"ACCESS NATION"
1.)
Tracking
credit card transactions. (REAL)
Federal
law enforcement agencies have been tracking Americans in real-time using credit
cards, loyalty cards and travel reservations without getting a court order, a
new document released under a government sunshine request shows.
“Hotwatch”
orders allow for real-time tracking of individuals in a criminal investigation
via credit card companies, rental car agencies, calling cards, and even grocery
store loyalty programs.
Sources:
2.)
Police
can check phone call records history.
(REAL)
Police
can get phone records without a warrant thanks to Smith v. Maryland, a Supreme
Court ruling in 1979, which found that the Constitution's Fourth Amendment
protection against unreasonable search and seizure doesn't apply to a list of
phone numbers. The New York Times reported last week that the New York's police
department "has quietly amassed a trove" of call records by routinely
issuing subpoenas for them from phones that had been reported stolen. According
to The Times, the records "could conceivably be used for any investigative
purpose.
Sources:
3.)
Recover
previous file versions. (REAL)
On
Windows and Mac, there is an option to restore previous versions of files.
“Previous
versions are either copies of files and folders created by Windows Backup or
copies of files and folders that Windows automatically saves as part of a
restore point. You can use previous versions to restore files and folders that
you accidentally modified or deleted, or that were damaged.”
The
saved previous versions depend on the amount allotted for the backup. When the
allotted storage becomes full, the computer deletes the oldest backup file and
replaces it with a newer backup.
I think this is how the tech got the original
version of Rice’s file.
Sources:
4.)
Worm
that can monitor and control other person’s computer. (REAL)
A
worm is similar to a virus by design and is considered to be a sub-class of a
virus. Worms spread from computer to computer, but unlike a virus, it has the
capability to travel without any human action. A worm takes advantage of file
or information transport features on your system, which is what allows it to
travel unaided.
Blaster
Worm, the worm has been designed to tunnel into your system and allow malicious
users to control your computer remotely.
There
is also a computer Trojan called RAT (Remote Access Trojan). It is usually
transmitted through an executable file or in an email attachment. It is usually
disguised as something desirable and harmless, such as a video game or other
piece of software. It enables the hacker to control his computer’s victim from
another location. The hacker can block the mouse and keyboard, delete,
download, rename, and upload files, log keystrokes and get passwords,
play sounds, open the DVD tray, edit the registry and many
more.
Sources:
5.)
Magic
Lantern of the FBI. (REAL)
“Magic
Lantern is keystroke logging software developed by the United States' Federal
Bureau of Investigation. Magic Lantern was first reported in a column by Bob
Sullivan of MSNBC on 20 November 2001 and by Ted Bridis of the Associated
Press.”
Magic
Lantern can reportedly be installed remotely, via an e-mail attachment or by
exploiting common operating system vulnerabilities, unlike previous keystroke
logger programs used by the FBI. It has been variously described as a
virus and a Trojan horse. It is not known how the program might store or
communicate the recorded keystrokes.
Sources:
6.)
Leaving
a copy of a file when you delete it from a hard drive. (REAL)
Recycle
Bin is not the end of the road for our files.
“When
a file is deleted from your computer, its contents aren't immediately
destroyed. Windows simply marks the hard drive space as being available for use
by changing one character in the file table. If you manage to start an undelete
process before Windows overwrites that part of hard disk with new files.”
Source:
7.)
Every
e-mail we send contains a hidden header with our IP addresses. (REAL)
Each
sender of an e-mail has an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with their
computer. While not every email address can be tracked, using the fields that
are hidden from view by top email providers, it is possible to track many
emails down to their area of origin.
Sources:
8.)
Cracking
password-protected files. (REAL)
Password
cracking is the process of recovering passwords from data that have been stored
in or transmitted by a computer system. A common approach (brute-force attack)
is to repeatedly try guesses for the password.
Sources:
9.)
Linking
users with their IP addresses. (REAL for Law Enforcement)
Only
the law enforcement with subpoenas can do this. They can obtain the name,
address, telephone number, electronic mail address, Internet protocol address
and local service provider identifier of a user.
For
ordinary people like us,
Here's
what you can do with an IP trace:
·
Determine the general area of the
target's location (City/region, state, country).
·
Determine what ISP they use.
Here's
what we cannot do with an IP trace:
·
Determine the target's home address.
·
Identify the computer that is assigned
that IP address.
·
Determine the identity of the person
using the computer at that IP address.
In
the movie, Kinston said that he can link a person with an IP address. I think
this part is not true.
Sources:
10.) Internet
Tracking (RFAL)
A
growing number of websites are employing a stealthy new form of hard-to-block
Internet tracking software that may pose increasing privacy risks for
customers.
Canvas
fingerprinting, which can command your browser to draw a unique identifier and
then log your online behaviour, is nearly impossible to detect, does not fall
under “do not track” voluntary systems and evades most conventional ad-blocking
software. It is already tracking users on 5 per cent of the biggest sites on
the Internet, including The White House, Starbucks, Re/Max Canada, Canadian
retailers Metro and Home Hardware, Postmedia website Canada.com, as well as a
number of pornography sites.
Any
internet users who use or even read about privacy services online will be
targeted for surveillance by the NSA, according to a new report from German
broadcaster ARD.
According
to leaked source-code of the US spy agency’s ‘XKeyscore’ software, individuals
who search for information about anonymising services such as Tor have their IP
addresses logged by the NSA and can be flagged for further monitoring.
*Woops,
I searched TOR online. Maybe NSA is tracking me now.*
Sources:
11.) Face
recognition software (REAL)
A
facial recognition system is a computer application for automatically
identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a
video source. One of the ways to do this is by comparing selected facial
features from the image and a facial database.
In
the 2000 presidential election, the Mexican government employed facial
recognition software to prevent voter fraud. Some individuals had been
registering to vote under several different names, in an attempt to place
multiple votes. By comparing new facial images to those already in the voter
database, authorities were able to reduce duplicate registrations.
Facial
recognition systems are used to unlock software on mobile devices. An
independently developed Android Marketplace app called Visidon Applock makes
use of the phone's built-in camera to take a picture of the user.
*This
was mentioned at the last part of the episode*
Sources:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/facial-recognition.htm
