Science Addiction

Is your child growing up with false hope? Never fear, Playmobil has just the toy for you:

From the Manufacturer: The traveler hands her spare change and watch to the security guard and proceeds through the metal detector. With no time to spare, she picks up her luggage and hurries to board her flight!

Presenting, the Playmobil Security Check Point- so your child can fantasize about a police-state before living in one. If your lucky, maybe she can run it! Of course, the best part are the reviews:

I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger’s shoes cannot be removed. Then, we placed a deadly fingernail file underneath the passenger’s scarf, and neither the detector doorway nor the security wand picked it up. My son said “that’s the worst security ever!”. But it turned out to be okay, because when the passenger got on the Playmobil B757 and tried to hijack it, she was mobbed by a couple of other heroic passengers, who only sustained minor injuries in the scuffle, which were treated at the Playmobil Hospital.

The best thing about this product is that it teaches kids about the realities of living in a high-surveillence society. My son said he wants the Playmobil Neighborhood Surveillence System set for Christmas. I’ve heard that the CC TV cameras on that thing are pretty worthless in terms of quality and motion detection, so I think I’ll get him the Playmobil Abu-Gharib Interogation Set instead (it comes with a cute little memo from George Bush).

Of course, remind your kid to leave the set at home the next time you travel. Never know what will happen if the authorities find a detailed model of their awesome security system in your luggage.

(via Schneier and Threat Level)

I created this video on a whim. I call it: “First, They Came for the Box Cutters”

According to an article at Wired.com, “FBI personnel who used misleading emergency letters to acquire thousands of Americans’ phone records are the subject of a criminal investigation [...] The privately disclosed investigation would mark the first time government officials have faced possible prosecution for misuse of Patriot Act investigative tools.”

Also- you can help out the EFF go through the documents received via Freedom of Information Act requests regarding the FBI PATRIOT ACT abuses.

Wired has put up a list of the worst privacy debacles in the United States of all time. Of course, since this article was prompted by the AOL debacle that incident in particular has not made the list. I wonder if it would have made the list, and if so, at what position. I would rank it pretty high on importance on principle but low on potential damage to individuals.

This list is pretty good, and the #1 position is my favorite:

1. The creation of the Social Security Number:
Although security blogger Adam Shostack is known for his expertise on information-age data leaks, he considers the creation of the Social Security Number in 1936 to be the “largest privacy disaster in the history of the U.S.” Referencing controversy over the card’s creation at the time, he said, “Ironically, privacy advocates warned that the number would become a de facto national ID, and their concerns were belittled, then proven right, setting a pattern that still goes on today.”

The repercussions of the severe breach of trust by AOL a few weeks ago, when they released the search records of more than 650,000 users, are beginning to be felt by those responsible.

AP is reporting that three employees connected with the release of the records are no longer working for the company. The individual researcher and his/her supervisor have been fired and the chief technology officer Maureen Govern has either been fired or has resigned.

Holding individuals responsible is a good starting point, but is far from enough. This move only sends a signal to other employees within the company, but there is still no clear message for other companies with similar lax data retention and release policies. AOL must suffer heavy financial consequences so that every company that is entrusted with customer information considers it in their best interest to take that trust seriously. As things stand right now, there is only a vague threat of losing customers but unfortunately this is neither tangible nor obvious.

AOL has put our privacy at risk by publicly disclosing the recent search history of 650,000 users. This wrong in so many different ways- and yes, your search queries say a lot about you, including your identity. The New York Times discovered just who AOL Searcher #4417749 was just using their search strings. Read more »

This is fantastic news- a federal judge ruled today that the NSA eavesdropping program is unconstitutional in the case that the ACLU brought against it. The government contended that it was within the President’s authority, and the details were state secrets but the judge did not buy it. The ACLU argument was that the President had already admitted the program and the publicly available information was sufficient for the judge to rule on.

The judge ordered an immediate halt to the program.

UPDATE:

• A pdf of the judge’s ruling
• A quote from the judge:

  Judge Taylor states that ”[t]here are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution,” so all the president’s “inherent powers” must derive from the Constitution.

UPDATE #2

• Attorney General Gonzales says he will appeal to a higher court. Contribute to the ACLU to keep up the good fight.