~e; personal radar, or dual-use celltowers

[human being <human@electronetwork.org>]

// URL nabbed from the TSCM-List, and too amazing not to post
// in full, for educational purposes. the advance here is an
// unforeseen one, it seems. that mobile phone infrastructures
// could help 'see' through radar. one of the bigger technical
// achievements, it has been said, during the early 2oth century
// was radar, as it changed the battlefield. today, this radar
// is using radio waves, and visualizing static and moving objects.
// the graphic description of tracking people is unclear, if it
// is through radar as it is described, and the below quote makes
// the most sense in this regard....

"If the radar picked up movement then a single camera could be focused 
on a specific area."

// meaning that if the current mobile network was retrofitted or
// extended for use as a radar surveillance network, the actual
// vision-thing would be done by a closed-circuit TV camera. it
// is unknown how such data could be gleaned unless it is to be
// processed centrally, and has vertical hierarchical flowthru
// to local and national organizations, in order to do what is
// said (.gov level). not trying to make this any more wild than
// it is by itself, yet for this system to work, centralization
// and 'the centralized computer' or database would seem a needed
// tool. and, currently, i believe 'traffic cams' are said to be
// used in looking for the car of the sniper on the east coast
// of the USA, as a way of tracking the otherwise untrackable.
// all very amazing, scary, and unknown. it is good to know that
// people believe such technologies should be governed, at least.


....


How mobile phones let spies see our every move

Government's secret Celldar project will allow surveillance of anyone, 
at any time and anywhere there is a phone signal

Jason Burke and Peter Warren
Sunday October 13, 2002
The Observer

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,811084,00.html

Secret radar technology research that will allow the biggest-ever 
extension of 'Big Brother'-style surveillance in the UK is being funded 
by the Government.

The radical new system, which has outraged civil liberties groups, uses 
mobile phone masts to allow security authorities to watch vehicles and 
individuals 'in real time' almost anywhere in Britain.

The technology 'sees' the shapes made when radio waves emitted by 
mobile phone masts meet an obstruction. Signals bounced back by 
immobile objects, such as walls or trees, are filtered out by the 
receiver. This allows anything moving, such as cars or people, to be 
tracked. Previously, radar needed massive fixed equipment to work and 
transmissions from mobile phone masts were thought too weak to be 
useful.

The system works wherever a mobile phone can pick up a signal. By using 
receivers attached to mobile phone masts, users of the new technology 
could focus in on areas hundreds of miles away and bring up a display 
showing any moving vehicles and people.

An individual with one type of receiver, a portable unit little bigger 
than a laptop computer, could even use it as a 'personal radar' 
covering the area around the user. Researchers are working to give the 
new equipment 'X-ray vision' - the capability to 'see' through walls 
and look into people's homes.

Ministry of Defence officials are hoping to introduce the system as 
soon as resources allow. Police and security services are known to be 
interested in a variety of possible surveillance applications. The 
researchers themselves say the system, known as Celldar, is aimed at 
anti-terrorism defence, security and road traffic management.

However civil liberties groups have been swift to condemn the plan.

'It's an appalling idea,' said Simon Davies, director of Privacy 
International. 'The Government is just capitalising on current public 
fears over security to intoduce new systems that are neither desirable 
nor necessary.'

The system, used alongside technology which allows individuals to be 
identified by their mobile phone handsets, will mewan that individuals 
can be located and their movements watched on a screen from hundreds of 
miles away.

Prototypes have been effective over 50 to 100 metres but the developers 
are confident that range can be extended.

After a series of meetings with Roke Manor, a private research company 
in Romsey, Hants, MoD officials have started funding the multi-million 
pound project. Reports of the meetings are 'classified'.

Whitehall officials involved in radar confirmed that the MoD was 'very 
interested' last week. 'It's all about resources now,' said one.

Private security specialists have also welcomed the new technology.

'It will be enormously useful,' the director of one private security 
firm said. 'Instead of setting up expensive and cumbersome surveillance 
equipment, police or the security services could start work quickly and 
easily almost anywhere.

'For tracking a suspect, preventing a potential crime or a terrorist 
strike or simply locating people [the system] has enormous advantages.'

It is likely that the technology would be used at first to protect 
sensitive installations such as ports and airfields.

The perimeter of a nuclear power station or an RAF base could be 
watched without having a bank of CCTV screens and dozens of expensive 
cameras.

If the radar picked up movement then a single camera could be focused 
on a specific area.

Celldar could also monitor roads when poor visibility due to bad 
weather rendered cameras useless.

'The equipment could pick up traffic flows towards an accident site and 
the details of a crash; who is where and so on,' said Peter Lloyd of 
Roke Manor.

Lloyd also outlined a number of military applications for the 
technology. Individual armoured vehicles or even soldiers could carry 
the detectors which could tell them where enemy troops were.

Security specialists point out how useful personal radars would be in 
siege situations. However there are significant concerns that the 
technology might be abused by authorities or fall into the wrong hands.

'Like all instrusive surveillance, we need to be sure that it is 
properly regulated, preferably by the judiciary,' said Roger Bingham of 
Liberty.

Bingham expressed concerns that the new equipment, which would be 
virtually undetectable, could be used by private detectives or others 
for personal or commercial gain.

Modern technology has brought massive opportunities for wider 
surveillance. Since the 11 September terrorist attacks on Washington 
and New York, the government has been pushing through a package of 
anti-terrorism legislation which targets electronic communications.

Senior police officers are now allowed to access mobile telephone and 
email records without judicial or executive assent. Within two years, 
all mobile phones are expected to have satellite-locating devices built 
into them.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,811084,00.html

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