Kim Zetter
Wired
12/20/2012
Transit authorities in cities across the country are quietly installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on public buses that would give them the ability to record and store private conversations, according to documents obtained by a news outlet.
The systems are being installed in San Francisco, Baltimore, and other cities with funding from the Department of Homeland Security in some cases, according to the Daily, which obtained copies of contracts, procurement requests, specs and other documents.
The use of the equipment raises serious questions about eavesdropping without a warrant, particularly since recordings of passengers could be obtained and used by law enforcement agencies.
It also raises questions about security, since the IP audio-video systems can be accessed remotely via a built-in web server (.pdf), and can be combined with GPS data to track the movement of buses and passengers throughout the city…
…Cities that have installed the systems or have taken steps to procure them include San Francisco, California; Eugene, Oregon; Traverse City, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; Baltimore Maryland; Hartford, Connecticut; and Athens, Georgia…
Read the entire article at Wired.
Related: Sort of. Senate Plan Will Give Napolitano Final Say on Border Security and Amnesty Not Judge Andrew Napolitano, unfortunately.
The Gang of Eight is proposing a plan that will give Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano the final say over whether the border is secure enough to give 11 million illegals their citizenship…
