How Surveillance Is Used In Security

Surveillance refers to the act of observing behavior, activities, or information with the intention of gathering data, influencing or managing a situation, or providing direction.

It can be accomplished through various methods, such as utilizing electronic devices like CCTV or intercepting data transmissions. Human intelligence gathering and postal interception are also examples of surveillance methods.

Surveillance is utilized by citizens to keep their neighborhoods safe, and by governments to collect intelligence, prevent crimes, protect individuals, groups or objects, and investigate offenses.

Lets look into a few different kinds of surveillance.

Computer Surveillance

During my years working in cybersecurity and computer surveillance, I’ve seen firsthand how intricate the process of monitoring data and internet traffic can be.

In the U.S., my collaborations with federal law enforcement agencies have highlighted the stringent requirements they operate under. They’re mandated to have real-time access to all phone calls and broadband internet traffic, from emails to instant messaging, all under the framework of the Communications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act [1].

Automated Surveillance Systems

In my tenure overseeing surveillance operations, the sheer volume of data on the internet always posed a challenge. It’s a task beyond human capacity to manually analyze every bit. This is why I’ve often relied on automated internet surveillance systems.

These systems efficiently sift through vast amounts of intercepted internet traffic. They’re adept at flagging intriguing or suspicious activities, which my team would then delve into.

These algorithms use specific “trigger” words or phrases, certain types of websites, or even suspicious individuals or groups communicating via email or online chat to identify potential threats.

Major Surveillance Programs and Tools

Government agencies like the FBI, NSA, and Information Awareness Office spend billions of dollars each year on systems like Carnivore, NarusInsight, and ECHELON to intercept and analyze this data, extracting only the information they find useful for their operations [2].

Computers can also be the target of surveillance because of the personal data stored on them. Installing software like the FBI’s Magic Lantern and CIPAV on a computer system allows unauthorized access to personal data, which can be installed either physically or remotely.

Advanced Surveillance Techniques

Another form of computer surveillance, called van Eck phreaking, involves reading electromagnetic emanations from computing devices from hundreds of meters away to extract data.

The NSA also runs “Pinwale,” a database that stores and indexes large numbers of emails from both Americans and foreigners, and they have direct access to information from technology companies through a data mining system called PRISM.

This access allows them to obtain search history, emails, live chats, file transfers, and more. However, PRISM has generated controversy over concerns about privacy and surveillance, particularly from U.S. citizens.

Cameras

Throughout my career, I’ve worked extensively with surveillance cameras, commonly referred to as security cameras. Deployed globally, these cameras play a pivotal role in maintaining security. I remember the early days when we connected them to recording devices or IP camera networks, and it was up to us, the human operators, to painstakingly monitor every second of the footage.

Nowadays, automated software organizes digital video footage into a searchable database, reducing the need for human intervention. Motion sensors also reduce the amount of footage recorded by only capturing video when motion is detected. With advancements in technology, surveillance cameras are now affordable and widely used in home security systems and everyday surveillance.

As of 2016, there were around 350 million surveillance cameras worldwide, with most of them located in Asia. China is a leader in surveillance technology, having over 170 million CCTV cameras in 2018. They are planning to install another 400 million cameras with facial recognition technology in the next three years. [3]

In the US, the Department of Homeland Security awards billions of dollars annually in grants for local, state, and federal agencies to install modern video surveillance equipment [4]. Chicago and New York City have both used Homeland Security grants to install thousands of surveillance cameras [5][6].

Biometric

Biometric surveillance is a technology that uses human physical and/or behavioral characteristics for authentication, identification, or screening purposes. It can recognize traits like fingerprints, DNA, facial patterns, gait, or voice.

Facial Recognition Systems

Facial recognition is a type of biometric surveillance that identifies people by their unique facial features, often through surveillance videos. The Department of Homeland Security and DARPA fund research into facial recognition systems [7][8].

Affective computing is a newer behavioral biometrics that lets computers recognize a person’s emotions based on facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, and other traits.

DNA Profiling and the FBI’s Biometric Database

DNA profiling is another biometric surveillance that looks at a person’s DNA markers to make a match. The FBI is spending a billion dollars to build a biometric database that will store DNA, facial recognition data, iris/retina data, fingerprints, palm prints, and other biometric data of Americans [9].

The Los Angeles Police Department is putting automated facial recognition and license plate recognition devices in its squad cars and providing handheld face scanners to officers for identifying people while patrolling [10].

Facial Thermographs: Detecting Hidden Emotions

Facial thermographs are in development that would allow machines to identify emotions like fear or stress by measuring the temperature of blood flow to different parts of the face. Law enforcement officers believe this could help detect if a suspect is hiding something or lying.

However, biometric surveillance can cause harm. Avi Marciano’s paper in Ethics and Information Technology identifies four types of harm: unauthorized use of bodily information, denial or limitation of access to physical spaces, bodily social sorting, and symbolic ineligibility through construction of marginality and otherness [11].

Biometric surveillance is complex and scientific, with increasing agency in automatic decision-making.

Aerial

Aerial surveillance is all about gathering surveillance data from the sky using airborne vehicles like unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, or spy planes.

Military Applications and Advanced Sensors

Military surveillance aircraft use sensors like radar to keep an eye on what’s happening on the battlefield. Thanks to advanced technology like digital imaging, miniaturized computers, and high-resolution imagery, aerial surveillance hardware has improved a lot in recent years.

For example, the MQ-9 Reaper drone can spot things as small as a milk carton from up to 30,000 feet away and can detect human body heat from up to 60 kilometers away.

Commercial Aerial Surveillance: A Historical Perspective

Even commercial aerial surveillance has been around for a while, like when Killington Mountain ski resort hired aerial photographers to check out their competitors’ parking lots to see how well their own marketing was doing.

Nowadays, the United States Department of Homeland Security is testing out UASs to protect critical infrastructure, patrol borders, monitor transportation, and keep an eye on the American population [12].

Conclusion

Surveillance is when someone or something observes people’s behavior, activities, or information for a particular purpose. It could be done in various ways like using electronic devices such as cameras or intercepting data transmissions.

People use surveillance to keep their surroundings safe, while governments use it to collect intelligence, prevent crimes, protect individuals, groups or objects, and investigate offenses.

However, it could be a violation of an individual’s privacy, which is why civil liberties activists criticize it. Some countries have laws limiting surveillance by the government and private entities, but others have no restrictions.

Sources:

Joseph Ferdinando

Joseph Ferdinando is the visionary founder of Building Security Services, a leading security company renowned for its comprehensive security services. With an illustrious career spanning over 40 years in the security industry, Joseph has been instrumental in elevating the standards of security guard services for a broad spectrum of businesses and organizations. As an influential member of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) in both New York and New Jersey chapters, Joseph has played a pivotal role in shaping industry standards and practices.