Auckland Transport is in damage control. Ever since HP started boasting about the mass surveillance abilities of the upgrade to Auckland’s road safety camera infrastructure, Auckland Transport have sent their team of winged monkeys from PR to swoop on blogs and issue reassuring meaningless words to an educated population highly suspicious of mass surveillance.
HP will use Auckland’s existing network of road cameras and marry it up to software that can recognise faces and then connect those faces to twitter or Facebook or other social media platforms. This is a bewildering military upgrade of a civilian network that is supposed to be used for monitoring traffic flows and ‘vandalism’. All of a sudden it’s been upgraded to tracking criminals and terrorists.
Why the living Christ would any one of us seriously want a bloated company like Auckland Transport having that level of surveillance power over Aucklanders? Who is the Auckland Transport company to trace terrorists or criminals?
TDB has been paid a visit by one of Auckland Transport’s winged monkeys from PR who posted a list of responses to the allegations that the new system was a mass surveillance tool. Here are Auckland Transport’s response in full…
Martyn,
The Stuff story got a few things wrong.
Auckland Transport currently has five video systems which it inherited, this will bring it down to one processing system.
We are not installing new cameras, this is a “back end” system for the approximately 1800 cameras we have access to covering intersections, railway and busway stations. Initially we will be doing a trial using 100 cameras.
The system will be used to monitor traffic flows, vandalism and safety. We will not be using any capability which identifies faces or number plates, our cameras do not have the ability to do that.
Let’s be very clear NO information is being sent to the United States. Information can be stored on our system in Auckland for a maximum of 7 days.
We are working through draft policies with the Privacy Commissioner and will make the policies public before any changes are made.
This is a $2million upgrade of a system we have had for 10 years, there is nothing new here other than that we are going to one processing system and we are introducing some automation.
Mark Hannan, Media Relations Manager, Auckland Transport
…here is why everything the winged monkey from PR has to say doesn’t mean a damned thing. The TICS legislation that National rammed through last year was the enabling legislation of the GCSB mass surveillance law. It means that any telecommunications network, including the one Auckland Transport run, can be tapped on the shoulder at any time and told to allow the GCSB to hop a ride on their network AND Auckland Transport are gagged from telling us that their network is being bugged by the GCSB.
Just pause there and let that sink in. The TICS law gags the company from telling you and me, the consumer, that they are being spied upon by the GCSB. How can this be possible you gasp? Well, we tried informing people of this when the law was being rammed through last November, but we didn’t get a property renovation game show contestant to front it, so that’s why it went under the mainstream media radar.
It is only a matter of time before new cameras are mooted to replace the old ones so the full mass surveillance capabilities of what HP are promising can be implemented and once the GCSB quietly inform Auckland Transport that their system will now be bugged by the GCSB and handed to the NSA , there isn’t a god damned thing Auckland Tranpsort can do about it.
Mark Hannan can get all 181 members of Auckland Transport’s management team who now earn over $100 000 a year to film a Youtube clip where they open singing Kumbaya My Lord, follow it up with a sworn oath statement on a stack of Bibles that their camera system will never be used for mass surveillance and close while humming Michael-row-the-bloody-boat-ashore and it won’t make a lick of difference.
Once the network has the capability of mass surveillance, it will be tapped by GCSB and Auckland Transport will be gagged from informing any of us that they’ve done that.
Sleepy Hobbits get the eye of Mordor they deserve.
Good work Martyn, this is what I come here to read and why I type Daily Blog into the search engine and not NZ Herald or Stuff.
For the endless procession of Left-leaning blogs whining the media aren’t doing their job and that there’s no way to do anything about it, here is a blogger using a blog to present information and facts people need to know. I had no idea about the workings of TICS legislation.
(The first link after the PR transcript is “blocked” for some reason?)
If it’s small consolation, if the roll-out of the Hop card was anything to go by, any system that tries to spy or connect to AT systems will be idiotically obstructed and crashed by an incompetent team of earth-bound IT monkeys… at least for a few years.
Since the introduction of the first CCTV cameras for the NZ Police, when I stood outside the Ferry Building handing out flyers alerting people to the fact that they were being watched I have observed the expansion of surveillance in New Zealand.
Then, as now, one of the first responses was always, “I have nothing to hide, so why should I have anything to fear.” Sound familiar? The answer of course is, why the heck are you being watched then? If you are a law-abiding citizen, permanent resident or visitor of New Zealand, why should your actions be monitored and recorded? The response is usually that these are crime reduction measures designed to improve safety. To be honest, I’ve never felt unsafe in Auckland, your mileage may vary. Even if I did however, these measures do nothing to reduce crime, they don’t stop it, they either record it for later review, or if the perpetrators are smart move the crime to a different area.
Martyn’s erudite outlining of how these systems show how they dovetail neatly into controversial legislation passed last year allowing for our intelligence agencies to utilise the system for their own ends. Things start getting pretty grim then. That’s not even to mention the possibility of criminals themselves getting access to the system. Monitoring tourists with fat wallets and sending in muggers to cut them off when they’re least aware.
If you want Orwell’s 1984, this is how it starts.
Private investigation company in Auck is probably behind it , an American firm called Palantir is a classed as investigation but hired high tech IT specialists. The moment of truth said there was a surveillance outfit in Auck. this firm does not need govnt approval or permission ,so it can be said govnt isn’t mass surveiling , another spy center is Warkworth .all this info can be found in Wakeup Kiwi.
Just a little correction there, wakeupkiwi had that bit wrong as far as I know. The warkworth station is a satellite uplink facility used by a combination of regular Broadcasters and Telecommunications companies if my recall is correct. Not to mention that there is no “Radome” over the dish.
The giant white ‘golf balls’ you see in imagery of satellite intercept stations such as Waihopi,and on Naval Vessels worldwide are examples of radomes. Their purpose is to stop visual identification of what portion of the sky the dishes are pointing at by an adversary, as such knowledge can be used for countersurveillance measures or electronic warfare countermeasures.
With respect to “..The answer of course is, why the heck are you being watched then? If you are a law-abiding citizen, permanent resident or visitor of New Zealand, why should your actions be monitored and recorded?”
Well, if in monitoring for the baddies they happen to capture some imagery of me then I’m not really too bothered by it. How else are we supposed to keep our law abiding citizens safe from those that want to do us harm?
I feel truly sorry for those who live in unnecessary fear throughout their everyday lives and truly contemptuous of those who drum up the imaginary threats that make it so.
If your reply was suggesting that I live in fear, I can advise that I don’t at all. But my point remains valid nonetheless.
“How else are we supposed to keep our law abiding citizens safe…”
Keeping “people safe” at the cost of innocent blood spilled by the security partners of the state.
Don’t expect to escape retribution when you go to gangsters for protection.
I would repeat Jefferson’s comment “- I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it”…….
What’s valid to you is far from necessarily being valid to us. Just because you feel fine with it, doesn’t mean we do.
So complacent mike , do you really understand what mass surveillance means ?
When one the cameras glances at your face ,it can tell who you are if your married are you cheating on your wife ,what job you have ,how many children ,have you paid your tax ,etc etc etc. the spies probably wont be interested in you right now ,but they can use your info if they want,still complacent much ?
Yeah Elle, I have a very good grasp of what mass surveillance means, and I also have an appreciation of the technology required to achieve it.
With the right technology all of what you are saying could be achieved, but you know what, I still aren’t overly bothered by it. If anyone wants to check me out in that fashion I have no issue with it, they will likely fall asleep before long as there’s not much to get excited about.
I don’t think I’m complacent as you put it, but if that is the adjective you want to use to describe me then that’s fine by me.
There’s a huge implication that most people aren’t aware of behind these discussion and that is that the GCSB is totally competent at what it does. Given that there is no effective oversight of the GCSB we have no idea if they’re competent or even capable of ethical behavior.
We do know however that there is a constant stream of news about secret service cock ups and dodgy behaviour around the world (and in NZ) so I’m not brimming with confidence.
We also know that the secret services are fast becoming an extension of the US corporate state which means anyone working on environmental or social issues is probably going to come to their attention.
Anyone who uses the “If you’ve got nothing to hide…” line is being willfully naive – not that I blame them, it’s all very unsettling to dwell on topics like this.
If you are fearful Mr Christie then don’t read blogs . The things talked about are pretty much reality not imaginary. The ones you need to be fearful of are government agencies.Do you know if you are born in NZ for instance,you are registered through your birth certificate as an asset of NZ inc on new York stock exchange , this info is used as a means of governments to borrow money using you as an asset ie future salary or wealth, property etc, we in nz have borrowed $80billion,
if the lenders decide to get their money back they can bankrupt a country and take back the wealth of the assets the people. In nz the Crown is said to own all the land in nz we are classed as keepers only.
If we become a republic the land will probably be handed over to the government.
A new flag could herald the start of a republic and you can guess who will be in charge, President Key maybe ,hes very keen to change the flag.
People prefer to rubbish claims of a New World Order as conspiracy theories, favourite word of the perpertrators of the NWO.
Maybe its best to remain in ignorance because its well on its way.
its been planned for at least the last 50 years ,if we are armed with knowledge we can be prepared in some way .
Believe me or not.
Your claims are incredibly far fetched Elle… me, my partner and my son listed as an asset on the NYSE? Really?
Is there such a thing as NZ Inc. on the NYSE? I honestly don’t know but I seriously doubt it. A quick google stalk didn’t suggest that there is. Can you demonstrate the evidence behind that statement?
Curious Mike
Mike, you had a perfectly sensible question, “How else are we supposed to keep our law abiding citizens safe from those that want to do us harm?” Real police normally suffice. The sight of some of our men or women in blue walking the beat is far more likely to deter crime and also, more importantly, far more likely to stop a crime in progress.
Video footage is only any good for retrospectively trying to identify offenders, by then the crime has been committed and the victims harmed. I’d prefer to have a system in place that actually works for the stated purpose.
Additional to this issue though is the wider topic of social control through surveillance, Jeremy Bentham’s work on the Panopticon is of course a classic on the subject. Many think that such a system of surveillance is oppressive and impinges on their liberty. I agree with them, it sounds like you don’t.
Freeman, I wholeheartedly agree that ‘bobbies on the beat’ is a great way to go, I wish there were more of them out there doing just that.
You’re right, I don’t (currently) think that a system of surveillance is oppressive. The fact that I may/will be watched and recorded is not going to stop me going about my business, so I don’t consider my self oppressed.
But wait till they datamine the data. And use it to set the agenda in the media.
Mike if you want the info go to Wake Up Kiwi, I doubt you would get it on google ,info wouldn’t be allowed probably.
do we deserve this sort of crap though? I mean, what the bloody blue blazes can we do about it? I wrote John Key a long email pointing out my concernes ans asked about seven questions requiring him to justify the unjustifiable concerning the GCSB retrospective legislation. This email was copied to the leaders of every political party in Parliament. Even Hone Harawira got a copy.
Aside froma few acknowledgements, and one fairly substantive reply (from the Greens I think, actually), I got diddly-squat from the PM’s office.
Maybe I ought to have written by snail mail. I know how the system of letters to MPs and Ministers works (or used to work), but by email may be different. The Spam function can certainly ‘weed out’ unwanted communications.
I call these sorts of communications ‘being ignored by email.’
My problem is that I lack the imagination to figure out how to obtain the sort of government I deserve, or one that I feel New Zealanders as a whole deserve. I know what I want, but how to compass it? That is the question.
Big Deal. They’ll only use to generate more parking tickets anyway. The iPhone you wrote and posted this blog with is far more invasive than a camera at an intersection. And hey, when you get knocked off your bike, at least with the new system they hold the data for 7 days – not zero like it is at the moment.
Ellen is correct actually. Mike ,I am on my tablet so I am unable
At the moment to provide you with the link or to do research for you, but youwill find the crown new Zealand Ltd is registered
On the securtites commission rregistar whichis public information just like finding a business in nz listedon our nz business registery. Look it up I dare you. Then again you don’tseem too sharp, maybe your a mellowflurodated water drinker,incapable of seeing theforrest for the trees. 1984 is not a guide book & I am not fooled. By the new speakfrom any of the public relations or appoligests.
Why make a personal attack on me Slippery? I have asked a question, and/or simply provided my view on something. There is no need for a response that attempts to belittle me and denigrates to name calling just because we have differing views on things. Aren’t these types of ‘forums’ meant to be about open discourse..?
I trust you’re not the same MIKE as MIKE@NZ, for he would be the “slippery” one to be complaining about personal attacks as the below link shows…
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/06/18/you-aint-seen-nothing-yet/#comments
No. Not the same person.
My apologises if I’m mistaken about your identity, but I do think the tone of your comments is very similar to those of MIKE@NZ.
Given the views you have expressed here I’m sure you would be quite happy for TDB administrators to carry out a check that the two Mike’s don’t share the same email address!
(The above paragraph is a cheeky tongue in cheek reaction to your views on surveillance – I have more faith in TDB protecting your privacy than this current government.)
Yes you are entitled to ask Mike ,you are entitled to your opinion
and you are entitled to question what is a very scary situation .
Don’t take what slippery says as personal , some people bother to investigate situations , telling people its far fetched ,conspiracy theory etc is used by the people who don’t want us to know, I appreciate your comments .
The capability to scan faces appears to have been implemented with the digitizing of the drivers license photo image back in the late 1990s. If the details in the link below are reflective, then there were shady dealings with preceded the ‘passing’ of legislation.
Note the sidelining of the concern expressed by the privacy commissioner at the time, and lies from politicians, and regulatory departments.
Sounds familiar doesn’t it.
http://www.celticnz.co.nz/transport/Time_Line.htm
Similarly, here are some links from the UK, and the levels of tracking and surveillance which can be found -2009
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/mar/31/surveillance-transport-communication-box
2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/motorinsurance/10837263/Drivers-without-insurance-black-box-could-be-forced-off-the-road-within-10-years.html
And below is the link to the CVIS (EU) road map
http://www.cvisproject.org/downloa/CVIS_Handbook_FINAL%20Version.pdf
Note to mods – Will keep with my name going forward.
Don’t even need the GCSB legislation or the GCSB as the data will be going direct to Palo Alto for processing by HP which means that it will be going straight to the NSA.
AT = Auckland’s Traitors.
” Sleepy Hobbits get the eye of Mordor they deserve. ”
But we’re no longer Sleepy Hobbits . We’re wide awake . The problem is … now what ?
We’ve seen it . We’ve heard it . We know it . We loath it .
Now what ? Any fucking suggestions ? Because I’m all out .
See ? There in lies the rub .
For example .
We all know we’re going to die . Sooner or later but what can we do about it ? Fuck all , is my observation . We can only prolong the inevitable .
We all know that jonky and his minions are up to no good . And that , to his shame is a bit of a hitch in his grand plan I must say . Outed by his own arrogance but now what ?
Could this be a clue ?
Going with the flow ?
( This looks awesome by the way . )
http://youtu.be/lyzHiBcGRC8
The interminably annoying thing about Dictators and Grand Rulers is that they let the enjoyment of dominating their minions get in the way of their common sense . Now , if I were a nut job getting a stiffy off having power over others I’d try and keep it a secret lest they be woken Precious .
It seems that at least a small part of the frisson for the clinically insane power freak is that they must be seen to be insane . Otherwise , they’d just do what they do and that is to fuck us over for their profit while making sure we’d be none the wiser . But no . They must be seen to be doing the fucking . The unfortunate side effect of that is to attract unwelcome , yet welcome attention . How odd’s that ?
How can we compete with such logic ?
The more we convince them that they’re nuts , the more they need us to convince them of their nuttiness . Is that why they’re nuts in the first place ?
They’re crazy because we hope to God they’re not but they are so here’s their erection ! So , it’s our fault that they are able to be as insane as they need to be . OMG ! ? We are their resource . If we stopped seeing them as nuts , or worse , became as nutty as them , then they’d cease to be . O.M.G. ! I’ve just penned a synopsis for a Sunday Night Horror !
Once we become Them . They cease to [be] … to us . Ooooohhhh Jesus . That’s freaky , freaky shit .
And in case you’re wondering ? No , I’m not stoned . That makes it even more freaky . And that’s freaky in itself .
How do I nutshell this ?
We , normal humans , are being subjected to the nuisances of the insane . The very presence of people who want to be , indeed , crave to be politicians is proof of the presence of a madness in them .
Jonky is nuts . Cunliffe is nuts too . All the most successful politicians we can name are equally barking fucking mad . The only politicians who are not insane . Who are not motivated by a dark desire to dominate , therefore appear dominant when their heart of hearts whispers to them that they are weak and inferior are those who die of their own swords . They behave for the common good and so will always succumb within the arena they do battle .
Who do you know , who suffered that fate ?
Hone Hariwira . That’s who . He’s the only bugger who fell on his own anti-insane sword for the people he loves . No one else . He should be given a fucking medal . Hone ? I know you hate white people . I know you’re angry at us for who we are and what we did , and do to your people , but respect man . Respect .
Those who fail in this insane system of ours are those who can only truly succeed . How bizarre is that ?
And in the matters of nothing to hide means nothing to fear and the totalitarian state …….. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/05/mps-police-ripa-powers-snoop-journalists.
At the risk of irritating the mods here I’m going to repost my comment from the other article on this matter with some minor edits, because I see it has had no comments other than mine since the 2nd or so. (Sorry mods). It’s a pity the website system here doesn’t bump articles which are a few days old but with recent comments nearer the ‘top’ of the page, as frequently one can find a lot of great insight from our commentators upon many prevailing issues.
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As another astute commentator points out in Martyns other *this* article on this ‘panopticon’ intrusion into the lives of Aucklanders, the HP System uses a “cloud” server infrustructure based in the USA. This is directly mentioned in the stuff newspapers article. A “cloud server” or “the cloud” are just marketing-speak for a large array of interconnected computer servers sometimes in one location and sometimes scattered between many datacentres (large buildings full of thousands of computers), and doesn’t imply any implicit gain in security design or architecture. I just wanted to make that clear for our less technically inclined readers.
I’m pleased to see Martyn himself and other commentators pointing out also that the ability to do Facial Recognition HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the camera’s capability itself. It is purely a software function able to be easily enabled at any future time!
Modern CCTV systems on the small scale are typically older Analogue Camera’s fed to a Digital Hard-disk based recorder, and digitized in realtime into binary streams of information, which are then compressed with a lossy CODEC just like a camcorder or gopro camera would do. Sometimes they are digital all the way from the image sensor to controller in the form of Ethernet, but it makes no difference for the purposes of this comment. Usually the rack mount controller unit (you can see in your local dairy or store) has about 8 to 16 separate Camera inputs. The function of the customised Controller/Hard Disk Recorder is to record all those camera feeds simultaenously to hard disc, and to offer processing of the imagery during this or afterward. Capabilities differ but face tracking or AI enhanced recognition is pretty standard these days as well.
Take the above turnkey systems ability into consideration, with it’s limited cost and then consider what a “cloud” of thousands of high powered HP servers can do in realtime with everyone’s mugshot, combined with all the other vast databases,and new over-the-top surveillance programs used amongst the 5 eyes, and you can start to see what privacy advocates are actually concerned about. It’s the thin end of the wedge, as the saying goes… This should be covered by Campbell Live or some other reporter who cares about day to day society in NZ, as it is very big news indeed and most Kiwi’s would be shocked by it’s potential orwellian implications.
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