Surveillance – Page 4

Paris and elsewhere: Let’s destroy the cameras

Posted on 2022/02/10 - 2022/02/20 by darknights

Year after year, the State develops its equipment and its methods of generalized surveillance. The process of gentrification and gentrification of the population that accompanies the Greater Paris project, the Olympic Games of 2024, the famous “feeling of insecurity”, are as many reasons and pretexts for the implementation of new security devices, in the Parisian suburbs, but not only. It is not new, moreover, that the State files us, manages us, and spies on our lives by means always more perfected, intrusive and effective. Its dirty cameras film us in the streets, in the squares, in the stores, in the transport, the elevators, the intercoms, the smartphones, the drones, at the tolls, etc…

In the name of the unbearable security of all, social peace and the common good that we do not want. This security is always the reduction of life, restricted to pacify us in the capitalist production machine. Surveillance, as a tool of control, poses in its acceptance or refusal the question of life. Let’s fight against this flat and bland existence, without any subversion of normality, without any setting in motion of ourselves, without perspective of a global collective emancipation. Cameras, and surveillance in general, restrain our desires. We tell ourselves that there is no point in stealing a safedeposit box, burning a car or breaking a window because we will be spotted. The role of cameras is today major in the pacification of revolts, as much in prevention by their dissuasive aspect as in repression by their judicial utility. The State wants to make us believe by its cameras that it is all-powerful, that it could permanently have access to all our actions: no it is not! Its cameras, like all the buildings it erects, are imperfect in their functioning but also perishable and destructible. The cameras would be used to “protect” us? But who is this “us”? It is order, money, property, the bourgeoisie, the State. They take us to prison. Let’s refuse the logic of security, of filing, of control and management! Let’s destroy the barriers that stand between us and freedom. Let’s attack their surveillance cameras.

For that there are several means:

(which are far from being exhaustive, let’s be creative)

Attack the camera

The video surveillance cameras are usually placed on a post or fixed to a wall. It is possible to attack the camera or to damage the wires that supply it with electricity.
For the first option, if it is reachable, it is possible to hide the view with paint, a thick marker, a sticker, a garbage bag, or other non-transparent objects. If the camera can move, it can also be forced to turn to look at the sky or a wall. A camera that can’t see anything is of no use to them.
To make sure it is out of order, the most effective way is to rip it out with a sledgehammer or a hammer. If it is high up, you can use a pole to give yourself more reach, by attaching a noose to the end of the pole to pull the camera out by catching it in the noose and then pulling with your body weight. Good climbing poles and ropes can be found in climbing stores or at the Vieux Campeur. Continue reading “Paris and elsewhere: Let’s destroy the cameras” →

London, UK: An Invitation to Deflate the System

Posted on 2022/02/10 by darknights

act for free received by anonymous email:

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An Invitation to Deflate the System

As the walls of control close in its hard not to feel a sense of despair. As an anarchist inside the Great British Prison Island, with apathy and inaction the main pillars of the anarchist ghetto, its hard not to feel deflated. Daily humiliations tend to extinguish your burning desire to attack the system. Every time you try to get a fire going another excuse puts it out. Too much risk for that action This action is inconsequential The atmosphere of trepidation is paralyzing.

You end up stuck between a fantasy of burning the whole edifice down and the reality of your limited abilities which seem to you to offer very little. But this is where you are wrong. You already have everything you need to begin. Besides, you can’t do anything with what you haven’t got. You can only do something with what you have got. Inabilities become abilities along the way but only if you take that first step.

Be realistic about your situation! The targets for attack are everywhere and within reach. The simple weapons needed can be found in shops on every high street. Alone or with others, all you need is the will to put one foot in front of the other. So what if you can’t get your hands on an Amazon server or some other privileged target yet? The infrastructure of control is also sustained by simple and unguarded technology.

As well as wanting to demonstrate this point, we are sick of feeling deflated. So over the last few days we went out and deflated the system instead. More than 30 vans that maintain the network of online communication, surveillance and data mining were put out of action. These vans are necessary to service the system and to fix glitches in the matrix of control. Without these vans, disconnection proliferates. These vans are parked in streets up and down the country, unguarded and easy to attack. You can identify them by the various corporate logos (Virgin, Vodaphone, BT, etc.) that have been conveniently painted as targets.

We invite you to join us in deflating the system.

How many decommissioned vans would it take to seriously disrupt the system? We have seen recently how power outages, downed servers and broken apps can have unpredictable and detrimental effects on the system. When disconnection is liberation, its not just about financial losses but also about a loss of control. What if, in a particular area, the internet connection goes down the same night a significant number of vans are put out of use? How many hours in delayed repairs equals how many millions wiped off the stock market? What chain reactions can be set off by the most modest of actions? The answers are unclear but that’s not the point: the joy is in discovering and overcoming the limits of the questions.

Insurrection never happens tomorrow. Neither is it something done by others. It is what you do tonight before the dawn. It is a journey into the unknown, a journey that begins right now where you are. There is no such thing as a predetermined future and there are no limits that can’t be overcome. There is no need to calculate outcomes. When every thing is increasingly connected to everything else, every attack reverberates beyond itself. As you watch the sun rise you know yourself a little deeper. The quality of your affinity with your co-conspirators is richer. As old limits are overcome, new possibilities emerge organically. There is no need to worry about what you don’t know or can’t do. Start simple and the rest will follow.

Anarchists.

Italy: Democracy is the other face of fascism

Posted on 2022/02/03 - 2022/02/03 by darknights

DEMOCRACY IS THE OTHER FACE OF FASCISM

Since two years we live in a state of emergency without end, following the advance of a virus that has become a global pandemic. Sooner or later it had to happen in a globalized and capitalist world that for mere profit destroys the natural environment, where goods and people move in a short time from one end of the planet to another (and only the poor are rejected at the borders) and where more than half of the world’s population lives crowded in mega-urbanized cities.

The emergency proclaimed, however, has been used by the state not to put hand to the health sector, decimated by continuous cuts that governments have made over the years and that have caused so many preventable deaths (not only because of the virus), but in order to accelerate all those authoritarian and coercive mechanisms of which the democratic regime is capable.

We are not only talking about the compulsory vaccination for certain categories (health workers, teachers, over 50) about which there would be much to discuss, but especially about the social control put in place, not least the instrument of the Green Passport, which is still only a step towards the race to forced digitization of all the data that concern us. Controlling and trading digital data, as we know, is the new frontier of “surveillance capitalism,” which through emergency management is gaining momentum.

From tracking apps to facial recognition cameras, from the internet of things to artificial intelligence, technology at the service of masters and states, which was not born to simplify our existence but to monitor us, will be increasingly present in our lives, but it is only with the digitization of data and their transmission (5G, ultra-wideband) and interconnection (home automation, smart-city) that this will be possible. It is no coincidence that the PNRR of the Draghi government, the Italian Recovery Fund financed with European money, for a large part serves to channel astronomical sums towards surveillance technologies and the digital modernization of all essential sectors: school, work, telecommunications networks, mobility and health (with telemedicine). It is also not by chance that the Draghi government has made it easier for public administration bodies and institutions to collect and process personal data, through an article of the Capienze Decree that last October abrogated article 2 of the Privacy Code, also reducing the role of the Guarantor in charge of data protection.

For many people perhaps it is not a problem that their data are used by private companies, multinationals and state institutions, through massive surveillance. People still think that because they do nothing wrong, their data is not a secret. But social control is never something that concerns only the sphere of personal freedoms and privacy; there are several reasons to oppose the digitalization of data and invasive tools such as the Green pass, among the most immediate: from the ease of the employer in monitoring his own employee (and riders and Amazon employees know something about it!) to those living in a situation of forced illegality (see undocumented migrants) who see their lives continuously threatened by the increase of increasingly sophisticated monitoring devices. Let’s not forget then the discrimination of those who already today do not have access to new technologies, that is often the poorest people in society, who see their access to rights and social services undermined, conquered years ago at the cost of hard struggles. Continue reading “Italy: Democracy is the other face of fascism” →

Exarcheia: THIS IS NOT A MUSEUM, THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE!

Posted on 2022/01/21 by darknights

As you may have already understood, on the buses, in the streets, in the shops, cameras are watching and recording our every step. The social media industry has made us accustomed to the presence of cameras at events, in marches and in our daily lives (in workplaces, schools, etc.), so that our resistance to them is diminishing. It seems as if there is no other way and this leaves us no room to breathe.

The state is installing cameras to protect its infrastructure, to record demonstrations and to monitor its citizens. On the other hand, the petty bourgeoisie use them to protect their sacred property while their visual material is always available to the cops and is used as incriminating evidence in court cases. Under the pretext that this system of surveillance and control will create greater security, it shields the system of domination.

Cameras have never prevented any “crime”, nor have they ever “protected” anyone. The goal of surveillance is to create a sense of constant monitoring of our every step, every social media post is recorded and creates profiles with data that can be used against us.

Then we start to think twice, where we go, what we say, who we talk to and what we do. This superstitious obedience is part of repression and self-censorship. When we are not anonymous we do not act and speak as we would like, but according to what is socially acceptable.

Gentrification is also related to the expansion of surveillance. Continue reading “Exarcheia: THIS IS NOT A MUSEUM, THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE!” →

Berlin, Germany: Ruin of a Securitas patrol car

Posted on 2022/01/19 - 2022/01/19 by darknights

Biologico is an occupation that existed for 34 years in the largest university in Thessaloniki and was evicted New Year’s Eve. There was a call for an international Action Week from 10 – 17.01! We are happy to answer this call, because we also see the city as a field of conflict and recognize the need to create and defend liberated spaces.

Last night (14/15 January) a vehicle of the company Securitas was destroyed in solidarity with the evicted Biologico. We found it in Berlin-Friedrichshain in Zelle Street, the company logo with an (A) and the name of Biologico was sprayed, all tires were slashed and all windows were smashed. So this patrol can rest for now in the workshop instead of participating in the daily manhunt.

The eviction represents the increasing authoritarian control of the Greek government over the universities. The government wants to create an educational environment free of contradictions, where there is no room for self-organization, through surveillance and the permanent stationing of cops in the universities in the future. Therefore, authoritarian surveillance must be smashed, whether by fascist states or by “security” companies!

Securitas is a company with a long tradition of guarding prisons, borders, public space, controls in means of transport, suppression of migration and defense of the elites. Active also in collaboration with the Turkish dictator Erdogan, Securitas has long been under attack worldwide.

From Berlin to Greece, abolish the police and their servants!

Source: Kontrapolis

Bremen, Germany: Incendiary devices against a Frontex collaborator

Posted on 2021/12/14 - 2021/12/14 by darknights

Attack on the arms company and Frontex OHB supplier in Bremen

Last night 24/11/21, we attacked the arms company OHB SE on the Manfred-Fuchs square in the industrial park of the university of Bremen and set several cars on fire.
OHB SE is one of the biggest players in the field of aeronautics and aerospace with its headquarters in Bremen, but it makes its money on the deaths with which the federal army and Frontex pave their way. In 2001, OHB became one of the biggest players in the satellite and aerospace sector when it won a contract worth more than 320 million euros with the German army ‘for the development, construction, launch and operation of the SAR-Lupe radar reconnaissance system’. This was to enable the German army to obtain information through autonomous military espionage, independent of weather conditions.
In 2008, the Federal Army officially received the satellite system. OHB itself stated: ‘With SAR-Lupe, OHB has succeeded for the first time in running a satellite program as the main contractor. In doing so, the company developed and built the satellite system and is jointly responsible with the Federal Armed Forces for its operation. OHB is thus not only a supplier to the Federal Army, but also actively participates in the German warfare and surveillance machine. In 2013, the German Army again placed an order with OHB for the development and construction of the SARah tracking system. This was and is to be used by the German army exclusively for military purposes.

The German army has had an unbroken tradition of killing since the beginning of its existence. Even today, hardly a week goes by without a right-wing extremist network being uncovered in the Federal Army or tons of ammunition disappearing, only to resurface in precisely these networks. The OHB not only provides the German army with the instruments it needs to commit murder, but also actively participates in this process itself.
But that’s not all; both SAR-Lupe and SARah data have been and are being passed on to Frontex. Frontex uses the data from the German surveillance satellites, as well as from the “earth observation program” COPERNICUS, to monitor potential routes of passage, groups of people on the routes of exile, as well as the boats they use to cross the seas and flee the war and terror that Europe exports to their countries of origin, all in order to eventually attack them. Continue reading “Bremen, Germany: Incendiary devices against a Frontex collaborator” →

Leipzig, Germany: Tracking device and bug discovered in car

Posted on 2021/11/21 by darknights

On November 18, 2021, surveillance technology was discovered in a friend’s car, probably belonging to a government agency. It is a larger device with a GPS tracker from the company “u-blox” and a smaller audio recording device. The devices were hidden behind a panel of the front ceiling light. They were connected by a power cable and drew their power from the supply line to the rear ceiling light. A Y-adapter specially adapted to the car model was apparently used for this purpose. The audio unit tapped into the hands-free system’s existing microphone, which was located behind a cover above the rearview mirror. It is not known if the hands-free unit still worked under these circumstances.

Both units were wrapped in foam and gaffa tape, presumably to prevent them from making noise when the car moves. The larger unit has, among other things, a GPS receiver “u-blox MAX-M8”, a card slot with a 16 GB microSD card, a cellular chip “u-blox LISA-U230” along with a Telekom SIM card, as well as a removable three-pin antenna module. The inventory number “2044 ID93 142” is found on the side. Evaluation of the SD card suggests that the device has been in use since at least early September, possibly three months earlier. It can be assumed that the device overwrites cached location data with zeros after it is sent.

The smaller unit contains a voltage converter, a 3.7 V, 550 mAh lithium-ion battery, and a small circuit board. The individual parts are connected with heat shrink tubing. The small circuit board contains, among other things, a 32 GB microSD card and the “NN01-104” antenna from Ignion (formerly “Fractus”), which is designed for the 2.4 GHz frequency band and can thus transmit and receive Bluetooth or WLAN signals, for example. Mobile technology is not present, but it is conceivable that audio recordings were transmitted to the larger device via WLAN or Bluetooth and sent from there, or possibly retrieved from a close distance via WLAN or Bluetooth. Continue reading “Leipzig, Germany: Tracking device and bug discovered in car” →

Milan: Burned vehicles of the company SKP group between 27-28 October

Posted on 2021/11/04 - 2021/11/04 by darknights

Anti-piracy service, escort to VIPs, installation of surveillance devices, security consulting, etc.. This is the prestigious curriculum, directly consultable on their site, the company of private surveillance SKP group.

This is one of those private companies that have now risen to the role of a real police force and paramilitary, able to flank the traditional armed forces. Highly qualified, militarily trained and technically equipped personnel is the guarantee of the services and skills that this company offers to the powerful.

For all these reasons, a couple of SKP vehicles were set on fire in the night between the 27th and 28th of October. Probably accustomed to operating undisturbed, they habitually left their cars unattended in front of the premises, located in Via Ripamonti in Milan. A mistake that they paid dearly for.

The time of chatter and hesitation must end.

Take action to raise our heads

Take action to relaunch the anarchist offensive

Without respite

The guerrilla warfare does not stop

Source: Il Rovescio

To (try to) keep the cops at bay

Posted on 2021/09/21 by darknights

Source: Counter-Surveillance Resource Center

There are many guides out there that describe everything from the best ways of building timed incendiary devices, to dealing with DNA, to anti-forensic methods and how to secure digital information against search and seizure or government surveillance.

Some of them are over forty years old, others are newer, some of them still hold up while others need updating. We thought it wouldn’t hurt to have some suggestions, a brief “things to consider” article, that is reasonably up-to-date in regards to the enemy’s methods. Some lessons and experiences combined with technical info but in a format that hopefully doesn’t feel too rigid and authoritarian.

Sometimes it feels like there is a particularly repressive climate in the world or the region you live in but historically there is rarely more repression in one era than there is in another. The simple explanation is that the state is constantly waging war against its enemies, it is only more evident if one is affected by it directly or indirectly, as an individual, group or entire society. The exceptions may be situations such as world wars, but even then the mechanisms are different, and in our view it is usually possible to say that repression is constant. That is to say, it is not possible to think: I will be unaffected. Because sooner or later the spotlight will turn from yesterday’s enemy to you. Continue reading “To (try to) keep the cops at bay” →

Genoa, Italy: GLONASS on board!

Posted on 2021/08/03 by darknights

The Glonass system, comparable to the American GPS, is a Russian global navigation satellite system used for tracking and tracing. It is also used as a back-up or support positioning system, which can provide a faster fix and greater accuracy than GPS.

This device was found in our car. It was connected to the power supply of the control unit underneath the steering wheel on the left-hand side and had been placed there with a magnet, insulating tape and a heating cloth. It consists of an antenna (QC in the photo) connected to a multi-frequency positioning receiver box containing a micro SIM card. On the same side, a long cable ran along the inside of the internal side pillar linings of the windscreen to the underside of the roof of the car. All on the driver’s side. At the top of the cable were two microphones.

Glon-my-ass!
On the Road Again!

Two anarchists in Genoa

[Received and published by malacoda.noblogs.org, August 2, 2021].