#cf automaton

[karmagicians]

species for the setting critter forest :]

[familyabolisher]

what do you think of Umineko so far? I’ve tried reading it but the first episode is reaaaally slow

the first episode is SLOW to the point where every time one of my friends starts reading it i am compelled to send them this tweet

that being said, i'm currently on ep4, and i'm really enjoying it now that i'm starting to get a proper handle on the discourse of the text. [spoilers for eps 1-3 below]

for one thing, i think it's well-conceived! like, i think the conceit of an endless murder mystery puzzle which keeps resetting & in which [almost] everyone could feasibly be killed in any given order & the narrative functions as a 'gameboard' is really really good. it's an attractive premise.

& i, on account of who i am as a person, have obviously latched right onto the kinzo/beatrice situation, and these gestures towards dynamics of entrapment and coercion which create/nurture some kind of 'eternal' being, beatrice the golden witch rather than beatrice the human. i'm v caught by what we learn in (i think?) ep3 - that 'beatrice' is not the name of the individual with whom battler is playing but in fact a title that others (virgilia, EVA-beatrice) can claim. obviously, like, individual/autonomous selfhood subjugated (and like, moulded/disciplined) into an abstract state - a state of Being A Metaphor, A Metonym, A Synechdoche, etc - taking place along the discursive bounds of sexual violence is v much my whole area, cf. salolita, cf. alecto, cf. dante's beatrice and her whole cultural cache! i feel like this angle is what's piqueing my interest the most right now - these (still to my mind v open) questions of beatrice's body as a resurrected 'cage of flesh,' at once flesh and automaton similar to what we see of the "furniture" (hello kiriona gaia!), what it actually means to call beatrice a "witch" or a "human" (ie. the central 'goal' of battler's game) under those particular terms. i'm like an animal with my ears pricked up.

[tanadrin]

Tleesaso Physics and Astronomy

The Tleesaso language, associated with the Katihloo people of the Searniu river valley of the Wahariyu era, is notable for--among other things--having short, undecomposable roots naming sophisticated technologies, such as sóó, “power core,” and twò, “automaton.” As previously noted, this is usually taken by scholars as evidence of longstanding technical sophistication, or at least extensive contact with a community with such sophistication, whose language could provide suitable loanwords. In comparison, some of the terminology used in Tleesaso descriptions of the natural world (particularly astronomical, atomic, and sub-atomic phenomena) is much more etymologically transparent. This has been taken by most scholars as evidence that Kaatihloo physics reached an advanced stage much later. However, this likely occurred before the center of that civilization shifted to the Searniu valley, as no evidence of the necessary experimental apparatuses (particle accelerators, large telescopes) has been found there. Other historians have argued that the Tleesaso physics terminology may in fact be quite old; however, being less commonly used than everyday technological terminology, the original structure of these words and phrases has been preserved longer, possibly being calqued into later varieties of the language because their etymologies remained transparent in a way that of words like sóó did not. A selection of this terminology follows. hwìye, “force” (lit. “pull”) kósha u, “force” (agentive of “to shape”) ngùtsè, “space or vacuum” (lit. “void”) ngùtsè yoo, “spacetime” (lit “voidtime”) yèyèsu, “scalar” (lit. “rank, order”) tyuke, “vector” taasò, “energy” hwu hwìye, “electricity, electrical force”

Hwìye and kósha u are for our purposes synonyms; in Tleesaso the latter is used for gravity, in the context of a force that structures spacetime, while the former is used for all other fundamental forces. Whether this linguistic division means that the Kaatihloo did not countenance the possibility of the union of all four fundamental forces is unknown; it may simply be an inherited convention. Tyuke, vector, appears to be an unanalyzable etymon, but may be related to tyusù, “west,” via the meaning “[cardinal] direction.” Hwu, “electricity,” likely is a contraction of híí u, the agentive of “burn,” i.e., “the burning force.” Taasò originally seems to have meant “heat,” but was not the term used for the physical property of heat (compare the original root of energy, which means “work,” but is distinct from the physical concept of “work”).

lósaa hwìye, “magnetic force” (lit. “binding pull”) néésháá hwìye, “electromagnetic force” (lit. “shining/luminous pull”) klii u hwìye, “weak nuclear force” (lit. “shattering pull”) kakalé hwìye, “strong nuclear force” (lit. “foundation/structuring pull”) ngùtsè yoo kósha u, “gravitation” (lit. “voidtime shaper”)

From néésháá hwìye, the force that gives rise to light, comes the generic term néé, for charge. Néé is used principally of electromagnetic charge or, by analogy, particle flavor (cf. “strangness”) or color charge; for electric and magnetic charge, separate terms--presumably dating from before the unification of these forces in the theory--are derived based on the names of the forces, and from these, the names of certain subatomic particles.

hwu tyó a, “eletrical current” (lit. “burning(?) flow”) hwu tèya, “electron” (lit. “burning(?) scatter”) su hwu míte, “proton” (lit. “unburning(?) shard”) tòò míte, “neutron” (lit. “silent shard”) mè u hla, “atom” (lit. “begetter-of-kind”)

Mè u hla is a word analogous to our “element”: it refers to the chemical properties conferred on a substance made of the atom in question. As a physical structure, an atom is also called a hla u lu, “forming stone,” or a hla hí, “formling.” By analogy with the electron, tèya (”scatter, dust”) also means “lepton.” For instance, the neutrino is tòò tèya, “silent scatter.” Likewise, míte is either a nucleon or possibly any baryon (hwu míte, “antiproton,” su tòò míte, “antineutron”).

hwu wa hla hí, “ion” (lit. “burned [i.e., charged] formling”) wèèla hla hí, “isotope” (lit. “false formling”; also tle hla hí, “sister formling”) salu me, “fusion” (lit. “form-making”) salu su me, “fission” (lit. “form-unmaking”)

Subnucleonic terminology is slightly inconsistent; it is unlikely the Tleesaso had the technology to investigate the structure of nucleons closely, and if their knowledge of quarks, gluons, and the workings of the strong force was inherited from a distant ancestor-civilization, they made have understood these concepts only poorly. Quarks themselves are referred to as kakalé lu, “foundation stones,” or tò hla hí “inner/deep formlings.” Color charge, the value associated with the strong force that binds quarks together, was called tò néé (”deepshine”) or kakalé néé (”foundation/structuring shine”). Gluons are mè u kakalé [hwìye], “begetters of the foundation [pull].” Somewhat confusingly, besides the atom, the mè u may have referred to force-carrying particles in general, especially virtual particles, i.e., the force-carrying virtual photon would be the mè u néésháá.

Additional terms for other kinds of particles--fundamental particles like the W or Z bosons, or composite particles like the mesons, or hadrons generally--are uncertain due to a lack of attestation. The genitive phrase hla hí sòò “of/pertaining to the formling” may have meant fermions generally, or may have only referred to protons, neutrons, electrons, and their antiparticles. A full understanding of the sophistication of Kaatihloo physics awaits the deciphering of Kaatihloo mathematical notation, an endeavor vexed by two significant difficulties. First, its exceeding complexity--dense, curvilinear scaffolds on which dozens or hundreds of symbols may be arranged, without clear distinction between operators or operands (even the existance of a single symbol for equality has not been determined conclusively). Second, its scarce attestation. Even if the Kaatihloo did not rely on the niitsiyaa for the transmission of their mathematical knowledge, their textbooks and inquiries were not preserved in a form conducive to preservation in the archeological record. Most of the examples of Kaatihloo mathematics recovered so far seem primarily to be decorative, in the way one might inscribe “E=mc^2″ on a monument meant to commemorate scientific achievement in general, rather than aiming to create a primary source of knowledge.

...

Tleesaso astronomical terminology is more poorly understood. Nà means “star,” and kiityò means “planet,” and possibly any rocky, orbiting body. Lóó was the Kaatihloo name for the sun, and in the context of a planet or star’s orbit, any primary body; although if the primary in question was not a star or stellar remnant, the term tyòyú was employed instead. A stellar remnant was a takyò wa nà, a “ruined star,” while a supernova was a [nà] kasìì, a “[star] calamity” or a “calamitous star.” Wolf-Rayet stars specifically were nà híí híí sòò (”stars of the immense fire;” note the use of augmentative reduplication); while planetary nebula--or possibly the stellar remnant at the heart of such nebulae--were called nà koo te sòò, “stars of the aftermath.” White dwarfs and brown dwarfs, like yellow and red dwarfs, red giants, blue giants, etc., seem to only be distinguished through the use of astronomical symbols accompanying the name of the star in question. Neutron stars are called either nà tòò míte sòò (”stars of the silent shard”, literally “neutron star”) or yááyáá u nà (“howling stars,” possibly meaning “pulsar”). The word for “black hole” is unknown. In The Reconstruction of Tleesaso Roots, Yizhad Girvat argues from comparative anthropological evidence that the absence of this word and the apparent laborious circumlocutions used in the context of discussing regions of space with an event horizon are due to this term being an unspeakable taboo; most scholars, however, have found this assertion dubious at best.

--Tuli Vaikhar, The Kaatihloo Corpus, 2nd Ed. (271 CE, University of Presh)

[lady-byleth]

I will admit I have not gotten all of the supports yet, so I didn’t realize the Hanneman backstory got revealed in other routes, or my mind is playing tricks on me. And while Bernie is out of her room a little more in all routes, in CF she’s out and about every month. I will admit I am also curious about the names automatons. I think Chevalier is one of the lost crests and Wilhelm was the first Adrestian Emperor? Does this get explained in SS? And who were Iris, Luca, Bernhard and Gajus?

Chevalier, Ernest, Aubin, Noa and Timotheos are the lost Crests, yes

Wilhelm's backstory is either Silver Snow or Crimson Flower, I'm not sure. I spent some time in the wiki to read up on stuff I missed because of skipping Crimson Flower and it all congealed with the knowledge of the game itself. I do know that he didn't make it to the end of the war and his son Lycaon took over. Also, Wilhelm started the war on Nemesis but Seiros joined.

As for the others, I have...no idea who these people are xD

[egglygreg]

Had a series of truly bizarre dreams last night caused by helping my grandmother fill out the census (I have cfs and fibro, and filling out forms tends to exhaust me very fast and cause sensory overload and weird brain issues, which lead to very odd dreams)

This dream was the most memorable, and also the only one really comprehensible.

I was exploring down by the river among the trees. There on the river's banks I found a beautiful miniature pony badly injured and dying. I comforted him as he died, and I buried him, said a few words, and cried for him.

Suddenly, he erupted from the ground and began to stretch out and change. He transformed into a bizarre small purple camel-like creature, which seemed both animal and automaton. He had a coin slot and a change return shute in his side, and he gave me a strange coin from it.

"Am I meant to put this in?"

He nodded, blinking his long lashes at me. His eyes were very beautiful.

When I did, his entire side opened up, and bits of paper began to print out. On them were written transcripts of memories I'd forgotten, mostly from my childhood, funny and lovely things. They triggered the memories themselves to play through my mind.

On some were written comments from the camel, who said he enjoyed my daydreams and found them very entertaining and amusing.

"How do you know these things?" I asked him, in the middle of reading and laughing at something silly I had said.

He simply blinked at me, and did not answer.

[newstfionline]

At Beijing security fair, an arms race for surveillance tech

Pei Li, Cate Cadell, Reuters, May 30, 2018

BEIJING (Reuters)--It can crack your smartphone password in seconds, rip personal data from call and messaging apps, and peruse your contact book.

The Chinese-made XDH-CF-5600 scanner--or “mobile phone sleuth”, as sales staff described it when touting its claimed features--was one of hundreds of surveillance gadgets on display at a recent police equipment fair in Beijing.

The China International Exhibition on Police Equipment is something of a one-stop shop for China’s police forces looking to arm up with the latest in “black tech”--a term widely used to refer to cutting-edge surveillance gadgets.

The fair underscores the extent to which China’s security forces are using technology to monitor and punish behavior that runs counter to the ruling Communist Party.

That sort of monitoring--both offline and online--is stoking concerns from human rights groups about the development of a nationwide surveillance system to quell dissent.

The Ministry of Public Security, which hosted the Beijing fair, did not respond to a request for comment.

At the fair, Reuters also saw stalls offering cute-looking robots, equipped with artificial intelligence systems to detect criminals, as well as an array of drones, smart glasses, DNA database software and facial-recognition cameras.

At the fair, which is held annually, most buyers appeared to be local Chinese police, though some global firms attended, selling mainly vehicles and aircraft. Ford Motor Co, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Airbus SE had cars and model helicopters on display.

Scanners like the XDH-CF-5600 exist in other markets around the world, including the United States, but their use is contentious, especially regarding the forcible extraction of data from mobile phone devices.

Chinese firms are rushing to meet the growing demand from the country’s security services, fuelling a surveillance tech arms race as companies look to outdo each others’ tracking and monitoring capabilities. Western firms have played little overt role so far in China’s surveillance boom.

Beijing-based Hisign Technology said its desktop and portable phone scanners can retrieve even deleted data from over 90 mobile applications on smart phones, including overseas platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

A big selling point of the technology, according to one policeman from the restive far western region of Xinjiang who was eyeing a Hisign scanner, was its claimed ability to get data from Apple Inc’s iOS operating system, used in products like the widely popular iPhone.

“We are actually using these kinds of scanners in Xinjiang already, but I am interested in this one as it claims to be more successful with iOS phones than other brands,” said the policeman, surnamed Gu, who traveled 3,000 kilometers to attend the fair. He declined to provide his given name.

The iPhone’s iOS system is seen by many analysts as the most secure operating system. A handful of firms in Israel and the United States have been able to crack into the iOS system, according to media reports. That ability is often shrouded in secrecy, however.

“The ability to crack iOS has been around,” said Matthew Warren, the deputy director of the Deakin University Center for Cyber Security Research in Melbourne. “What’s different in this situation is that Chinese authorities are admitting that they have the capabilities to do that.”

At the Beijing fair, several firms told Reuters they could crack 4-digit passwords on platforms ranging from iOS 6 to iOS 8.1, and were working to break through security of the latest iOS 10 platform.

The vendors did not demonstrate their stated capability of getting into security systems of older iPhones. Apple’s latest operating system uses a stronger 6-digit password.

Apple declined to comment on the vendors’ claims.

Chinese authorities are targeting a nationwide surveillance network, leveraging off tools made by companies like Hisign to compile data gleaned from smartphones and cameras into an online database of its near 1.4 billion people.

“Our forensic products are sold in 26 provinces across China and have helped police process 11 million cases,” Han Xuesong, a sales director at Hisign, told Reuters at the fair.

Other sellers tout police glasses that scan people and match them with a database of fugitives. There was also the AI-2000-Xiao An robot, a blue-eyed police automaton for use at train stations and airports.

The robot, shaped like R2-D2 from “Star Wars”, but with red flashing “ears” and over a dozen sensors and cameras, can identify people in a crowd, engage in conversations and broadcast police announcements.

The robots were used for security at an international summit last year held in the port city of Xiamen, state media reported.

The rise of sophisticated monitoring technology in China has raised fears among rights activists that Chinese citizens will have little space left that remains private.

Public debate on the subject is more restrained though, with many resigned to the fact that individual rights are subordinated to state interests.

Liu Haifeng, vice general manager at Xindehui, a Meiya Pico subsidiary, said he sees surveillance tech as a positive.

“It is impossible for people, especially the younger generations, to live without electronics,” he told a roomful of police listening on at the Beijing event. Therefore, suspects trying to escape, “can never get away”.

[party-hard-or-die]

At Beijing security fair, an arms race for surveillance tech

BEIJING (Reuters) – It can crack your smartphone password in seconds, rip personal data from call and messaging apps, and peruse your contact book.

FILE PHOTO: A police robot patrols before the third plenary session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, China March 10, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

The Chinese-made XDH-CF-5600 scanner – or “mobile phone sleuth”, as sales staff described it when touting its claimed features – was one of hundreds of surveillance gadgets on display at a recent police equipment fair in Beijing.

The China International Exhibition on Police Equipment is something of a one-stop shop for China’s police forces looking to arm up with the latest in “black tech” – a term widely used to refer to cutting-edge surveillance gadgets.

The fair underscores the extent to which China’s security forces are using technology to monitor and punish behavior that runs counter to the ruling Communist Party.

That sort of monitoring – both offline and online – is stoking concerns from human rights groups about the development of a nationwide surveillance system to quell dissent.

The Ministry of Public Security, which hosted the Beijing fair, did not respond to a request for comment.

At the fair, Reuters also saw stalls offering cute-looking robots, equipped with artificial intelligence systems to detect criminals, as well as an array of drones, smart glasses, DNA database software and facial-recognition cameras.

At the fair, which is held annually, most buyers appeared to be local Chinese police, though some global firms attended, selling mainly vehicles and aircraft. Ford Motor Co (F.N), Daimler AG’s (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz and Airbus SE (AIR.PA) had cars and model helicopters on display.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is not unusual for western companies to sell vehicles to overseas police forces.

It was not possible to verify all the claims made about the products at the fair, including the XDH-CF-5600 scanner, which is made by Xiamen Meiya Pico Information Co Ltd (300188.SZ), a Chinese provider of security products and services.

Scanners like the XDH-CF-5600 exist in other markets around the world, including the United States, but their use is contentious, especially regarding the forcible extraction of data from mobile phone devices.

Chinese firms are rushing to meet the growing demand from the country’s security services, fuelling a surveillance tech arms race as companies look to outdo each others’ tracking and monitoring capabilities. Western firms have played little overt role so far in China’s surveillance boom.

Beijing-based Hisign Technology said its desktop and portable phone scanners can retrieve even deleted data from over 90 mobile applications on smart phones, including overseas platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Slideshow (5 Images)

A big selling point of the technology, according to one policeman from the restive far western region of Xinjiang who was eyeing a Hisign scanner, was its claimed ability to get data from Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iOS operating system, used in products like the widely popular iPhone.

“We are actually using these kinds of scanners in Xinjiang already, but I am interested in this one as it claims to be more successful with iOS phones than other brands,” said the policeman, surnamed Gu, who traveled 3,000 kilometers to attend the fair. He declined to provide his given name.

The iPhone’s iOS system is seen by many analysts as the most secure operating system. A handful of firms in Israel and the United States have been able to crack into the iOS system, according to media reports. That ability is often shrouded in secrecy, however.

“The ability to crack iOS has been around,” said Matthew Warren, the deputy director of the Deakin University Center for Cyber Security Research in Melbourne. “What’s different in this situation is that Chinese authorities are admitting that they have the capabilities to do that.”

At the Beijing fair, several firms told Reuters they could crack 4-digit passwords on platforms ranging from iOS 6 to iOS 8.1, and were working to break through security of the latest iOS 10 platform.

The vendors did not demonstrate their stated capability of getting into security systems of older iPhones. Apple’s latest operating system uses a stronger 6-digit password.

Apple declined to comment on the vendors’ claims.

SURVEILLANCE WEB

Chinese authorities are targeting a nationwide surveillance network, leveraging off tools made by companies like Hisign to compile data gleaned from smartphones and cameras into an online database of its near 1.4 billion people.

“Our forensic products are sold in 26 provinces across China and have helped police process 11 million cases,” Han Xuesong, a sales director at Hisign, told Reuters at the fair.

Hisign is not alone. Meiya Pico has a rival offering, the DC-8811 Magic Cube, which its marketing materials call “the Swiss Army Knife of forensics”. The larger FL-2000 is a “forensic aircraft carrier”.

Pwnzen Infotech, a firm backed by Qihoo 360, a cybersecurity specialist, was another scanner maker at the fair who talked up its system’s ability to get data from overseas platforms.

A sales representative described a case last year in which Pwnzen cracked the phone of a suspect who was “subverting the government” to get data from his Facebook and Twitter accounts. The representative spoke on condition of anonymity.

Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokeswoman for Twitter said the firm was unable to comment on technology it had not seen, but added that “privacy is built into Twitter’s DNA and it’s something we take an active role in promoting and advocating for across the world.”

BLUE-EYED ROBOT

Other sellers tout police glasses that scan people and match them with a database of fugitives. There was also the AI-2000-Xiao An robot, a blue-eyed police automaton for use at train stations and airports.

The robot, shaped like R2-D2 from “Star Wars”, but with red flashing “ears” and over a dozen sensors and cameras, can identify people in a crowd, engage in conversations and broadcast police announcements.

The robots were used for security at an international summit last year held in the port city of Xiamen, state media reported.

Zhao Jianqiang, an R&D manager at Meiya Pico, said the firm’s tools used artificial intelligence to detect “terrorism-related or violent content” online and on smart phones. Zhao cited images of guns, and the crescent and star symbols often found on the flags of Muslim nations.

The firm also has software which can analyze audio files, convert voice messages into text, and translate minority dialects like that of the Turkic-language speaking Uighurs in Xinjiang into Mandarin Chinese.

Chinese authorities over the past two years have escalated security and surveillance operations across Xinjiang, widely using technology to track the local Uighur population as well as other Muslim minorities, residents and human rights activists say. China denies carrying out repression in the region.

The rise of sophisticated monitoring technology in China has raised fears among rights activists that Chinese citizens will have little space left that remains private.

Public debate on the subject is more restrained though, with many resigned to the fact that individual rights are subordinated to state interests.

Liu Haifeng, vice general manager at Xindehui, a Meiya Pico subsidiary, said he sees surveillance tech as a positive.

“It is impossible for people, especially the younger generations, to live without electronics,” he told a roomful of police listening on at the Beijing event. Therefore, suspects trying to escape, “can never get away”.

Reporting by Pei Li and Cate Cadell; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Philip McClellan

The post At Beijing security fair, an arms race for surveillance tech appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2L7IPsi via Breaking News

[cleopatrarps]

At Beijing security fair, an arms race for surveillance tech

BEIJING (Reuters) – It can crack your smartphone password in seconds, rip personal data from call and messaging apps, and peruse your contact book.

FILE PHOTO: A police robot patrols before the third plenary session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, China March 10, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

The Chinese-made XDH-CF-5600 scanner – or “mobile phone sleuth”, as sales staff described it when touting its claimed features – was one of hundreds of surveillance gadgets on display at a recent police equipment fair in Beijing.

The China International Exhibition on Police Equipment is something of a one-stop shop for China’s police forces looking to arm up with the latest in “black tech” – a term widely used to refer to cutting-edge surveillance gadgets.

The fair underscores the extent to which China’s security forces are using technology to monitor and punish behavior that runs counter to the ruling Communist Party.

That sort of monitoring – both offline and online – is stoking concerns from human rights groups about the development of a nationwide surveillance system to quell dissent.

The Ministry of Public Security, which hosted the Beijing fair, did not respond to a request for comment.

At the fair, Reuters also saw stalls offering cute-looking robots, equipped with artificial intelligence systems to detect criminals, as well as an array of drones, smart glasses, DNA database software and facial-recognition cameras.

At the fair, which is held annually, most buyers appeared to be local Chinese police, though some global firms attended, selling mainly vehicles and aircraft. Ford Motor Co (F.N), Daimler AG’s (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz and Airbus SE (AIR.PA) had cars and model helicopters on display.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is not unusual for western companies to sell vehicles to overseas police forces.

It was not possible to verify all the claims made about the products at the fair, including the XDH-CF-5600 scanner, which is made by Xiamen Meiya Pico Information Co Ltd (300188.SZ), a Chinese provider of security products and services.

Scanners like the XDH-CF-5600 exist in other markets around the world, including the United States, but their use is contentious, especially regarding the forcible extraction of data from mobile phone devices.

Chinese firms are rushing to meet the growing demand from the country’s security services, fuelling a surveillance tech arms race as companies look to outdo each others’ tracking and monitoring capabilities. Western firms have played little overt role so far in China’s surveillance boom.

Beijing-based Hisign Technology said its desktop and portable phone scanners can retrieve even deleted data from over 90 mobile applications on smart phones, including overseas platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Slideshow (5 Images)

A big selling point of the technology, according to one policeman from the restive far western region of Xinjiang who was eyeing a Hisign scanner, was its claimed ability to get data from Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iOS operating system, used in products like the widely popular iPhone.

“We are actually using these kinds of scanners in Xinjiang already, but I am interested in this one as it claims to be more successful with iOS phones than other brands,” said the policeman, surnamed Gu, who traveled 3,000 kilometers to attend the fair. He declined to provide his given name.

The iPhone’s iOS system is seen by many analysts as the most secure operating system. A handful of firms in Israel and the United States have been able to crack into the iOS system, according to media reports. That ability is often shrouded in secrecy, however.

“The ability to crack iOS has been around,” said Matthew Warren, the deputy director of the Deakin University Center for Cyber Security Research in Melbourne. “What’s different in this situation is that Chinese authorities are admitting that they have the capabilities to do that.”

At the Beijing fair, several firms told Reuters they could crack 4-digit passwords on platforms ranging from iOS 6 to iOS 8.1, and were working to break through security of the latest iOS 10 platform.

The vendors did not demonstrate their stated capability of getting into security systems of older iPhones. Apple’s latest operating system uses a stronger 6-digit password.

Apple declined to comment on the vendors’ claims.

SURVEILLANCE WEB

Chinese authorities are targeting a nationwide surveillance network, leveraging off tools made by companies like Hisign to compile data gleaned from smartphones and cameras into an online database of its near 1.4 billion people.

“Our forensic products are sold in 26 provinces across China and have helped police process 11 million cases,” Han Xuesong, a sales director at Hisign, told Reuters at the fair.

Hisign is not alone. Meiya Pico has a rival offering, the DC-8811 Magic Cube, which its marketing materials call “the Swiss Army Knife of forensics”. The larger FL-2000 is a “forensic aircraft carrier”.

Pwnzen Infotech, a firm backed by Qihoo 360, a cybersecurity specialist, was another scanner maker at the fair who talked up its system’s ability to get data from overseas platforms.

A sales representative described a case last year in which Pwnzen cracked the phone of a suspect who was “subverting the government” to get data from his Facebook and Twitter accounts. The representative spoke on condition of anonymity.

Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokeswoman for Twitter said the firm was unable to comment on technology it had not seen, but added that “privacy is built into Twitter’s DNA and it’s something we take an active role in promoting and advocating for across the world.”

BLUE-EYED ROBOT

Other sellers tout police glasses that scan people and match them with a database of fugitives. There was also the AI-2000-Xiao An robot, a blue-eyed police automaton for use at train stations and airports.

The robot, shaped like R2-D2 from “Star Wars”, but with red flashing “ears” and over a dozen sensors and cameras, can identify people in a crowd, engage in conversations and broadcast police announcements.

The robots were used for security at an international summit last year held in the port city of Xiamen, state media reported.

Zhao Jianqiang, an R&D manager at Meiya Pico, said the firm’s tools used artificial intelligence to detect “terrorism-related or violent content” online and on smart phones. Zhao cited images of guns, and the crescent and star symbols often found on the flags of Muslim nations.

The firm also has software which can analyze audio files, convert voice messages into text, and translate minority dialects like that of the Turkic-language speaking Uighurs in Xinjiang into Mandarin Chinese.

Chinese authorities over the past two years have escalated security and surveillance operations across Xinjiang, widely using technology to track the local Uighur population as well as other Muslim minorities, residents and human rights activists say. China denies carrying out repression in the region.

The rise of sophisticated monitoring technology in China has raised fears among rights activists that Chinese citizens will have little space left that remains private.

Public debate on the subject is more restrained though, with many resigned to the fact that individual rights are subordinated to state interests.

Liu Haifeng, vice general manager at Xindehui, a Meiya Pico subsidiary, said he sees surveillance tech as a positive.

“It is impossible for people, especially the younger generations, to live without electronics,” he told a roomful of police listening on at the Beijing event. Therefore, suspects trying to escape, “can never get away”.

Reporting by Pei Li and Cate Cadell; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Philip McClellan

The post At Beijing security fair, an arms race for surveillance tech appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2L7IPsi via News of World

[dani-qrt]

At Beijing security fair, an arms race for surveillance tech

BEIJING (Reuters) – It can crack your smartphone password in seconds, rip personal data from call and messaging apps, and peruse your contact book.

FILE PHOTO: A police robot patrols before the third plenary session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, China March 10, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

The Chinese-made XDH-CF-5600 scanner – or “mobile phone sleuth”, as sales staff described it when touting its claimed features – was one of hundreds of surveillance gadgets on display at a recent police equipment fair in Beijing.

The China International Exhibition on Police Equipment is something of a one-stop shop for China’s police forces looking to arm up with the latest in “black tech” – a term widely used to refer to cutting-edge surveillance gadgets.

The fair underscores the extent to which China’s security forces are using technology to monitor and punish behavior that runs counter to the ruling Communist Party.

That sort of monitoring – both offline and online – is stoking concerns from human rights groups about the development of a nationwide surveillance system to quell dissent.

The Ministry of Public Security, which hosted the Beijing fair, did not respond to a request for comment.

At the fair, Reuters also saw stalls offering cute-looking robots, equipped with artificial intelligence systems to detect criminals, as well as an array of drones, smart glasses, DNA database software and facial-recognition cameras.

At the fair, which is held annually, most buyers appeared to be local Chinese police, though some global firms attended, selling mainly vehicles and aircraft. Ford Motor Co (F.N), Daimler AG’s (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz and Airbus SE (AIR.PA) had cars and model helicopters on display.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is not unusual for western companies to sell vehicles to overseas police forces.

It was not possible to verify all the claims made about the products at the fair, including the XDH-CF-5600 scanner, which is made by Xiamen Meiya Pico Information Co Ltd (300188.SZ), a Chinese provider of security products and services.

Scanners like the XDH-CF-5600 exist in other markets around the world, including the United States, but their use is contentious, especially regarding the forcible extraction of data from mobile phone devices.

Chinese firms are rushing to meet the growing demand from the country’s security services, fuelling a surveillance tech arms race as companies look to outdo each others’ tracking and monitoring capabilities. Western firms have played little overt role so far in China’s surveillance boom.

Beijing-based Hisign Technology said its desktop and portable phone scanners can retrieve even deleted data from over 90 mobile applications on smart phones, including overseas platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

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A big selling point of the technology, according to one policeman from the restive far western region of Xinjiang who was eyeing a Hisign scanner, was its claimed ability to get data from Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iOS operating system, used in products like the widely popular iPhone.

“We are actually using these kinds of scanners in Xinjiang already, but I am interested in this one as it claims to be more successful with iOS phones than other brands,” said the policeman, surnamed Gu, who traveled 3,000 kilometers to attend the fair. He declined to provide his given name.

The iPhone’s iOS system is seen by many analysts as the most secure operating system. A handful of firms in Israel and the United States have been able to crack into the iOS system, according to media reports. That ability is often shrouded in secrecy, however.

“The ability to crack iOS has been around,” said Matthew Warren, the deputy director of the Deakin University Center for Cyber Security Research in Melbourne. “What’s different in this situation is that Chinese authorities are admitting that they have the capabilities to do that.”

At the Beijing fair, several firms told Reuters they could crack 4-digit passwords on platforms ranging from iOS 6 to iOS 8.1, and were working to break through security of the latest iOS 10 platform.

The vendors did not demonstrate their stated capability of getting into security systems of older iPhones. Apple’s latest operating system uses a stronger 6-digit password.

Apple declined to comment on the vendors’ claims.

SURVEILLANCE WEB

Chinese authorities are targeting a nationwide surveillance network, leveraging off tools made by companies like Hisign to compile data gleaned from smartphones and cameras into an online database of its near 1.4 billion people.

“Our forensic products are sold in 26 provinces across China and have helped police process 11 million cases,” Han Xuesong, a sales director at Hisign, told Reuters at the fair.

Hisign is not alone. Meiya Pico has a rival offering, the DC-8811 Magic Cube, which its marketing materials call “the Swiss Army Knife of forensics”. The larger FL-2000 is a “forensic aircraft carrier”.

Pwnzen Infotech, a firm backed by Qihoo 360, a cybersecurity specialist, was another scanner maker at the fair who talked up its system’s ability to get data from overseas platforms.

A sales representative described a case last year in which Pwnzen cracked the phone of a suspect who was “subverting the government” to get data from his Facebook and Twitter accounts. The representative spoke on condition of anonymity.

Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokeswoman for Twitter said the firm was unable to comment on technology it had not seen, but added that “privacy is built into Twitter’s DNA and it’s something we take an active role in promoting and advocating for across the world.”

BLUE-EYED ROBOT

Other sellers tout police glasses that scan people and match them with a database of fugitives. There was also the AI-2000-Xiao An robot, a blue-eyed police automaton for use at train stations and airports.

The robot, shaped like R2-D2 from “Star Wars”, but with red flashing “ears” and over a dozen sensors and cameras, can identify people in a crowd, engage in conversations and broadcast police announcements.

The robots were used for security at an international summit last year held in the port city of Xiamen, state media reported.

Zhao Jianqiang, an R&D manager at Meiya Pico, said the firm’s tools used artificial intelligence to detect “terrorism-related or violent content” online and on smart phones. Zhao cited images of guns, and the crescent and star symbols often found on the flags of Muslim nations.

The firm also has software which can analyze audio files, convert voice messages into text, and translate minority dialects like that of the Turkic-language speaking Uighurs in Xinjiang into Mandarin Chinese.

Chinese authorities over the past two years have escalated security and surveillance operations across Xinjiang, widely using technology to track the local Uighur population as well as other Muslim minorities, residents and human rights activists say. China denies carrying out repression in the region.

The rise of sophisticated monitoring technology in China has raised fears among rights activists that Chinese citizens will have little space left that remains private.

Public debate on the subject is more restrained though, with many resigned to the fact that individual rights are subordinated to state interests.

Liu Haifeng, vice general manager at Xindehui, a Meiya Pico subsidiary, said he sees surveillance tech as a positive.

“It is impossible for people, especially the younger generations, to live without electronics,” he told a roomful of police listening on at the Beijing event. Therefore, suspects trying to escape, “can never get away”.

Reporting by Pei Li and Cate Cadell; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Philip McClellan

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