"creating cat NFTs out of your genetic data" | The Cat Herder, Volume 5, Issue 08

The undying rage of the local elected representatives, a surveillance oven, the gig surveillance econ   March 6 · Issue #170 · View online The undying rage of the local elected representatives, a surveillance oven, the gig surveillance economy. 😼 It’s finally here! The inevitable melding of an existing bad idea - giving some company on the internet your genetic data - with Web3 grift. web3 is going just great @web3isgreat GenomesDAO wants you to give them your genetic data, which they acknowledge is "data that can be exploited in ways we cannot even imagine yet" February 28, 2022 https://t.co/JMmcSBV8Ly https://t.co/MGM9qloyWO 5:47 AM - 4 Mar 2022 Something of a local papers roundup. The councillors across the country are hopping mad about CCTV. In Tipperary they’re infuriated. A common thread across all of these outbursts is a concern that criminals who want to break the law will be delighted with the lack of unlawful CCTV cameras and other surveillance equipment. There appears to be little or no concern over the CCTV systems - both existing and planned - breaking the law. Inability to use CCTV to tackle illegal dumping 'ruining reputations' - Clare Echo www.clareecho.ie – Share FAILURE to use CCTV cameras in towns and villages across Clare to clamp down on fly tipping is “ruining” the reputation of some businesses, a county councillor has claimed. Focus on data watchdog at at Laois policing forum over Laois anti-crime CCTV scheme delays - Leinster Express www.leinsterexpress.ie – Share The State privacy watchdog is set to face questioning at the Laois Joint Policing Committee in March over the obstacles that have blocked community CCTV schemes… Fine over CCTV use in Limerick is a ‘scandalous disgrace’ says Community Alert chair - Limerick Leader www.limerickleader.ie – Share LIMERICK City and County Council being fined €110,000 over its use of CCTV cameras is a “scandalous disgrace”, says one of the leading voices i… Red tape delaying Tipperary CCTV schemes slammed at Joint Policing Committee meeting - Tipperary Live www.tipperarylive.ie – Share Killarney CCTV update “not what I wanted” – Kelleher - Independent.ie www.independent.ie – Share Fianna Fáil Cllr Niall Kelleher has said the local authority’s answer to his questions about the installation of CCTV equipment in Killarney was “not the answer I wanted”. The last of these is notable as it appears to advance a new argument for surveillance, in this country at least. That CCTV should be used to counter loitering. Loitering also seems to be somehow connected to post-Covidness in the councillor’s mind. Denied of opportunities to loiter during the lockdowns, the habitual loiterers will be loitering far more energetically and enthusiastically now we’re “going into a post-Covid world” perhaps? We’re now going into a post-COVID world, we’ve seen in surveys published that there’s a very high risk to the reputation of Killarney in relation to anti-social behaviour and loitering…this system, because it can be in the Garda station and they can have real-time live access, will be a fantastic resource to deal with issues as they arise in our town. Premise and apps like it are windows into the global geopolitical competition for user data playing out on personal computers and smart devices. The U.S. Defense Department is investing heavily in open-source intelligence—including the kind of unclassified data that Premise collects. A top defense-intelligence official said at a conference in December that 80% of what is in intelligence reports now comes from unclassified sources. Gig App Gathering Data for U.S. Military, Others Prompts Safety Concerns - WSJ www.wsj.com – Share Premise is one of a number of companies offering a service that uses Apple and Google smartphones tools for gathering intelligence and commercial information from afar, sometimes without the users knowing specifically who they are working for. David Barnard @drbarnard 🤦🏼‍♂️ @GE_Appliances won’t let me use convection roast on my new oven without connecting the oven to wifi. After a string of profanities I reluctantly downloaded the app and sat on the kitchen floor 10+ minutes trying to get it connected… unsuccessfully. The app is complete garbage https://t.co/Omold25XKP 4:24 PM - 5 Mar 2022 The Swedish DPA fined a hospital ~€150,000 for emailing unencrypted medical records to patients and hospitals abroad. — The Polish DPA fined a bank €120,000 for failing to communicate a data breach to data subjects. Interestingly the DPA stated the important factor was the high risk of unauthorised access to personal data occurring, not whether any unauthorised access had taken place. “Massive amounts of our personal information are out there for willing buyers. Nearly every aspect of our online activity is subject to collection, analysis, and sale. In the physical world, our movements and faces are easily captured and can be identified with increasing accuracy. Some of this information has been retrieved through illegal means, but much of it has been procured lawfully. For law enforcement agencies, purchasing information rather than collecting it directly provides another advantage. Direct government collection of data traditionally considered unprotected—such as public movements—draws questions about whether that information deserves heightened legal protection when collected at a mass scale. But by purchasing that same information in the private market, the government can sidestep these controversies.” From ‘A Gig Surveillance Economy’ by Elizabeth Joh. “The outcome of this DPIA, after repeat consultation with Microsoft, is that there are no more known high risks for the Diagnostic Data processing. However, there is a high risk if organisations use Microsoft Teams to process very sensitive and special categories of data, due to the possible access by law enforcement and security services in the USA.” From a Data Protection Impact Assessment of the use of Microsoft Teams in combination with OneDrive, Sharepoint Online and Azure Active Directory by Privacy Company. No, it is absolutely not less invasive and creepy because it doesn’t use a camera. “It sounds futuristic and perhaps more than a little invasive—a computer watching your every move? But it feels less creepy once you learn that these technologies don’t have to rely on a camera to see where you are and what you’re doing. Instead, they use radar. Google’s Advanced Technology and Products division—better known as ATAP, the department behind oddball projects such as a touch-sensitive denim jacket—has spent the past year exploring how computers can use radar to understand our needs or intentions and then react to us appropriately.” From ‘Google’s New Tech Can Read Your Body Language—Without Cameras’ by Julian Chokattu for Wired. — Endnotes & Credits The elegant Latin bon mot “Futuendi Gratia” is courtesy of Effin’ Birds. As always, a huge thank you to Regina Doherty for giving the world the phrase “mandatory but not compulsory”. The image used in the header is by Krystian Tambur on Unsplash. Any quotes from the Oireachtas we use are sourced from KildareStreet.com. They’re good people providing a great service. If you can afford to then donate to keep the site running. Digital Rights Ireland have a storied history of successfully fighting for individuals’ data privacy rights. You should support them if you can. Find us on the web at myprivacykit.com and on Twitter at @PrivacyKit. Of course we’re not on Facebook or LinkedIn. If you know someone who might enjoy this newsletter do please forward it on to them. Did you enjoy this issue? In order to unsubscribe, click here. If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe here. Powered by Revue Privacy Kit, Made with 💚 in Dublin, Ireland

The undying rage of the local elected representatives, a surveillance oven, the gig surveillance economy.

😼

It’s finally here! The inevitable melding of an existing bad idea - giving some company on the internet your genetic data - with Web3 grift.

Something of a local papers roundup. The councillors across the country are hopping mad about CCTV. In Tipperary they’re infuriated.

A common thread across all of these outbursts is a concern that criminals who want to break the law will be delighted with the lack of unlawful CCTV cameras and other surveillance equipment.

There appears to be little or no concern over the CCTV systems - both existing and planned - breaking the law.

FAILURE to use CCTV cameras in towns and villages across Clare to clamp down on fly tipping is “ruining” the reputation of some businesses, a county councillor has claimed.

The State privacy watchdog is set to face questioning at the Laois Joint Policing Committee in March over the obstacles that have blocked community CCTV schemes…

LIMERICK City and County Council being fined €110,000 over its use of CCTV cameras is a “scandalous disgrace”, says one of the leading voices i…

Fianna Fáil Cllr Niall Kelleher has said the local authority’s answer to his questions about the installation of CCTV equipment in Killarney was “not the answer I wanted”.

The last of these is notable as it appears to advance a new argument for surveillance, in this country at least. That CCTV should be used to counter loitering. Loitering also seems to be somehow connected to post-Covidness in the councillor’s mind. Denied of opportunities to loiter during the lockdowns, the habitual loiterers will be loitering far more energetically and enthusiastically now we’re “going into a post-Covid world” perhaps?

Premise is one of a number of companies offering a service that uses Apple and Google smartphones tools for gathering intelligence and commercial information from afar, sometimes without the users knowing specifically who they are working for.

The Swedish DPA fined a hospital ~€150,000 for emailing unencrypted medical records to patients and hospitals abroad.

—

The Polish DPA fined a bank €120,000 for failing to communicate a data breach to data subjects. Interestingly the DPA stated the important factor was the high risk of unauthorised access to personal data occurring, not whether any unauthorised access had taken place.

• “Massive amounts of our personal information are out there for willing buyers. Nearly every aspect of our online activity is subject to collection, analysis, and sale. In the physical world, our movements and faces are easily captured and can be identified with increasing accuracy. Some of this information has been retrieved through illegal means, but much of it has been procured lawfully. For law enforcement agencies, purchasing information rather than collecting it directly provides another advantage. Direct government collection of data traditionally considered unprotected—such as public movements—draws questions about whether that information deserves heightened legal protection when collected at a mass scale. But by purchasing that same information in the private market, the government can sidestep these controversies.” From ‘A Gig Surveillance Economy’ by Elizabeth Joh.
• “The outcome of this DPIA, after repeat consultation with Microsoft, is that there are no more known high risks for the Diagnostic Data processing. However, there is a high risk if organisations use Microsoft Teams to process very sensitive and special categories of data, due to the possible access by law enforcement and security services in the USA.” From a Data Protection Impact Assessment of the use of Microsoft Teams in combination with OneDrive, Sharepoint Online and Azure Active Directory by Privacy Company.
• No, it is absolutely not less invasive and creepy because it doesn’t use a camera. “It sounds futuristic and perhaps more than a little invasive—a computer watching your every move? But it feels less creepy once you learn that these technologies don’t have to rely on a camera to see where you are and what you’re doing. Instead, they use radar. Google’s Advanced Technology and Products division—better known as ATAP, the department behind oddball projects such as a touch-sensitive denim jacket—has spent the past year exploring how computers can use radar to understand our needs or intentions and then react to us appropriately.” From ‘Google’s New Tech Can Read Your Body Language—Without Cameras’ by Julian Chokattu for Wired.

—

Endnotes & Credits

• The elegant Latin bon mot “Futuendi Gratia” is courtesy of Effin’ Birds.
• As always, a huge thank you to Regina Doherty for giving the world the phrase “mandatory but not compulsory”.
• The image used in the header is by Krystian Tambur on Unsplash.
• Any quotes from the Oireachtas we use are sourced from KildareStreet.com. They’re good people providing a great service. If you can afford to then donate to keep the site running.
• Digital Rights Ireland have a storied history of successfully fighting for individuals’ data privacy rights. You should support them if you can.

Find us on the web at myprivacykit.com and on Twitter at @PrivacyKit. Of course we’re not on Facebook or LinkedIn.

If you know someone who might enjoy this newsletter do please forward it on to them.