(Videos) Private investigator Steven Rambam "All protesters are routinely scanned and skimmed by drones."
In-depth look at how we've lost our privacy & how easy it is to find information pertaining to just about anyone.
A prominent private investigator operating out of New York and Texas has noted that anyone engaging in any large scale protest, is now subjected to scanning by drones that skim their personal information from their cell phones.
In a talk entited “Privacy is dead”, private investigator Steven Rambam told an audience of hackers and privacy activists at HOPE 9 in New York recently that the authorities have the capability to extract real-time data on individuals by “surveying” their electronic devices, and do so as a matter of routine.
Rambam, who has conducted several thousand missing-person searches over almost three decades, claims that the practice is considered a “legitimate investigatory technique”, and that anyone who protested with the Occupy Wall Street movement would have been subjected to it.
“One of the biggest changes is the ability to track your physical location.” Rambam told the crowd.
“I’m sorry I came in at the end of the previous talk. I heard them talk about surveying cell phones with a drone, in a wide area — this is something that is done routinely now.” he added, referring to a previous discussion on government spying.
“I can tell you that everybody that attended an Occupy Wall Street protest, and didn’t turn their cell phone off, or put it — and sometimes even if they did — the identity of that cell phone has been logged, and everybody who was at that demonstration, whether they were arrested, not arrested, whether their photos were ID’d, whether an informant pointed them out, it’s known they were there anyway. This is routine.” Rambam noted.
“I can tell you that if you go into any police station right now, the first thing they do is tell you, ‘Oh I’m sorry you’re not allowed to bring a cell phone in there. We’ll hold it for you.’ Not a joke. And by the way it’s a legitimate investigatory technique.”
“Cell phones are now the little snitch in your pocket. Cell phones tell me where you are, what you do, who you talk to, everbody you associate with. Cell phone tells me [sic] intimate details of your life and character, including: Were you at a demonstration? Did you attend a mosque? Did you demonstrate in front of an abortion clinic? Did you get an abortion?” Rambam told the audience.
During the lecture, Rambam also noted that such police and government data collection techniques are “amateur” compared to big business.
“Where you work, what your salary is, your criminal history, all the lawsuits you’ve been involved in, real property…everything you’ve ever purchased, everywhere you’ve ever been…Your information is worth money.” Rambam noted.
“Your privacy today isn’t being invaded by big brother — it’s being invaded by big marketer,” he concluded.
Everyone who attended OWS with a cell phone had their identity logged, says security expert.
Everyone who attended OWS with a cell phone had their identity logged, says security expert.
While we in the civil liberties community disagree strongly with private investigator Steven Rambam's admonition to "Get Over It," after listening to him describe electronic surveillance powers it's hard to disagree with the first part of the title of his talk: "Privacy Is Dead." (Part two of the talk is below.)
"Where you work, what your salary is, your criminal history, all the lawsuits you've been involved in, real property...everything you've ever purchased, everywhere you've ever been...Your information is worth money. Your privacy today isn't being invaded by big brother -- it's being invaded by big marketer," he told an audience of hackers and privacy activists at HOPE 9 in New York during the summer of 2012.
Lots of the talk is about big corporations and their insatiable hunger for data about all of us, but Ramdam also addresses government spying:
One of the biggest changes is the ability to track your physical location. I'm sorry I came in at the end of the previous talk. I heard them talk about surveying cell phones with a drone, in a wide area -- this is something that is done routinely now. [Note: Is that what these microwave antennas were used for at Occupy Wall Street in mid September?]
I can tell you that if you go into any police station right now, the first thing they do is tell you, "Oh I'm sorry you're not allowed to bring a cell phone in there. We'll hold it for you." Not a joke. And by the way it's a legitimate investigatory technique. But cell phones are now the little snitch in your pocket. Cell phones tell me where you are, what you do, who you talk to, everbody you associate with. Cell phone tells me [sic] intimate details of your life and character, including: Were you at a demonstration? Did you attend a mosque? Did you demonstrate in front of an abortion clinic? Did you get an abortion?
The entire lecture can be viewed below in two videos:
http://www.infowars.com/privacy-expert-all-protesters-are-routinely-scanned-and-skimmed-by-drones/
http://privacysos.org/node/825
More videos from the conference:
https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=hts&oq=&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS485US485&q=Hackers+On+Planet+Earth#q=Hackers+On+Planet+Earth&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS485US485&prmd=imvns&source=univ&tbm=vid&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=AfthUL3LDcTo0QGz84GYDw&ved=0CHYQqwQ&fp=1&biw=1043&bih=870&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&cad=b&sei=vSBjUMb3EOHy0gGNkIHwAQ
EFF at hackers on planet earth.
Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE), one of the most creative and diverse hacker events in the world. HOPE Number Nine will be taking place on July 13, 14, and 15, 2012 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. Several EFF staffers from the legal, tech, and activism teams will be giving presentations. Stop by the EFF booth at HOPE for an invite to our Speakeasy meetup at a secret location on Friday night. Here is a round-up of talks you should make sure not to miss.https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/06/eff-hackers-planet-earth