This article was posted to the Usenet group alt.hackers in
1995; any technical information is probably outdated.
New privacy threat, or just paranoia?
Article: 8950 of alt.hackers From: nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous) Newsgroups: alt.2600,alt.cyberpunk,alt.privacy,alt.hackers Subject: New privacy threat, or just paranoia? Date: 28 Oct 1995 21:20:32 +0100 Organization: RePLaY aND CoMPaNY UnLimited Lines: 15 Sender: replay@utopia.hacktic.nl Approved: terminator@sky.net Message-ID: 46u3ag$ls7@utopia.hacktic.nl NNTP-Posting-Host: utopia.hacktic.nl XComm: Replay may or may not approve of the content of this posting XComm: Report misuse of this automated service to <postmaster@REPLAY.COM> Status: RO
Here's something to give the hacker-mind some exercise... Or maybe some thing for the a.f.u archives. Dunno. I have heard that there is a move underway to develop a new way of snooping our persons. It seems that the old "x-ray vision" technology that you see in cheesy ads in the back of some magazines is not entirely a joke. Human (and other animal) bodies really do give off electromagnetic radiation at certain frequencies, and this can be intercepted. Using it for "x-ray" vision yields an outline of the body under the clothes, but not much detail. You can see that someone is wearing a padded bra, etc. A cheap thrill for 14-year-olds with no life. BUT: It also will show things under the clothing that block the radiation. E.G. A WEAPON. Yes, it is rumored that the cops want to see if you are packing a weapon just by driving/walking down the street with an improved version of those x-ray vision specs. They will no doubt be particularly concerned about whether shapely women are armed... Setting the legal questions aside for a moment, as I am sure the Govt. can make the law work the way it wants, we need to consider the technical side of this. Can anyone confirm that this IS possible? Does anyone know the EXACT frequencies that this technology uses? What can block it? Could protective clothing be designed that isn't hugely bulky and/or expensive? I wonder if we could popularize carrying metal plates shaped like .45 automatics and f*k this whole idea. Or is the detail with this technology good enough to see if the gun is realistic? Could a jammer of some sort be created? The legalities of this are interesting. I think that everyone in THIS newsgroup believes that "broadcasting" obviates one's right to privacy. Cordless phones, for example, are considered fair game. What about this sort of radiation that is coming off your own body? Do you think there is any way to claim "privacy" and ban the use of this technology? And what happens when this technology is common and the muggers start using it to tell if you are armed before attacking? It would be ironic if idiotic use of surveillance technology in the name of "public safety" made our lives more dangerous. Will we all have to wear the fake guns, or REAL guns, just to be safe?