Phones, digital photos and privacy?

Closed circuit security systems,
wires galore and a PhD in electronic science in order to operate
it all…sounds more like something pre-historic these days.
The marketing of digital cameras coupled to advances in
cell-phone technology - all wireless, is indicative of far
greater technological capability behind the scenes, ready to be
revealed at the opportune moment. The Nokia 300 Observation
camera can take pictures at incredibly high resolutions (640x480
pixels) – rating it as a ‘surveillance system’
under European law.

“Cell phone maker Nokia is
this month launching a camera that can snap a high resolution
picture then send it to the picture-messaging phone or PC when
prompted by a text message” NZ Herald 19/5.

Critics of the system cite the
implications around ‘hackers – intercepting private
data.’

“The camera can be belted
unobtrusively to a wall or put on a stand, watching and waiting
until someone in its field of view moves. Alternatively, it can
be triggered by a text message sent from anywhere in the world.
The camera then snaps a picture and sends it to a picture
messaging phone or email address.”

These GSM camera’s can
operate in most countries of the world, they can also see in the
dark and also record audio signals.

Meanwhile Telecom NZ (our largest
telecommunications supplier) is quietly going about its business
of planning the decommissioning of the existing x.25
protocol-based service which powers our nationwide eftpos
terminals. “Rhoda Holmes, Telecom general manager of
network investment, confirmed the network would be an
“early” casualty as the company moved to IP for all
its data and telephony services. “I really don’t want
there to be a scare”, she said. “It is a normal
platform upgrade with some really exciting possibilities for our
customers”.

Readers of prophecy recognise the
necessity of these ‘Upgrades’ moving us quickly
toward a completely cashless society and ‘policed
state’ where individuality, liberty and freedom no longer
exist.

If you’re anything like me,
the following could be a real help. In NZ, we can now access
digital maps otherwise known as electronic navigators as we
circumnavigate the highways and byways of our techno-savvy
Island. Simply punch in the destination address required and
you’re in business. Good news for the ladies – not
only does the system provide details of nearest ATM machines, it
will also direct you to the closest water closet.

No more ‘skiving off’
at work. Private investigators are using GPS tracking devises to
catch staff abusing company vehicles and time. Staff vehicles
which have been ‘tagged’ can then be tailed wherever
they go, speed and location are recorded. In the US, San Diego
Company Satellite Security Systems admit that the technology is
being used by private individuals to track family
members…sounds mildly like an invasion of privacy to
me.