In fortuitous timing to fit in with Paul’s story earlier today on David Brin’s ‘Transparent Society’, it emerges there may be a new technology that may take that definition a little too literally. BBC News reports that ‘ThruVision’, a camera utilising terahertz rays to ‘see’ concealed objects. Normal security cameras use X-rays to probe a person but as everything emits different levels of terahertz rays normally, the system is passive, simply observing the body’s glow.
Tag Archives: security
Building a better bulletproof vest
Bullets don’t just bounce off Superman, they don’t even slow him down. Real-life police and soldiers can’t say the same, even when they’re wearing a bulletproof jacket of Kevlar or something similar. Although bullets don’t penetrate–the bulletproof material spreads their force–the force is still tranmsitted to the tissue underneath the bulletproof shell, causing severe bruising or even organ damage.
Now engineers from the Centre for Advanced Materials Technology at the University of Sydney have found a way to use carbon nanotubes to not only stop bullets penetrating material but actually rebound their force, so bullets can be repelled with "minimum or no damage to the wearer of a bullet proof vest.” (Via Science Blog.)
If they can just nail the X-ray vision, super-strength and flying stuff, they can break out the red-and-blue tights. (Image from Wikimedia Commons.)
[tags]nanotechnology, security, military, police[/tags]
Semi-sentient Storm botnet fights back
OK, I might be stretching the point with "semi-sentient", but it still has all the hallmarks of a bad AI thriller movie plot. The infamous and still-growing botnet created by the Storm worm virus is able to detect when its command and control structure is being probed by computer security types, and launch denial-of-service attacks at them in retaliation. While some experts believe that Storm has pretty much run its course, others estimate that it may be sitting on a power-base of more than 15 million infected machines, waiting to be hired out to the highest bidder. It’s a long step from the golden era of the Christmas Tree and Friday The Thirteenth viruses. [Via BoingBoing] [Image by RileyRoxx]
[tags]computer, security, Storm, virus, botnet[/tags]
Using biometrics to identify potential terrorists
Ever look at the guy next to you in the lineup at airport security and wonder, "Is he a terrorist?" Well, scientists at the University at Buffalo are working on automated systems to help answer that question before those questionable individuals ever get on the plane–although, unlike you, their suspicions hopefully won’t be fueled by a mistrust of bald men with earrings or the fact your ex-wife’s mother looked just like that before she started smashing your prize collection of Star Wars figurines.
Instead, the system will track faces, voices, bodies and other biometrics against "scientifically tested behavioral indicators" to provide a numerical score of the likelihood that an individual may be about to commit a terrorist act. (Via Science Daily.)
Smile for the camera! But not as if you have something to hide… (Photo from Wikimedia Commons.)
[tags]security, biometrics, terrorism, technology[/tags]
An electronic nose to sniff out explosives
The mammalian nose is a powerful and sensitive organ – just ask your dog. That’s why an Israeli company have decided to mimic the olfactory organ in an ‘electronic nose’ that can be used to detect trace amounts of explosive materials, among other things. Yet another device for the street to find a use for …[Engadget]