Page 187 - Elana Freeland - Under an Ionized Sky
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where atmospheric  absorption  is  not a problem, given that  THz  waves  propagate  only  in  air.
               Could THz wave propagation be one of the reasons for conductive desiccants like aluminum in
               chemical trails, given that both THz and millimeter waves experience less scattering loss from
               particulates than optical wavelengths?
                   Towers  mean  cell  phone  receptivity  and  profits,  but  more  importantly  they  mean
               surveillance:

                     . . .the laws relating to information sharing and wiretapping specifically regulate companies that provide services to
                     the general public (such as AT&T and Verizon), but they do not cover the firms that provide services to the major
                     carriers or connect communications companies to one another. . .[Spooks] can simply go to the companies that own
                     and operate the wireless towers that the telecoms use for their networks and get accurate information on anyone using
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                     those towers—or go to other entities connecting the wireless network to the landline network.

                   The  transmission  of  image  and  video  intelligence  (IMINT)  is  particularly  onerous  for
               wireless, and there is no end to surveillance gewgaws that draw power from the wireless matrix.
               Cell  phones  tethered  to  microwave  towers  are  perfect  tracking  devices  for  interception  and
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               eavesdropping,   with  taxpayers  once  again  paying  for  their  own  surveillance.   Verizon
               Wireless,  the  largest  cellular  carrier  in  the  U.S.,  monitors  its  customers  and  sells  the
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               information.   Then  there  are  the  “metasearch  datamining”  sensors.  The  Department  of
               Homeland  Security’s  Future  Attribute  Screening  Technology  (FAST)  relies  on  “non-contact
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               sensors.” Palantir software lives up to its name as “one that sees from afar”  by vacuuming up
               financial records, DNA samples, voice, video, maps, floor plans, HUMINT, etc., until a “profile”
               emerges.  Then  there’s  the  Defense  Intelligence  Agency’s  FICOR  (foreign  intelligence  and
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               counterintelligence operation records),  and on it goes from there.
                   Law  enforcement  can  now  use  Cellebrite  UFED  (mobile  forensic  cell  phone  analyzers)
               during  routine  traffic  stops  and  request  that  Apple  or  Google  bypass  a  cell  phone  user’s
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               passcode.  Police officers can point the speech-jamming gun at you to listen with a directional
               microphone  and  play  back  your  voice  frequency  with  a  directional  speaker  (delayed  auditory
               feedback) to shut down your ability to speak. Or they can point the SMU100 laser at you to
               dazzle and temporarily blind you up to five hundred meters.
                   The FBI’s CIPAV (computer and internet protocol address verifier) is illegal spyware on the
               order  of  DCSNet  (digital  collection  system  network),  the  renamed  Carnivore  (1997–2005)
               mentioned  in  Chapters  5  and  10.  CIPAV  is  a  point-and-click  data  gathering  device  able  to
               capture  IP  and  MAC  addresses,  open  ports  running  programs,  operating  system,  default  web
               browser, last visited URL, and outbound emails with IP addresses. FBI wiretapping rooms have
               access to the entire civilian Smart Grid infrastructure. A high-speed DS-3 (T-3) digital line gives
               intelligence agencies and their contractors carte blanche when it comes to the carrier’s wireless
               network. 55
                   To the military mind, 24/7 access to cell towers and phones are filed under C4 cyberwarfare.
                   Whether  used  in  the  foreign  or  domestic  battlespace,  smartphones  on  military  or  FBI
               frequencies  have  become  highly  specialized  and  ubiquitous.  They  may  be  translators,  field
               manual dictionaries, or apps like the Blue Force Tracker that tell where friendly forces are, or
               provide live video feed from drones and robots like Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology
               Laboratories robot fitted with a laser to covertly map in 3D the environment it perceives:

                     The creation of robots that can hide from humans while spying on them brings autonomous spy machines one step
                     closer. The spy approaches the target building under cover of darkness, taking a zigzag path to avoid well-lit areas and
                     sentries. He selects a handy vantage point next to a dumpster, taking cover behind it when he hears the footsteps of an
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