Thursday technology link round-up

• Bush may have secretly continued to operate John Poindexter's notorious "Total Information Awareness" program.
• Finger "vein scanners" are about to be rolled out for library workers in suburban Melbourne.

Bill O’Reilly using cops to spy on…other cops?

We are always warning about police abuse of personal data. Beyond the fundamental privacy violations arising from collecting and storing vast amounts of information about ordinary people, there's the risk that police or contractors will improperly use that data to hurt or blackmail people. 

DHS biometrics gathering in Iraq?

A February 1, 2010 state department cable from the US Embassy in Baghdad shines light on the US military's project to 'secure' Iraq's borders. Besides the thousands of miles of new roads and surveillance equipment to patrol them, a major part of this effort involves the gathering of biometric data from people crossing the border at official entry points.

Judge says government needs warrant for cell location data

In a decision handed down Monday in the Eastern District of New York, Judge Nicolas Garaufis sided with privacy rights advocates against the federal government's plea for warrantless access to the historical cell phone location data of a suspect in a law enforcement investigation.

The judge argued forcefully that rapid development and expansion of mobile technology does not give the government a green light to track people's movements without a judge's permission. 

Won’t spy for the feds? Good luck with that.

We've been aware for some time now of the federal government's use of immigration threats to coerce people, largely Muslims, to inform on their communities. But now we have evidence that the feds are also using their unchecked powers to punish American citizens who refuse to become government informants. 

Thursday technology link round-up

• Tampa police are preparing for the RNC next year by installing surveillance cameras throughout the city. The police will not disclose the locations of the cameras.

Former DHS analyst decries agency inattention to right-wing terrorism

Rania Khalek reports on an extensive Southern Povery Law Center interview with former DHS right-wing terror analyst Darryl Johnson, in which he decries the agency's shirking from its investigations against extreme right-wing fundamentalists. Not surprisingly, DHS' terrorism resources are overwhelmingly directed towards fighting Muslim extremism.

Police data mining firm cuts big US military deal

Data collection, sharing and mining firm i2 runs COPLINK software, used by police throughout the nation to share and analyze information. The company just scored a 9.6 million dollar deal with the US army to do the same work for the military.

US Special Ops swarm Boston neighborhood elementary school in training drill

The Jamaica Plain Gazette (Boston) is reporting that U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) teams used helicopters in drills last month at a Massachusetts elementary school. The Agassiz School, a recently-closed elementary school in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, was the site of secretive military training, disturbing neighbors who said they weren't informed of the impending helicopters and SWAT raids. The Gazette reached out to military spokesman Kim Tiscione:

On surveillance in public: phones and drones and networks, oh my

• Is the NYPD counterterror unit getting ready to deploy surveillance drones in the city? (Maybe.)