Musings and Mutterings

CBC News - Technology & Science - Better airport scanners delayed by privacy fears

It is believed by some that millimetre wave and backscatter X-ray machines might have foiled the Christmas Day bombing attempt, but implementation of these machines is hampered primarily by concerns about privacy arising from the fact that these machines are able to show body contours under clothing with a high degree of clarity. Where they have been implemented, passengers have been given the option of using the machines or submitting to a pat-down. The US House voted to prohibit the use of these devices for primary screening, and the European Union has requested more study regarding privacy issues before making a final decision.

CBC News - World - Flight delays expected after foiled attack

A 23-year-old British engineering student was arrested for attempting to detonate an explosive on an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight.

Can airport technology halt a pandemic? - tech - 25 May 2009 - New Scientist

At a recent ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) meeting in Montreal, a spin-off company from Belgium presented an acoustic cough detector to detect people with persistent coughs, one of the symptoms of a flu. Once located, the people can be quietly escorted aside to be checked for the virus.  The system can distinguish between a person clearing their throat and an actual cough. In pigs it was able to detect infected swine "82 percent of the time within3 hours of infection."

Our ears may have built-in passwords - tech - 13 April 2009 - New Scientist

UK researchers are examining the potential of using otoacoustic emissions, sounds generated by the cochlea, as a way of verifying a person's identity. The sounds are only detectable by ultra-sensitive microphones and additional work is required to determine if the method can be used to identify individuals with any degree of accuracy.

Canadian research uncovers cyber espionage network

Canadian researchers, investigating allegations that computers used by exiled Tibetans were hacked by the Chinese government, stumbled upon a far larger espionage network involving four servers, three in China and one in the US, and more than 1,295 infiltrated computers, many belonging to embassies, foreign ministries and other government offices. The infiltrated computers had malware installed that allowed the servers to gain root access the computers. With this, they were able to read files, check email, even remotely activate microphones and web cams. Most of the infected computers appeared to have been infected for more than a year by what is being described as a Trojan that it undetectable to current firewalls and anti-virus technology. The spy network has, for now, been dubbed GhostNet.

Slashdot | IBM Files Patent For Bullet-Dodging Bionic Armor

IBM has filed a US patent for armour designed to administer tiny shocks to the appropriate muscles of the wearer to get them to move out of the way of an incoming bullet. This would only work for long-distance shots, such as those made by a sniper.