Posted on 06/01/2014 3:59:56 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The National Security Agency is harvesting huge numbers of images of people from communications that it intercepts through its global surveillance operations for use in sophisticated facial recognition programs, according to top-secret documents.
The spy agency’s reliance on facial recognition technology has grown significantly over the last four years as the agency has turned to new software to exploit the flood of images included in emails, text messages, social media, videoconferences and other communications, the N.S.A. documents reveal. Agency officials believe that technological advances could revolutionize the way that the N.S.A. finds intelligence targets around the world, the documents show. The agency’s ambitions for this highly sensitive ability and the scale of its effort have not previously been disclosed.
The agency intercepts “millions of images per day” — including about 55,000 “facial recognition quality images” — which translate into “tremendous untapped potential,” according to 2011 documents obtained from the former agency contractor Edward J. Snowden. While once focused on written and oral communications, the N.S.A. now considers facial images, fingerprints and other identifiers just as important to its mission of tracking suspected terrorists and other intelligence targets, the documents show....
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
NSA is not nice.
Heck, mine has been on file since 1966, what me worry?
NYT trying to justify the NSA now. Of course, these tricks will be useful in tracking down those ever-elusive “right-wing terrorists” that suddenly (and inconveniently) become Muslims once they’re actually found.
And the NSA will have plenty of pictures of honest, hardworking, normal people who fell for the Facebook experiment. The “real” or hardcore criminals won’t have their pics on there under their own names. So what does that tell you? Americans, particularly patriots, are most likely the focus.
The enemy is in the White House. There is no national security.
THE FACE that has illegally exchanged a military deserter jihadist for the top five terrorists to Afghanistan .. . Is THAT FACE on the radar of the NSA?
Well, this just might prompt me to use a picture of Obama as my avatar/icon for all those pesky subversive emails, posts, and communiques that I write.
I’ve got relatives who feel a need to tag everyone in every photo.
> The “real” or hardcore criminals won’t have their pics on there under their own names
Not to worry, their friends will post pictures of them. After that, it’s just a matter of network analysis. That’s how Saddam Hussein was tracked down.
We’re you getting ready to hock up a hairball?
“This is my picture in the NSA database:”
You look like someone not to be messed with...
If that really was the photo you used....the NSA will find out which computer posted this FR comment and track it backwards to the kittycat ID. We are SOL.
Or they are. Are they REALLY sure they want to find me? /johnny
BTT!
Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
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So you're moving to Texas? No. Wait. North Dakota?
Just kidding. Knock 'em dead at your new gig.
Texas? I wish! Harry Reid terrortory.
There is another area of possible concern, and that is the data that is collected when you volunteer and sometimes pay for a DNA test.
One of the longtime genealogy companies has been selling a DNA home test to discover ancestors and to prove if one is a Native American and other genetic racial history.
Then, 23andMe got into the game and not only did you get your Genetic ancestor history, you got a probable profile re inherited diseases.
This sounds good, but what control did the company have to protect your genetic history. Your genetic history makes your current medical records look like child’s play.
Below is an article in Scientific American re the possible dangers of this collected data.
23andMe Is Terrifying, But Not for the Reasons the FDA Thinks ... www.scientificamerican.com/.../23andme-is-terrifying-but-not-for-reasons-fda/ - 82k - Cached - Similar pages Nov 27, 2013
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