Google Admits Street View Project Violated Privacy
By David Streitfeld, NYT Technology, March 12, 2013
Google on Tuesday acknowledged to state officials that it had violated people’s privacy during its Street View mapping project when it casually scooped up passwords, e-mail and other personal information from unsuspecting computer users. In agreeing to settle a case brought by 38 states involving the project, the search company for the first time is required to aggressively police its own employees on privacy issues and to explicitly tell the public how to fend off privacy violations like this one.
For full text of the article, visit Google Admits Street View Project Violated Privacy – NYTimes.com.
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To License or Not to License Geospatial Data: Still a Challenge for Government Agencies
All Points Blog, Feb 25, 2013
Tim de Troye from the State of South Carolina offered a presentation that is an ongoing issue among states and local governments about how they distribute geospatial data collected with taxpayer money. He recognized that some organizations copyright their data and that data in South Carolina, for example, is available but through different agreements depending on whether it is spatial or not.
The big question in licensing geospatial data is to license or not to license?
For full text of this article, please visit To License or Not to License Geospatial Data: Still a Challenge for Government Agencies – All Points Blog.
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Podcast: Future U.S. Workforce for GEOINT
This got geoint? podcast features the recently published report on the “Future U.S. Workforce for Geospatial Intelligence,” released this week by the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Keith C. Clarke of the University of California, Santa Barbara, chair of the Committee on the Future U.S. Workforce for Geospatial Intelligence, joins us to discuss the main findings in the report, including why and how it was conducted, key trends emerging in the industry, current and anticipated expertise gaps, and current training programs.
To listen to the podcast, click Podcast: Future U.S. Workforce for GEOINT. To download a copy of the PDF report, click here.
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Next generation Total Information Awareness? Software tracks people’s movements and behavior with social media
Software that tracks people on social media created by defence firm, by Ryan Gallagher, The Guardian, Feb 10, 2013
A multinational security firm has secretly developed software [named RIOT, or Rapid Information Overlay Technology] capable of tracking people’s movements and predicting future behaviour by mining data from social networking websites. A video obtained by the Guardian reveals how an “extreme-scale analytics” system created by Raytheon, the world’s fifth largest defence contractor, can gather vast amounts of information about people from websites including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. …But the Massachusetts-based company has acknowledged the technology was shared with US government and industry as part of a joint research and development effort, in 2010, to help build a national security system capable of analysing “trillions of entities” from cyberspace. ….
For full text of the article, visit Software that tracks people on social media created by defence firm | World news | The Guardian.
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VA Becomes First State to Pass Drone Regulations
by Jason Koebler, US News & World Report, Feb 5, 2012
The Virginia General Assembly passed a bill Tuesday that will put a two-year moratorium on the use of drones by state and local law enforcement. If signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia will become the first state in the U.S. to enact drone regulations. Virginia House Bill 2012 easily passed Monday by a vote of 83-16 and its companion, Senate Bill 1331, passed Tuesday by a vote of 36-2.
For full text of the article, visit Virginia Becomes First State to Pass Drone Regulations – US News and World Report.
Eyes in the sky: Remote sensing in the service of human rights
by Jonathan Drake and Eric Ashcroft, Physics today, Feb 1, 2013
If scientific endeavor has a purpose beyond the accumulation of knowledge for its own sake, it must be for the progress and betterment of humanity. Despite the incredible scientific developments that have defined the modern era, however, the ability of science to solve humankind’s most enduring problems remains elusive. Nowhere is that more apparent than in conflict-torn regions where weapons technologies, with their roots in scientific discovery, are exploited with lethal effectiveness.While technology’s power to exacerbate violence in that way is well established, its role in mitigating hostilities has often been considerably less visible. Recently, however, new natural science technologies have made it possible to take a more active role in conflict reduction and the promotion of universal human rights. One of the most powerful of those technologies is satellite imagery.
For full text of the article, visit Eyes in the sky: Remote sensing in the service of human rights | Points of View – Physics Today.
New NRC Report: Future U.S. Workforce for Geospatial Intelligence
Mapping Sciences Committee, National Research Council Preview Report Release, Jan 2013
Authors:
Committee on the Future U.S. Workforce for Geospatial Intelligence; Board on Earth Sciences and Resources; Board on Higher Education and Workforce; Division on Earth and Life Studies; National Research CouncilAbstract: We live in a changing world with multiple and evolving threats to national security, including terrorism, asymmetrical warfare (conflicts between agents with different military powers or tactics), and social unrest. Visually depicting and assessing these threats using imagery and other geographically-referenced information is the mission of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). As the nature of the threat evolves, so do the tools, knowledge, and skills needed to respond. The challenge for NGA is to maintain a workforce that can deal with evolving threats to national security, ongoing scientific and technological advances, and changing skills and expectations of workers.
Future U.S. Workforce for Geospatial Intelligence assesses the supply of expertise in 10 geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) fields, including 5 traditional areas (geodesy and geophysics, photogrammetry, remote sensing, cartographic science, and geographic information systems and geospatial analysis) and 5 emerging areas that could improve geospatial intelligence (GEOINT fusion, crowdsourcing, human geography, visual analytics, and forecasting). The report also identifies gaps in expertise relative to NGA’s needs and suggests ways to ensure an adequate supply of geospatial intelligence expertise over the next 20 years.
To download a PDF copy of the report, visit Future U.S. Workforce for Geospatial Intelligence.
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Wilson Center Report and Video on Crowdsourcing for the National Broadband Map
The National Broadband Map: A Case Study on Open Innovation for National Policy
by Zachary Bastian, Wilson Center‘s Commons Lab, and Michael Byrne, FCC.
The National Broadband Map is a powerful consumer protection tool developed by the FCC to provide consumers nationwide reliable information on broadband internet connections. Through consistent public engagement and the use of emerging crowdsourcing technologies and open-source software, the project was able to promote government transparency and trust in government, while finishing on time and avoiding cost overruns. The National Broadband Map is a vital example of the benefits to all when government prioritizes transparency, allows itself to be guided by the public, and directs national policy based on robust and reliable data. Published by the Commons Lab of the Science and Technology Innovation Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC September 2012.
To download a copy of the REPORT, click on the Commons Lab Scribed webpage here.
To watch the archived VIDEO on the rollout event, visit the Commons Lab YouTube page.
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Disclaimer: This is a personal blog of links to relevant news, events, and reports, provided for educational purposes only. The opinions and views contained therein are those only of the authors of the original articles. These opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the editor of this blog; the Woodrow Wilson Center; the Science and Technology Innovation Program; its staff, scholars, or interns.
