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Category: terrorism

In light of the recent attacks in Europe, the search for terrorists, and the ongoing refugee/immigration issues, I still support considering this idea of implants. In fact, so long as the Middle East is in strife, and large amounts of refugees are created, and fundamental religiosity thrives, I’m certain some type of tracking technology implementation in the developed world is inevitable over the next 2–15 years for refugees and some immigrants. Such technology broadly remains the humanitarian thing to do (read the article!), while still protecting the public and national interests.

https://www.cnet.com/news/presidential-candidate-suggests-microchips-for-syrian-refugees/ #transhumanism #Germany #terrorism #immigration

The question of allowing Syrian refugees in to the United States has created a political firestorm in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris and one Presidential candidate proposes a novel, high-tech solution, but it’s also likely to make plenty of Americans uncomfortable.

Transhumanist Party candidate Zoltan Istvan suggests that small microchips could be implanted under the skin of Syrian refugees as part of the process of admitting them into the United States or other countries around the world.

“The procedure takes a minute and is harmless,” Istvan, who recently had a microchip implanted in his own hand to kick off his campaign bus tour, told CNET in an email. “The chip is the size of a grain of rice and could go in the hand and be useful for more than just tracking purposes.”

In an earlier interview with the Broward-Palm Beach New Times, Istvan said chipping refugees could be one way to track them and determine if any might be plotting acts of violence and also monitor who is “contributing to the system — whether they are working, paying taxes or causing strife.”

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The reason I have been motivated to do this is simple. If we don’t get a ban in place, there will be an arms race. And the end point of this race will look much like the dystopian future painted by Hollywood movies like The Terminator.

Even before this end point, such weapons will likely fall into the hands of terrorists and rogue nations. These people will have no qualms about removing any safeguards. Or using them against us.

And it won’t simply be robots fighting robots. Conflicts today are asymmetric. It will mostly be robots against humans. So unlike what some robot experts might claim, many of those humans will be innocent civilians.

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The following press release was written and and published by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and originally published on their website. Click here to see the original version of this post.

On a recent sunny fall day in the nation’s capital, several hundred volunteers—each toting a backpack containing smartphone-sized radiation detectors—walked for hours around the National Mall searching for clues in a “whodunit” scavenger hunt to locate a geneticist who’d been mysteriously abducted. The geneticist and his abduction were fictitious. But the challenge this scavenger hunt was designed to address is real: The need to detect even small quantities of radioactive material that terrorists might try to bring into an urban area with the intent of detonating a “dirty bomb,” or worse. By getting volunteers to walk all day looking for clues, the DARPA-sponsored exercise provided the largest test yet of DARPA’s SIGMA program, which is developing networked sensors that can provide dynamic, real-time radiation detection over large urban areas.

A key element of SIGMA, which began in 2014, has been to develop and test low-cost, high-efficiency, radiation sensors that detect gamma and neutron radiation. The detectors, which do not themselves emit radiation, are networked via smartphones to provide city, state, and federal officials real-time awareness of potential nuclear and radiological threats such as dirty bombs, which combine conventional explosives and radioactive material to increase their disruptive potential. Following a demonstration earlier this year with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey involving more than 100 SIGMA sensors, the 1,000-detector deployment in Washington, D.C., marked the largest number of SIGMA mobile detectors ever tested at one time and was a demonstration of the program’s ability to fuse the data provided by all those sensors to create minute-to-minute situational awareness of nuclear threats.

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There weren’t many people who had heard of bioterrorism before 9/11. But shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks, a wave of anthrax mailings diverted the attention of the public towards a new weapon in the arsenal of terrorists—bioterrorism. A US federal prosecutor found that an army biological researcher was responsible for mailing the anthrax-laced letters, which killed 5 and sickened 15 people in 2001. The cases generated huge media attention, and the fear of a new kind of terrorist warfare was arising.

However, as with every media hype, the one about bioterrorism disappeared quickly.

But looking toward the future, I believe that we may not be paying as much attention to it as we should. Although it may be scary, we have to prepare ourselves for the worst. It is the only way we can be prepared to mitigate the damages of any harmful abuses if (and when) they arise.

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Unfortunately I think the Pentagon is right. We are quickly heading into a dystopian future.

“Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexity,” a video created by the Army and used at the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations University.

The video is nothing if not an instant dystopian classic: melancholy music, an ominous voiceover, and cascading images of sprawling slums and urban conflict. “Megacities are complex systems where people and structures are compressed together in ways that defy both our understanding of city planning and military doctrine,” says a disembodied voice. “These are the future breeding grounds, incubators, and launching pads for adversaries and hybrid threats.”

The video was used as part of an “Advanced Special Operations Combating Terrorism” course offered at JSOU earlier this year, for a lesson on “The Emerging Terrorism Threat.” JSOU is operated by U.S. Special Operations Command, the umbrella organization for America’s most elite troops. JSOU describes itself as geared toward preparing special operations forces “to shape the future strategic environment by providing specialized joint professional military education, developing SOF specific undergraduate and graduate level academic programs and by fostering special operations research.”

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The huge wave of Internet of Things (IoT) enabled devices has the U.S. government worried that the technology harbors lurking security threats.

According to a Defense One article, the U.S. Department of Justice has joined other agencies in evaluating IoT technology for national security risks.

And with up to 50 billion connected devices coming online by 2020, the government is scrambling to assess threats from the fast evolving technology.

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Using tech to stop terrorists dirty bombs.

DARPA’s SIGMA program undergoes real-world testing with state, federal and international partners to defend against radiological threats.

A DARPA program aimed at preventing attacks involving radiological “dirty bombs” and other nuclear threats has successfully developed and demonstrated a network of smartphone-sized mobile devices that can detect the tiniest traces of radioactive materials. Combined with larger detectors along major roadways, bridges, other fixed infrastructure, and in vehicles, the new networked devices promise significantly enhanced awareness of radiation sources and greater advance warning of possible threats.

The demonstration of efficacy earlier this year was part of DARPA’s SIGMA program, launched in 2014 with the goal of creating a cost-effective, continuous radiation-monitoring network able to cover a large city or region. Although radiation detectors have in recent years been installed in a number of key locations in the United States and around the world, the SIGMA program has sought to increase capabilities while lowering their costs, in order to network an unprecedented number of advanced detectors and provide a comprehensive, dynamic, and automated overview of the radiological environment.

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=FGEm1ktRJgk

More on the UN’s concern on the next gen technologies.

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Of all the initiatives and developments in the 3D printing world, none have caused as much headaches as 3D printed guns. And regardless of where you stand on the issue of gun rights in America, it’s no secret that completely untraceable plastic guns are bringing security issues to the table. Especially law makers in the US have been scratching their heads about what to do with them. Among others, the US State Department has been trying to limit the spread of 3D printable gun designs, while a new law passed in California last month requires 3D printed guns to be registered.

But the issue of 3D printed guns transcends second amendment debates, according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. During a speech on the global proliferation of weapons, he listed 3D printing alongside a number of technologies that can be used by terrorists and that facilitate the production of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and other biological and technological threats.

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Although this is an old article; it does raise an ongoing question about Social Media Companies and the US Government’s battle with terrorism and other mass murders who often use social media. Could Social Media Companies be pushing their luck within the US as well as other countries battling terrorism by not shutting down people’s pages who have ties to terrorism or promoting murder?

Feel free to respond because I want to hear others perspective on this important topic that many are having to figure out.

(2÷3) Amb Bass: Also watching with concern reports of teargas and rubber bullets against those protesting the takeover.— US Embassy Turkey (@USEmbassyTurkey) March 5, 2016

Anti-censorship protests took place in front of Today’s Zaman headquarters on Friday, and televised video showed protesters clashing outside the building with police, who fired tear gas and used a water cannon to disperse the crowd.

The Turkish state official said the protesters had “gathered without permission” and were warned multiple times before police dispersed them.

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