Archiv: Internet der Dinge / Körper / Internet of things / Bodies (program)


25.12.2025 - 13:03 [ Daniel Neun / Radio Utopie ]

Analyse: Geheimdienstlicher Komplex will das stadtweite „Überwachungs“-System in Berlin wieder aktivieren lassen

(Dezember 30, 2016)

Was würde passieren, wenn bekannt würde, dass Berlin, die einflussreichste und mächtigste Stadt auf dem Kontinent Europa und die Hauptstadt der Berliner Republik, durch ein stadtweites Spionagesystem „überwacht“ wird, durch das jede Person beobachtet werden kann „von dem Moment an dem sie die Türschwelle verlässt, bis zu dem Moment an dem sie zurückkehrt“ und dass Arbeit und soziales Verhaltensmuster der Stadtbewohner und -besucher „aufzeichnet, analysiert und archiviert“? Und nicht nur Geheimdienste aus N.A.T.O.-Staaten darauf in Echtzeit zugreifen können?

Nichts. Nichts würde passieren. Die strategische Mehrheit der Bevölkerung würde sich ducken, bücken, beugen, wie sie es in der deutschen Geschichte immer getan hat

25.12.2025 - 12:01 [ Common Dreams ]

Human Rights Expert Sounds Alarm Over Israeli Firm’s ‘Dystopian’ Video-Altering Tech

(December 27, 2022)

The company, whose activities are overseen by the Israeli Defense Ministry, “was set up in 2018 and has offices in Tel Aviv and Washington,” Haaretz reported. “It works solely with state clients in government, intelligence bodies, and law enforcement agencies, almost exclusively—but not just—in the West. According to the internal documents, as of 2021, the company had contracts with Israel valued at $6 million, and had also planned an ‘expansion of existing deployment’ in Israel.”

Toka can tap into web-connected cameras found virtually everywhere—intersections, parking lots, malls, hotels, airports, and even homes. Haaretz compared the firm’s “cyberoffense” capabilities to the 2001 heist movie Ocean’s Eleven.

25.12.2025 - 10:22 [ New York Post ]

This ‘dystopian’ new spy technology should terrify you

(December 29, 2022)

Frightening new technology in the hands of government intelligence agencies has the ability to commandeer any smart camera and even “alter feeds” to manipulate both its audio and visuals — including past recordings, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

(…)

Specifically, it can “transform untapped [Internet of things] sensors into intelligence sources” in the interest of “intelligence and operational needs,” according to 2021 internal company documents Haaretz obtained.

(…)

The Toka rep added that its only clients are “the US and its closest allies … Toka does not sell to private clients or individuals.”

25.12.2025 - 10:07 [ NoCamels.com ]

Cyber Firm Co-Founded By Former Israeli PM Raises $12.5M

(July 16, 2018)

The company, which will create spy tools and software for clients to help fight national security threats, is heavily focused on IoT devices, like Amazon Echo, Alexa smart alarms and more.

“The proliferation of connected devices and the rise of IoT have transformed the digital and security landscape, creating new threats, as well as opportunities for those entrusted with keeping their people safe.

25.12.2025 - 09:58 [ Haaretz ]

Knesset extends order allowing IDF, Shin Bet to hack into private security cameras

(December 24, 2025)

The Knesset approved a one-year extension of a temporary order that authorizes the IDF and Shin Bet security service to hack into private security cameras without their owners‘ knowledge.

Although the temporary order originally stipulated that hacking into cameras would only be done in cases related to „significant military activities,“ the current proposal eliminated this condition so that the order would not be dependent on the state of war. However, the grounds for activating the order were reduced.

Ten Knesset members voted in favor of the order in the third and final vote, with no opponents.

25.12.2025 - 09:51 [ Middle East Eye ]

Israeli parliament extends order allowing Israeli military, intelligence access into private security cameras

(December 24, 2025)

Israel’s Knesset approved a one-year extension of a temporary order allowing the Israeli military and Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet to hack into private security cameras without owners’ knowledge, Haaretz reported.

The original order limited such access to cases involving “significant military activities.”

The updated legislation removed this restriction, allowing the order to be used regardless of a state of war, while narrowing the grounds for its activation. In the third and final vote, ten Knesset members supported the measure and none opposed it.

26.07.2025 - 09:16 [ Spiegel.de ]

Telekom will 2G-Technik bis 2028 abschalten

(October 24, 2024)

Die Abschaltung des GSM-Netzes betrifft aber auch Dienste im Internet der Dinge. Dazu gehören etwa einige vernetzte Stromzähler und Alarmanlagen, die noch über GSM online sind. Damit diese Anlagen auch nach der Abschaltung des GSM-Netzes der Telekom wie gewohnt funktionieren, sollten Anbieter und Nutzer jetzt aktiv werden und den Austausch der noch verbliebenen alten Funkmodule vorbereiten, empfiehlt die Deutsche Telekom.

24.03.2025 - 11:21 [ Techdirt ]

German Government Official Wants Backdoors In Every Device Connected To The Internet

(Devember 5, 2017)

And it’s not just backdoors being suggested. De Maizière wants all electronics to be law enforcement-complicit. All things — especially those connected to the internet — should be constructed with government access in mind.

29.03.2024 - 22:45 [ CommonDreams.org ]

Human Rights Expert Sounds Alarm Over Israeli Firm‘s ‚Dystopian‘ Video-Altering Tech

(December 27, 2022)

Haaretz continued:

Twenty years on, this is no longer the stuff of movies: Toka‘s tech allows clients to do just that and more—not just diverting a live feed but also altering old feeds and erasing any evidence of a covert op.
Technical documents reviewed by an ethical hacker prove that Toka‘s tech can alter both live and recorded video feeds—all without leaving any forensics or telltale signs of a hack (in contrast to NSO‘s Pegasus spyware, or Intellexa‘s Predator, which leave a digital fingerprint on targeted devices).

29.03.2024 - 22:35 [ Truthout.org ]

Israeli Firm Plans Expanding Its Deployment of Video-Altering Tech

(December 27, 2022)

Co-founded by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) cyber chief Yaron Rosen, Toka “sells technologies that allow clients to locate security cameras or even webcams within a given perimeter, hack into them, watch their live feed, and even alter it — and past recordings,” Haaretz reported, citing internal documents it obtained and reviewed with a technical expert.

The company, whose activities are overseen by the Israeli Defense Ministry, “was set up in 2018 and has offices in Tel Aviv and Washington,” Haaretz reported.

29.03.2024 - 22:30 [ Haaretz ]

Revealed: The Israeli Firm Selling ‘Dystopian’ Hacking Capabilities

(December 23, 2022)

According to a company pitch deck obtained by Haaretz, Toka offers what it terms “previously out-of-reach capabilities” that “transform untapped IoT sensors into intelligence sources,” and can be used “for intelligence and operational needs.” (IoT stands for Internet of Things and refers here to web-connected cameras and even car media systems.)

29.03.2024 - 22:02 [ Forbes ]

Alexa, Are You A Spy? Israeli Startup Raises $12.5 Million So Governments Can Hack IoT

(July 15, 2018)

Coming out of stealth Monday, Tel Aviv-based Toka says it‘ll provide spy tools for whatever device its clients require. But while it‘ll try to hack devices like Apple iPhones, it has a special focus on the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), covering tech like Amazon Echo, Nest connected home products, as well as connected fridges, thermostats and alarms. (…)

Two of Toka’s investors, Dell Technologies Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, for instance, have put millions of dollars into defensive companies beforehand. (The other seed investors are Entrée Capital, Launch Capital and Ray Rothrock, CEO of cyber-analytics firm RedSeal).

30.01.2024 - 11:30 [ Reuters ]

Elon Musk‘s Neuralink implants brain chip in first human

The study uses a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in a region of the brain that controls the intention to move, Neuralink said previously, adding that its initial goal is to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.

30.01.2024 - 11:25 [ Futurism.com ]

Neuralink Is Now Recruiting Human Subjects

(20.09.2023)

It‘s only a tiny incremental step towards Musk‘s sweeping vision for his company‘s brain chip. In 2020, Musk promised Neuralink devices could solve numerous neurological conditions, including addiction or memory loss, or restore movement for people with spinal cord injuries. He‘s even promised that one day, a Neuralink brain chip could allow for human-to-human telepathy.

In short, despite Musk‘s grand ambitions, Neuralink still has a lot of work to do to catch up with its competitors — and isn‘t about to completely revolutionize the field just yet.

18.09.2023 - 23:35 [ Techdirt ]

Intelligence Community Feels It Might Be Time To Start Stuffing Surveillance Gear Into People’s Pants

Who among us has not considered shoving a camera into our underwear… but for the greater good… on the public’s dime?

18.09.2023 - 23:26 [ IntelligenceCommunitynews.com ]

IARPA launches SMART ePANTS

(August 23, 2023)

The Smart Electrically Powered and Networked Textile Systems (SMART ePANTS) program represents the largest single investment to develop Active Smart Textiles (AST) that feel, move, and function like any garment. Resulting innovations stand to provide the Intelligence Community (IC), Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies with durable, ready-to-wear clothing that can record audio, video, and geolocation data.

16.06.2023 - 15:51 [ Netzpolitik.org ]

US-Geheimdienste: Lizenz zur weltweiten Überwachung läuft aus

Dass besagte Section 702 verlängert wird, steht kaum außer Frage.

16.06.2023 - 15:40 [ Washington Post ]

Citing cyber investigations, officials ask Congress to renew surveillance powers

(14.06.2023)

In a joint written testimony from the Biden administration witnesses, the NSA, FBI and CIA all cited Section 702’s usefulness for cybersecurity.

16.06.2023 - 15:35 [ iapp.org ]

US intelligence community presses for FISA Section 702 reauthorization

(13.06.2023)

Officials from U.S. intelligence agencies backed reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ahead of a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday. One official characterized a potential lapse or „unusable“ modifications to Section 702 as „grave national security risks.“ The support for full reauthorization came as 21 advocacy groups joined on a letter urging reform of Section 702. Meanwhile, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a report regarding purchases of commercially available personal information by the U.S. intelligence community.

15.06.2023 - 10:10 [ Heise.de ]

„Albtraumszenario“: US-Dienste kaufen massenhaft Handydaten für Überwachung

„Der Regierung wäre es nie erlaubt worden, Milliarden Menschen dazu zu verpflichten, jederzeit Geräte zur Standortüberwachung bei sich zu haben, ihre sozialen Interaktionen aufzuzeichnen oder lückenlose Aufzeichnungen ihrer Lesegewohnheiten vorzuhalten“, fasst das Office of the Director of National Intelligence zusammen. Doch Smartphones, vernetzte Fahrzeugen, Webtracking, das Internet der Dinge und „andere Innovationen“ hätten die gleichen Folgen, ohne dass die Regierung etwas tun müsse.

15.06.2023 - 10:06 [ Elektronik-Informationen.de ]

Bestätigt: US-Geheimdienste kaufen persönliche Daten – Datenschutzbedenken wachsen

Die Art und Weise, wie US-Geheimdienste Daten aus verbundenen Fahrzeugen, Webbrowser-Aktivitäten und Smartphones sammeln und nutzen, steht zunehmend im Fokus. Dabei besteht die Gefahr, dass die unregulierte Verbreitung und der Verkauf von privaten Informationen amerikanischer Bürgerinnen und Bürger deren Privatsphäre bedroht. Der Bericht wurde vom Büro des Direktors der nationalen Geheimdienste (ODNI) veröffentlicht.

14.06.2023 - 17:11 [ Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator from Oregon / Twitter ]

In response to my request, DNI Haines has confirmed that the government is buying Americans‘ private data with no guardrails for when and how that data is used. If this isn‘t a wake up call for Congress to stop feds from buying up Americans‘ information, I don‘t know what is.

14.06.2023 - 13:40 [ Director of National Intelligence - DNI.gov ]

Office of the Director of National Intelligence Senior Advisory Group Panel on Commercially Available Information

(27 January 2022, approved for release by ODNI on 5 June 2023)

(U) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

(U) There is today a large and growing amount of what the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) refers to as “Commercially Available Information” (CAI). As the acronym indicates, and as we use the term in this report, CAI is information that is available commercially to the general public, and as such, is a subset of publicly available information (PAI). We do not use the term CAI to include, and we do not address in this report, commercial information that is available exclusively to governments. The volume and sensitivity of CAI have expanded in recent years mainly due to the advancement of digital technology, including location-tracking and other features of smartphones and other electronic devices, and the advertising-based monetization models that underlie many commercial offerings available on the Internet. Although CAI may be “anonymized,” it is often possible (using other CAI) to deanonymize and identify individuals, including U.S. persons.

(…)

Today, in a way that far fewer Americans seem to understand, and even fewer of them can avoid, CAI includes information on nearly everyone that is of a type and level of sensitivity that historically could have been obtained, if at all, only through targeted (and predicated) collection, and that could be used to cause harm to an individual’s reputation, emotional well-being, or physical safety.

(…)

(U) A May 2014 report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides a similar account:

(U) Data brokers collect data from commercial, government, and other publicly available sources. Data collected could include bankruptcy information, voting registration, consumer purchase data, web browsing activities, warranty registrations, and other details of consumers’ everyday interactions.

(…)

1.3. (U) Examples of CAI. We do not attempt a comprehensive description of the scope and scale of data that are available as CAI, or the relevant markets, in part because they are so large and so dynamic. However, a few examples of CAI offerings will illustrate the current nature of available offerings:

• (U) “Thomson Reuters CLEAR is powered by billions of data points and leverages cutting-edge public records technology to bring all key content together in a customizable dashboard.”

• (U) LexisNexis offers more than “84B records from 10,000+ sources, including alternative data that helps surface more of the 63M unbanked/underbanked U.S. adults.”

• (U) Exactis has “over 3.5 billion records (updated monthly)” in its “universal data warehouse.”

• (U) PeekYou “collects and combines scattered content from social sites, news sources, homepages, and blog platforms to present comprehensive online identities.”

(…)

As the FTC explained in its May 2014 report:

(U) Data brokers rely on websites with registration features and cookies to find consumers online and target Internet advertisements to them based on their offline activities. Once a data broker locates a consumer online and places a cookie on the consumer’s browser, the data broker’s client can advertise to that consumer across the Internet for as long as the cookie stays on the consumer’s browser. Consumers may not be aware that data brokers are providing companies with products to allow them to advertise to consumers online based on their offline activities. Some data brokers are using similar technology to serve targeted advertisements to consumers on mobile devices.

(…)

2.2. (U) Examples of CAI Contracts. The IC currently acquires a large amount of CAI. Unclassified IC and other contracts for CAI can be found at Sam.Gov, a U.S. government website that allows searching by agency or sub-agency and by keywords, among other things. By way of example only, this website shows that the following agencies have, have had, have considered, or are considering the following contracts or proposals related to CAI:

• (U) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with ZeroFox for social media alerting (15F06721P0002431)

• (censored)

• U) The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for social media reports on individuals who are seeking a security clearance (HHM402-16-SM-CHECKS), and with LexisNexis for “retrieval of comprehensive on-line search results related to commercial due diligence from a maximum number of sources (news, company, public records, legal, regulatory financial, and industry information),” among other things (HHM402-21-Q-0094)

• (U) The U.S. Navy with Sayari Analytics, Inc. for access to its database that “contains tens of thousands of previously-unidentified specific nodes, facilities and key people related to US sanctioned actors including ‘2+3’ threats to national security” (N0001518PR11212)

• (U) Various offices within the Treasury Department for access to Banker’s Almanac (RFQ-FIN-55100-21-0010)

• (U) The Department of Defense (DOD) for access to Jane’s online (W31P4Q17T0009)

• (U) The Coast Guard with Babel Street for “Open Source Data Collection, Translation, Analysis Application” (70Z08419QVA044).

(U) In addition, DIA has provided the following information about a CAI contract in an unclassified and publicly-available paper sent to Congress on January 15, 2021:

(U) DIA currently provides funding to another agency that purchases commercially available geolocation metadata aggregated from smartphones.

……………………………………

14.06.2023 - 13:38 [ CNN ]

US intelligence agencies buy Americans’ personal data, new report says

The report was completed in January 2022 but only recently declassified. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon asked the ODNI for the report.

“Congress needs to pass legislation to put guardrails around government purchases, to rein in private companies that collect and sell this data, and keep Americans’ personal information out of the hands of our adversaries,” Wyden said in a statement Monday in response to the report.

04.04.2023 - 21:06 [ Middle East Eye ]

Abu Dhabi announces launch of Israeli-installed mass surveillance system

(15 July 2016)

The Internet of Things applies unique identifiers to objects, or in the case of Abu Dhabi, people to be followed, and provides large amounts of data on all aspects of an individual’s movements and activities based on the surveillance equipment used. Tools for the collection of data include all manner of devices, from cameras on the street to smart devices connected to the internet.

“Every person is monitored from the moment they leave their doorstep to the moment they return to it. Their work, social and behavioural patterns are recorded, analysed and archived,” a source close to the project told MEE at the time.

04.04.2023 - 20:37 [ Daniel Neun / Radio Utopie ]

Analyse: Geheimdienstlicher Komplex will das stadtweite “Überwachungs”-System in Berlin wieder aktivieren lassen

(30.12.2016)

Bürgermeister Michael Müller und die “S.P.D.” sind durch das Attentat am Breitscheidplatz bereits erniedrigt worden. Noch fehlt dem Apparat die Unterwerfung vom Rest der Landesregierung, seitens “die Linke” und Bündnis 90/Die Grünen”.

Was würde passieren, wenn bekannt würde, dass Berlin, die einflussreichste und mächtigste Stadt auf dem Kontinent Europa und die Hauptstadt der Berliner Republik, durch ein stadtweites Spionagesystem “überwacht” wird, durch das jede Person beobachtet werden kann “von dem Moment an dem sie die Türschwelle verlässt, bis zu dem Moment an dem sie zurückkehrt” und dass Arbeit und soziales Verhaltensmuster der Stadtbewohner und -besucher “aufzeichnet, analysiert und archiviert“? Und nicht nur Geheimdienste aus N.A.T.O.-Staaten darauf in Echtzeit zugreifen können?

Nichts. Nichts würde passieren. Die strategische Mehrheit der Bevölkerung würde sich ducken, bücken, beugen, wie sie es in der deutschen Geschichte immer getan hat.

22.03.2023 - 20:25 [ Reuters ]

Amazon has rolled out contactless tech to 200 locations including Panera cafes

On Wednesday the U.S. cafe chain Panera Bread unveiled Amazon One devices, which let customers scan their palms to pay, for two locations in greater St. Louis. Kumar said the deployment would expand to 10 to 20 Panera cafes in coming months.

A palm swipe would also let Panera pull up restaurant goers‘ rewards accounts and order histories, the companies said.

Kumar declined to state the deal‘s value but described the business model as selling software and devices as a service.

28.02.2023 - 20:44 [ BigBrotherWatch.org.uk ]

Guide: Respond to the consultation on the government’s digital ID verification system

The UK government has announced a proposed digital government identity verification system under the banner ‘GOV.UK One Login’. This new system will replace the number of existing ways we log into government websites to access public services online. It could give the government a blank cheque to share the personal information of millions of users between government departments.

Seven decades after Winston Churchill’s government scrapped ID cards, we cannot accept plans that will take us closer to becoming a database state now. It is vital that we respond with our concerns.

30.12.2022 - 17:43 [ Netzpolitik.org ]

Wie im Gangster-Film: Firma will Überwachungskameras für Geheimdienste manipulieren

Auch mit Deutschland soll es zumindest Gespräche gegeben haben, geht aus den Haaretz vorliegenden Dokumenten hervor. Neben den USA und Australien soll es zudem Kontakt mit Singapur gegeben haben, einem nicht-demokratischen Staat. Ob die Länder tatsächlich Produkte von Toka einsetzen, ist nicht bekannt.

Der Markt für vernetzte Geräte wie Videokameras, Kühlschränke und Autos wächst seit Jahren kontinuierlich an.

25.12.2022 - 04:26 [ Haaretz ]

Revealed: The Israeli Firm Selling ‘Dystopian’ Hacking Capabilities

According to a company pitch deck obtained by Haaretz, Toka offers what it terms “previously out-of-reach capabilities” that “transform untapped IoT sensors into intelligence sources,” and can be used “for intelligence and operational needs.” (IoT stands for Internet of Things and refers here to web-connected cameras and even car media systems.)

21.12.2022 - 06:25 [ Netzpolitik.org ]

We fight for your digital rights!: „Für manche Leute ist das lebensbedrohlich.“

Heute geht es bei Weitem nicht mehr nur um Smartphones. Jeder Computer – und Computer sind überall – kann gehackt werden, wird von Kriminellen gehackt, wird von Geheimdiensten gehackt. Wir reden auch von ganzen Servern. Wir reden von Internetroutern, wir reden von Autos, von Internet of Things, von Smart-TVs. Alles, was einen kleinen Computerchip enthält und bestenfalls auch noch ans Internet angeschlossen ist, kann gehackt werden.

Und was man dann nach dem Eindringen machen kann, ist auch nicht nur Überwachung, ist auch nicht nur Spionieren, sondern man kann es auch sabotieren. Man kann es herunterfahren, man kann gefälschte Beweise drauf platzieren.