fuel-hungry turbines attacked this planet’s shredding ozone layer, boosting global warming another notch toward a catastrophic methane meltdown, wings never designed to carry heavy ordnance flexed up and down like a bird in flight. The crew must have considered the long roster of crashed Stratofortress with ?broken arrows? onboard. Not for a second could they forget that the six live nuclear weapons strapped to their wings were as close to detonation as a gremlin’s wet dream.

Or the fail-safe switch under the Plane Commander’s gloves.

An hour or two out of Minot, a bell chimed in the cockpit and a secure printer spat out a coded paper message. Even if they betrayed no emotion, the pilots must have felt a chill. Because the mission’s next critical Fail-Safe had been passed. “We’ve thought about it, and the mission is still a go,” the message essentially read. If these new orders had not been received, or had been issued incorrectly, the plane would have immediately turned back to the nearest base capable of handling its special needs.

But their orders were in order. Positively authenticated by both pilots as coming from the NCA, the new message received onboard the bomber issued the radio frequencies, call signs and rendezvous coordinates for “hitting” one of three aerial refueling planes constantly orbiting over the Gulf of Mexico. Their new “Go Code” also identified their target region. After topping off their tanks, they were to take up a heading for another Gulf, half a world away.

BLIND MAN’S BUFF
Wouldn’t the base commander, or the other officers involved in sending live nuclear weapons toward Iran have second thoughts about a strike that could trigger an even bigger political-military chain reaction?

Not necessarily, Hank explained. Military leaders usually favor intimidation in place of bloodshed. If the Iranians could be dissuaded from acquiring a nuclear deterrent of their own, or decide to stop supplying their Shiite brothers next door with sophisticated shaped-charge rockets capable of penetrating the depleted uranium hides of M-1 Abrams tanks-terrific! Everyone involved in the mission must have hoped that in this high-stakes brinksmanship, when Iranian sensors picked up the radioactive signature of an inbound American nuclear bomber strike, the mullahs in Teheran would burn their Korans and turn to Jesus.

On the other hand, how do you say “pissed off” in Persian? The mullahs might panic and start pushing buttons of their own. Especially when the Israeli Air Force was notified of the strike, and launched “supporting” fighter-bombers of their own.

In any case, it was out of the hands of the base commander and his immediate superiors. Since any one of these key staff officers could conceivably be kidnapped or impersonated during a nuclear strike, none had the authority to issue a recall order. Even if someone in the chain of command issued an RTB (Return To Base), SAC bomber crews en route to the final IP coordinates to commence their attack are trained to ignore all such entreaties.

In fact, a frantic “Come home for lunch,” or “Call your wife” command would confirm for the crew that something really was amiss, and they were at war.

In this way, a series of rote military assumptions can make an ash out of you and me.

WHAT, ME WORRY?
Meanwhile, the man under whose digitally coded authority this strike was being carried out, remained completely unaware that six nuclear cruise missiles with his name on them were headed toward Iran.

Phase Three would have issued coded authorization to take out their assigned targets. One target confirmed by two highly placed, independent sources was a nuclear power plant hard against the mountains of Iran. “But the bomber would still have five missiles left. And it would not leave the area empty,” Hank insisted. “If they go loaded for bear, they’re not going to leave with a rabbit.”

After all, he added, a pre-BDA [Bomb Damage Assessment] would have been done before launching the bomber “to determine how many it would take. And they needed six ?”

Despite all the Hollywood hype, cruise missiles are notoriously inaccurate. Just ask the folks ducking strays in Kuwait or Iran. Still, a cruise missile striking within 30 miles would have taken out that Iranian power plant. But if the nuclear-tipped ACM had detonated over its pile?

“Bad. Bad. Very bad,” as Hank would say. Because the resulting electromagnetic pulses from such a synergistic chain reaction would have–among other things–fried every unhardened Chinese microchip aboard every American ship, plane and vehicle in the Persian Gulf.

“You don’t have to sink the CAG, just turn it off,” Hank said, referring to the formidable–yet completely microchip dependent–Carrier Air Group steaming off the coast of Iran. “Once they realized that these ships were just bobbing around out there,” the bad guys would have “launched 10,000 rowboats” from surrounding shorelines to go play pirates. “Once they realized that these ships were just bobbing around out there,” the bad guys would have “launched 10000 rowboats” from surrounding shorelines to go play pirates.

Was this why several Chinese Aegis destroyers were steaming in from the east about 250 nautical miles from the Straits of Hormuz? Was this why two or three Chinese submarines had been deployed to the area of the transiting destroyers the week before?

Or were the two Chinese anti-aircraft destroyers part of an elaborate fail-safe in case the demonstration glitched and the bomber could not be recalled? Even if their anti-aircraft missiles could not reach the distant plane (easily tracked through its rigged Chinese chips), specific signals sent from the ship could have turned the plane around. Or its fuel off.

What were the Chinese thinking?

CHINESE CHECKERS
Ever since Katrina, and the subsequent standing wave put up off the south coast of Africa by HAARP to deflect hurricanes from the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Beijing has felt under siege as earthquakes and wild, shipping-interrupting storms continue to be conducted “all the way to China” by the powerful Gakona, Alaskan transmitter. Ever since Katrina, and the subsequent standing wave put up off the south coast of Africa by HAARP to deflect hurricanes from the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Beijing has felt under siege as earthquakes and wild, shipping-interrupting storms continue to be conducted “all the way to China” by the powerful Gakona, Alaskan transmitter. [See “Where Have All The Hurricanes Gone”-upcoming on willthomasonline.net]

Three times, the Chinese have attempted to override HAARP. And failed. Elaborate demonstrations of their electronic warfare capabilities–including fizzing circuits in space, and a face-to-face with the US Vice-President in Singapore–had not persuaded American leaders to A: Refrain from hoisting a false flag over a Persian Gulf of Tonkin, and B: Turn HAARP off. Elaborate demonstrations of their electronic warfare capabilities–including fizzing circuits in space, and a face-to-face with the US Vice-President in Singapore–had not persuaded American leaders to A: Refrain from hoisting a false flag over a Persian Gulf of Tonkin , and B: Turn HAARP off.

Surely, Beijing must have reasoned, ordering a United State Air Force strategic bomber loaded out with six armed nuclear weapons to fly over the United States and then on towards Iran would conclusively demonstrate who was now in charge.

“This op would not have ‘Made In China’ stamped all over it,” Hank pointed out. “Instead, American bombs, American bombers and American systems were used.” No matter how the mission had proceeded, if Washington had been forced to tell the world, “It wasn’t us. We lost control of our bomber carrying six atomic warheads”–how would that have looked to a global audience already angry over America’s misuse of its military might?

Whatever Beijing’s intentions, Hank was not the only person in the US military to have his head rearranged by this latest Chinese demonstration. “They might have wanted to go all the way. Of they might have wanted to put pieces in play and see how far they could go,” he surmised. “Maybe the Chinese started, and stopped it.”

Either way, the unauthorized Minot mission has bluntly shown the White House and the Pentagon: “If you start something, we can stop it. You no longer know how much control you have over your own weapons systems because we can play with them at will. No matter where you are, no matter what you’re doing, if you’re using our chips you are vulnerable. And you can’t know if our Trojan chips are in your systems unless you tear apart every circuits in every surveillance, communications, weapons system, pipelines, telecom and power grid in your entire military and civilian inventory and look. And then dismantle every network they are connected to.”

“And one more thing,” Beijing inferred, “If you take offense and pop off a missile, remember, we might make it do a loop-de-loop and come right back down on its originating silo.”

Hank and others in America’s command hierarchy remain alarmed and puzzled-which makes them even more uneasy. Would China’s leadership have precipitated a cloud of radioactive fallout downwind over their own population? Emphatically, yes . The country’s generals have long counted an expendable population and land mass as key factors in “winning” a nuclear war.

Best case scenario, this recent flight of fancy was a warning for Washington to chill the bomb Iran rhetoric, and dial down HAARP.

“Maybe the Chinese got it right and they were just messin’ with us,” Hank mused. “Or they got it wrong, and something very bad almost happened. But why only one plane? Why stop there? It’sa limited use of a system that is now exposed.”

But what can we do about it?

And what a message it sent!


[See “Cyber War”]

RECALL
Phase Three of the mission would have sent coded target grid coordinates and time(s) of weapon(s) release, as well as updates on weather over the area, enemy defense status and friendly escorts. Those orders never came.

Instead, Phase Four was initiated. When the cockpit teleprinter spat out paper tape again, it read, in so many words: “Forget the whole thing. Abort the mission. Turn back.” The only people capable of issuing a nuclear strike recall order would be the President, the Secretary of Defense, a specific designate of the SecDef authorized by special code. Or a Chinese military hacker.

As Hank notes, “The plane had to be diverted to a base that could handle nuclear weapons.” That would be Barksdale. But…

“Live hot nukes would have tripped alarms on the tarmac when it touched down. Either they were nonfunctional on both ends [Minot and Barksdale], which is scary beyond belief considering what we’re talking about.” Or the Joint Chiefs or the NCA could have ordered the radiation sensors silenced to keep the mission-and the hijacked mission-under wraps. Either they were nonfunctional on both ends [Minot and Barksdale], which is scary beyond belief considering what we’re talking about.” Or the Joint Chiefs or the NCA could have ordered the radiation sensors silenced to keep the mission-and the hijacked mission -under wraps. Or the Chinese could have turned them off. If the system is digital, Beijing probably controls it.

Bottom line: if the incoming bomber had crashed approach, no one responding would have known they were dealing with a quiver-full of “broken arrows”.


BARKSDALE
Thought the missiles were never launched, they still remain in play. As Hank worried, “Six nukes are now forward deployed to the air force base that handles Middle East ops.”

A former counter-terrorism expert with the CIA and the State Department shares his concern. Larry Johnson does not buy the official story that six nuclear weapons were “mistakenly” flown over the USA-not after a retired B-52 pilot reminded him. “The only time you put such weapons on a plane is when they are on alert, or if the crew has been tasked to move the weapons to a specific site.” Besides running nuclear war exercises like the Global Guardian drill it ran on the morning of 9/11, Barksdale AFB deploys “heavies” to the Middle East. “The only time you put such weapons on a plane is when they are on alert, or if the crew has been tasked to move the weapons to a specific site.” Besides running nuclear war exercises like the Global Guardian drill it ran on the morning of 9/11, Barksdale AFB deploys “heavies” to the Middle East.

Like Hank, Johnson wants to know, “Why would we want to preposition nuclear weapons at a base conducting Middle East operations?” His pilot pal believes that an insider leaker tried to send up a bright red flag. Johnson asks, “Did someone at Barksdale try to indirectly warn the American people that the Bush Administration is staging nukes for Iran?” [www.antiwar.com]

But Hank points out another problem. Cruise missiles-which are essentially autonomous, unpiloted drones-have special needs. Since six cruise missiles showing up at Barksdale were an oddity, can they be adequately stored and maintained there? The Gulf Coast is “a very different environment” than Nebraska, Hank emphasizes. How long is Barksdale going to hold onto them? In the hurricane season?

“Are we going to see some of them floating out on the tide?” Hank wants to know. Americans need a big confirm that these weapons have been sent back north to a better home.

This is a question that we all must think hard about because many Governments and private companies around the world are building up vast databases of personal data, biometrics and more.

The UK Government has already begun the roll out of biometric technology in passports, fingerprinting of school children and is well underway with the the UK National ID card and National Identity Register which will allow private companies and public sector to verify UK citizens using a single card and record all this activity. The UK Government has already begun the roll out of biometric technology in passports, fingerprinting of school children and is well underway with the the UK National ID card and National Identity Register which will allow private companies and public sector to verify UK citizens using a single card and record all this activity. The UK ID card will also make use of iris scans, DNA and fingerprints. The UK Govt. also embarked on the NHS NPfIT (National Health Service National Programme for IT) in which all patient records will be centralised and can be accessed from anywhere.

Former PM Tony Blair and his successor have already shown their support for a national DNA database holding DNA for every UK citizen and the Home Office IPS (Identity & Passport Service) are also looking at RFID implants.

The UK Govt. like others has a terrible record when it comes to delivering IT projects and recent cases where NHS staff where viewing the records of a celebrity being treated at a different hospital, CSA (Child Support Agency) failing to deliver anything, NHS staff swapping swipe cards and leaving passwords at computer terminals and a report from the US about a company forcing RFID implants upon it’s staff are all signs of what is to come. like others has a terrible record when it comes to delivering IT projects and recent cases where NHS staff where viewing the records of a celebrity being treated at a different hospital, CSA (Child Support Agency) failing to deliver anything, NHS staff swapping swipe cards and leaving passwords at computer terminals and a report from the US about a company forcing RFID implants upon it’s staff are all signs of what is to come.

Should we be embarking on these projects to use this IT technology to monitor, track, document and watch citizens 24/7?

HM Government and UK citizens have no formal relationship documented in the form of a constitution and this therefore allows this UK Government and future ones the right to use these systems as they like.

What implications for the future?
Do you want the police and Government to know your entire private life?
Is it the job of Govt. to award citizens identity or is it just the job of Govt. to serve the people?

http://www.zdnet.co.uk/forums/0,1000000782,39289511-39001037c-20087441o,00.htm

The UK’s big five mobile phone firms have switched on a payment system that turns handsets into digital wallets. Called PayForIt, the scheme is designed for those buying goods and services with a value of up to £10.

The industry hopes it will be used to pay for ringtones, train tickets, parking fees and eventually as a payment system on web shops and sites.

Any cash spent via the scheme will automatically be added on to a customer’s phone bill.

Cash crunch

The scheme standardises the way phones can be used to make payments so the process is the same no matter which operator a customer has signed up for or which handset they are using.

Mike Short, chairman of the Mobile Data Association, said PayForIt had been developed as an alternative to other systems such as premium rate SMS.

Many people, said Mr Short, were unhappy using that payment system because of past uncertainty about how much they would pay and who they turn to if things go wrong.

“It’s for those customers who have not felt comfortable with mobile transactions or payments,” he said.

Trust in mobile payments would be boosted, said Mr Short because shoppers will know who they are buying from and what they are spending.

Anyone paying for goods with PayForIt will see an information screen that lays out what they have bought, who it has been bought from and how much it will cost.

“It’s about opening up the micro payment choices,” said Mr Short, “but it’s not a total cash replacement.”

PayForIt will appear as a payment option on sites that people can get to via their handset and soon will also appear as a way to pay on websites too, said Mr Short.

Bad experiences have made some wary of paying via handset

Companies such as I-play, Gameloft, EA, Multimap, SonyEricsson and Samsung have become the first to sign up and let people pay using the PayForIt system.

PayForIt was first announced in March 2006 and the official start date for the scheme was 1 September.

“Most big brands would not use premium rate SMS to run their services, it’s not a good experience, it’s not consumer friendly,” said Anuj Khanna, a spokesman for Tanla Mobile which is one of the firms administering payments made via PayForIt. “Most big brands would not use premium rate SMS to run their services, it’s not a good experience, it’s not consumer friendly,” said Anuj Khanna, a spokesman for Tanla Mobile which is one of the firms administering payments made via PayForIt.

“It’s entirely geared at the low value, high volume transaction market,” he said.

Paul Hunt, an expert on mobile commerce at consultancy Atos Origin, said there had been many failed attempts to set up similar schemes in the past. He said PayForIt has a good chance of success.

“There’sa much wider age range of mobile users and the capabilities of handsets have changed,” he said. “The click to buy reality is catching up with the hype.”

But, he added, the backers of the scheme had to work hard to distinguish PayForIt from alternatives to ensure people realise how it differs from other schemes.

BBC

Daily Mail

Bank customers could soon enter their PIN codes at cash machines just by looking at the numbers in the right order.

The system is designed to beat fraudsters looking over your shoulder to see which keys you press.

The technology, called EyePassword, is being developed in America - and High Street banks in Britain are already interested in using it.

It works by shining an infrared light on your eye. This stays in the same spot on your eye no matter where you look.

As you gaze at the cash dispenser key pad, your pupil moves. When your eye comes to rest on a number, a camera compares the position of your pupil with the fixed light in your eye.

The system is then able to work out which direction your pupil has moved in and how far and, therefore, which number you are looking at.

EyePassword has a three per cent error rate and it can take six times longer to enter your pin.

But Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have expressed an interest in the technology.

However, its inventor, Manu Kumar, of California’s Stanford University, warned: “There are lots of issues to be resolved, probably the biggest one being cost.”

Computer security specialist Dr Jeff Yan, of Newcastle University, said cash dispensers using EyePassword could cost £5,000, £3,000 more than a conventional ATM. Computer security specialist Dr Jeff Yan, of Newcastle University, said cash dispensers using EyePassword could cost £5000, £3000 more than a conventional ATM.

The Observer

Benefit claimants and job seekers could be forced to take lie detector tests as early as next year after an early review of a pilot scheme exposed 126 benefit cheats in just three months, saving one local authority £110,000. Benefit claimants and job seekers could be forced to take lie detector tests as early as next year after an early review of a pilot scheme exposed 126 benefit cheats in just three months, saving one local authority £110000.
Last May, the Department for Work and Pensions asked Harrow council in London to undertake a year-long, £63,000 pilot of the ground-breaking Voice Risk Analysis (VRA) technology. Last May, the Department for Work and Pensions asked Harrow council in London to undertake a year-long, £63000 pilot of the ground-breaking Voice Risk Analysis (VRA) technology.

‘We will wait until the end of the formal evaluation period to make a final decision about rolling the technology out across the country but this early review by the council is very positive,’ said a spokesman for the DWP.

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‘If our own review comes to similar conclusions to Harrow’s, we would like to see this technology rolled out across Britain as soon as possible.’
VRA technology works by measuring slight, inaudible fluctuations in the human voice known as ‘micro-tremors’ that indicate when a speaker delivers words under stress, and when those moments of stress are generated by an attempt to deceive. Voice patterns are analysed and displayed on a computer.

Normal speech ranges in frequency from 8 to 12 hertz. When they are being honest, the average sound is below 10 hertz. When they lie, the stress causes the frequency to rise to above 10 hertz.

‘This technology is successfully used in the insurance industry and analyses changes in a caller’s voice, giving an indication of the level of risk that they are lying,’ said Richard Sheridan from Capita Group which owns the technology and is helping implementation for Harrow council. ‘This technology is successfully used in the insurance industry and analyses changes in a caller’s voice, giving an indication of the level of risk that they are lying,’ said Richard Sheridan from Capita Group which owns the technology and is helping implementation for Harrow council. ‘These changes are measured against the caller’s “normal” voice which is recorded at the beginning of the phone call, ensuring that nervousness or shyness is not a trigger. If the technology flags up a caller as being suspicious, they will be asked to provide extra evidence to support their claim.’

The technology is being tested on people claiming housing or council tax benefit but will be extended at Harrow Jobcentre for other benefits this year. The government claims the technology also improves services.

‘Operators trained in intelligent questioning and behavioural analysis will use the system to identify suspect cases at the start of the claim process, enabling low-risk claimants to be fast-tracked,’ said a DWP spokesman.

Over the past two years the procedure for claiming benefits has been reformed. The claim often begins with a telephone interview, after which people may need to provide evidence and sign forms.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said the system ‘adds to the demonisation of claimants’.

‘Whatever their views on welfare policy, anyone who cares about science and reason should also be alarmed: lie detectors do not work, they are as likely to finger the innocent but nervous as the genuinely guilty,’ he said. ‘Innocent people will account for a majority of those whose claims are delayed while they provide extra evidence.’

Experts in America, where the most comprehensive scrutiny of the technology has taken place, warn that the technology is far from failsafe.

David Ashe, chief deputy of the Virginia Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation, said, ‘The experience of being tested, or of claiming a benefit and being told that your voice is being checked for lies, is inherently stressful.

‘Lie detector tests have a tendency to pass people for whom deception is a way of life and fail those who are scrupulously honest.’

By Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache

A recent federal court decision raises the question of whether antivirus companies may intentionally overlook spyware that is secretly placed on computers by police.

In the case decided earlier this month by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, federal agents used spyware with a keystroke logger–call it fedware–to record the typing of a suspected Ecstasy manufacturer who used encryption to thwart the police.

A CNET News.com survey of 13 leading antispyware vendors found that not one company acknowledged cooperating unofficially with government agencies. Some, however, indicated that they would not alert customers to the presence of fedware if they were ordered by a court to remain quiet.

Most of the companies surveyed, which covered the range from tiny firms to Symantec and IBM, said they never had received such a court order. The full list of companies surveyed: AVG/Grisoft, Computer Associates, Check Point, eEye, IBM, Kaspersky Lab, McAfee, Microsoft, Sana Security, Sophos, Symantec, Trend Micro and Websense. Only McAfee and Microsoft flatly declined to answer that question. (Click here for the verbatim responses to the survey.)

Because only two known criminal prosecutions in the United States involve police use of key loggers, important legal rules remain unsettled. But key logger makers say that police and investigative agencies are frequent customers, in part because recording keystrokes can bypass the increasingly common use of encryption to scramble communications and hard drives. Microsoft’s Windows Vista and Apple’s OS X include built-in encryption.

Some companies that responded to the survey were vehemently pro-privacy. “Our customers are paying us for a service, to protect them from all forms of malicious code,” said Marc Maiffret, eEye Digital Security’s co-founder and chief technology officer. “It is not up to us to do law enforcement’s job for them so we do not, and will not, make any exceptions for law enforcement malware or other tools.” eEye sells Blink Personal for $25, which includes antivirus and antispyware features.

Others were more conciliatory. Check Point, which makes the popular ZoneAlarm utility, said it would offer federal police the “same courtesy” that it extends to legitimate third-party vendors that request to be whitelisted. A Check Point representative said, though, that the company had “never been” in that situation.

This isn’t exactly a new question. After the last high-profile case in which federal agents turned to a key logger, some security companies allegedly volunteered to ignore fedware. The Associated Press reported in 2001 that “McAfee Corp. contacted the FBI… to ensure its software wouldn’t inadvertently detect the bureau’s snooping software.” McAfee subsequently said the report was inaccurate.

Later that year, the FBI confirmed that it was creating spy software called “ Magic Lantern ” that would allow agents to inject keystroke loggers remotely through a virus without having physical access to the computer. (In both the recent Ecstasy case and the earlier key logging case involving an alleged mobster , federal agents obtained court orders authorizing them to break into buildings to install key loggers.)

Government agencies and backdoors in technology products have a long and frequently clandestine relationship. One 1995 expose by the Baltimore Sun described how the National Security Agency persuaded a Swiss firm, Crypto, to build backdoors into its encryption devices. In his 1982 book, The Puzzle Palace , author James Bamford described how the NSA’s predecessor in 1945 coerced Western Union, RCA and ITT Communications to turn over telegraph traffic to the feds.

More recently, after the BBC reported last year on supposed talks between the British government and Microsoft, the software maker pledged not to build backdoors into Windows Vista’s encryption functions.

By Mick Meaney
RINF Alternative News

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, US, have managed to light a 60-watt light bulb from an energy source seven feet away. They hope the system can be adapted to charge mobile phones, MP3 players, laptops and other appliances. The technology is being dubbed “WiTricity” by the scientists.

Nicola Tesla demonstrated the potential over 100 years ago, in Colorado Springs in 1899 by lighting 200 light bulbs - from 26 miles away.

The new approach involves two coils joined by an invisible resonating magnetic field with one coil attached to a power source acting as a sender unite, the field resonates with a receiver coil.

One coil attached to a power source acts as a sender unit and the field resonates with a receiver coil, inducing a current to flow through it.

Professor Peter Fisher, who helped to conduct the research said: “As long as the laptop is in a room equipped with a source of such wireless power, it would charge automatically, without having to be plugged in. In fact, it would not even need a battery to operate inside of such a room.” Professor Peter Fisher, who helped to conduct the research said: “As long as the laptop is in a room equipped with a source of such wireless power, it would charge automatically, without having to be plugged in. In fact, it would not even need a battery to operate inside of such a room.”