Thread by @JaredNaude

Spot the Surveillance: How to Identify Police Surveillance at Protests and Large Gatherings by @kurtopsahl #rc3

@kurtopsahl FYI, it is streaming on rC2 NOT rC1, not sure why this was changed? streaming.media.ccc.de/rc3/two#schedu… #rc3

Surveillance can be everywhere, it can be above you, on cars, on police officers and in the environment. Body cams were initially designed to hold police officers accountable however it is now being used in ways that it was not intended for. #rc3

Body worn cameras have evolved, there are now dome shaped cameras that can see completely around the officer. There are also cameras that can be hidden in uniform and in buttons in clothing. #rc3

Portable biometrics are also becoming more common with handheld devices that can collect photos for facial recognition and can collect fingerprints from people. #rc3

At least 11 police agencies are using facial recognition in Europe. Court found that facial recognition used by the South Wales Police department to be unlawful. Cities have put laws and bans in place for the use of facial recognition. #rc3

A common tactic by police departments is to place Automated Number Plate Readers (ANPR) at the entry or exit of a protest area. They have also used portable ANPR devices to capture this data. There is a case where this has been used in an arrest. #rc3

ANPRs are typical on police lights, some are better hidden that others. ANPRs can also be mounted on the door and on the truck of a patrol car. Fixed ANPRs are also mounted on road ways for border control. #rc3

Police deployment mobile surveillance at statues to capture the protestors. Mobile surveillance can be in the form of mobile trailers with deployment cameras or a scissor lift that can allow officers to be at advantage point. #rc3

Thermal imaging cameras are also used to see in the night time. You will also see mobile command vehicles from police departments. Be careful of assuming unmarked vehicles with a satellite dish are police vehicles. It is probably a press vehicle. #rc3

Very little information exists around the use of stingrays and IMSI catchers at protests. They are very small and hard to look for. Drones are also used for aerial surveillance and for crowd control via loudspeakers on the drone. #rc3

The Texas police took a photo of a protestor throwing a water bottle, then offered a reward for information of the person who was then subsequently arrested. #rc3

Helicopters are also commonly used with FLIR (forward looking infrared) and allows them to follow a specific person especially at night. Most of these helicopters also have spotlights. You can look up the tail number in flightaware to see where it has been and who owns it. #rc3

Some police departments have specialized teams to run UAVs or drones. In most cases, these will be in line of sight, so you can look around to see who is controlling it. The press also use helicopters and drones at protests so not everything is law enforcement. #rc3

Camera networks often exist in a city and can be monitored in a central location. There are many different types of cameras from bullet cameras, dome cameras and ALPR cameras. #rc3

As cities embrace smart city technology, many of them are embracing smart street lights. These lights have many benefits from saving electricity to lighting the road better however, it can also be used to increase surveillance in an area. #rc3

You can go to ssd.eff.org for a attending a protest guide which contains information for self defense at protests. Research has shown that wearing red and black masks are harder for facial recognition algorithms. #rc3