Tag Archives: law enforcement

A security breach opened up access to a genealogy site’s DNA profiles

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Over the weekend, a security breach changed the permission settings on millions of profiles in GEDmatch, a DNA database used by genealogists. For three hours, DNA profiles were visible to all members, including law enforcement agencies, which sometim...

FBI reportedly uses a travel company’s data for worldwide surveillance

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The FBI doesn’t necessarily have to rely on spy databases or phone records to collect vast amounts of information about suspects — it might just have to ask a travel company for help. Forbes understands the FBI is using info from Sabre, the world’s l...

Facial recognition linked to a second wrongful arrest by Detroit police

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A false facial recognition match has led to the arrest of another innocent person. According to the Detroit Free Press, police in the city arrested a man for allegedly reaching into a person’s car, taking their phone and throwing it, breaking the cas...

Australia and the UK open joint investigation of Clearview AI

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Australia and the UK have opened a joint investigation into Clearview AI. Specifically, the regulatory bodies are concerned with Clearview’s practice of using “scraped” data and biometrics. The two countries aren’t the first to question Clearview AI,...

European police hacked encrypted phones used by thousands of criminals

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In one of the largest law enforcement busts ever, European police and crime agencies hacked an encrypted communications platform used by thousands of criminals and drug traffickers. By infiltrating the platform, Encrochat, police across Europe gained...

‘Predictive policing’ could amplify today’s law enforcement issues

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Law enforcement in America is facing a day of reckoning over its systemic, institutionalized racism and ongoing brutality against the people it was designed to protect. Virtually every aspect of the system is now under scrutiny, from budgeting and st...

False facial recognition match leads to a wrongful arrest in Detroit

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Many critics of police facial recognition use warn of the potential for racial bias that leads to false arrests, and unfortunately that appears to have happened. The ACLU has filed a complaint against Detroit police for the wrongful arrest of Robert...

Nextdoor pulls ‘Forward to Police’ feature amid concerns over racist abuse

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Many companies are acutely aware of the potential misuse of their technology in light of protests against police violence and racism, and Nextdoor is no exception. The neighborhood-focused service has pulled the “Forward to Police” feature that let y...

Microsoft reportedly tried to sell facial recognition tech to the DEA

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Microsoft isn’t selling facial recognition tech to local police, but it apparently doesn’t have that reservation for federal law enforcement. The ACLU has published emails indicating that Microsoft “aggressively” pitched the Drug Enforcement Administ...