Outside the closed world of the U.S. Intelligence Community, private cyber contractors get mixed reviews. Mention the word "contractor" and the public siezes on the image of Edward Snowden, either as heroic whistle blower or betrayer of national trust. Beyond that, there is a general consensus that contractors, even when attaining top security clearance, work in a strictly … [Read more...]
GOS Systems: All That Glitters is not Touchstone Gold
GOS Systems, the UK-based provider of surveillance and secure communications systems, has experienced a turbulent year. Their story is a case study in what can go wrong when a good company is taken over by an outsider with zero experience in the industry. The long and the short of it: While GOS Systems was making the rounds of international ISS events presenting its DIAL … [Read more...]
Recorded Future: Discerning the Right Data in Real Time
In the drive to pinpoint meaningful insights from vast amounts of data, there are many schools of thought, but two stand out: (1) that of companies such as Recorded Future, which extracts finite actionable intelligence from diverse OSINT sources to quickly predict events, their timing, attackers and targets; and (2) “deep Web” players like BrightPlanet that strive for the same … [Read more...]
3.27.2015 -Top Surveillance News That Didn’t Make the Cut
Once again C5IS brings you top surveillance news relevant to the field but overlooked by media. Our picks this week: Images That Fool Machine Learning. So much for trying to wed artificial intelligence and video surveillance. Researchers at Cornell University and the University of Wyoming Evolving AI Laboratory "have created images that look to humans like white noise or … [Read more...]
Trovicor: The Black Panther of Surveillance
Of all the symbols in the surveillance industry, few resonate like the black panther of Trovicor. Pound for pound scarcely larger than a man, the panther is a silent stalker that strikes with speed, cunning and astounding strength. Size is irrelevant when counted against the assets of intelligence, stealth and – where prey are cornered -- jaws as powerful as a … [Read more...]