How mobile phones let spies see our every move

The UK Government's secret Celldar project will allow surveillance of anyone, at any time and anywhere there is a phone signal. Secret radar technology research that will allow the biggest-ever extension of 'Big Brother'-style surveillance in the UK is being funded by the Government.

The radical new system, which has outraged civil liberties groups, uses mobile phone masts to allow security authorities to watch vehicles and individuals 'in real time' almost anywhere in Britain.

The technology 'sees' the shapes made when radio waves emitted by mobile phone masts meet an obstruction. Signals bounced back by immobile objects, such as walls or trees, are filtered out by the receiver. This allows anything moving, such as cars or people, to be tracked. Previously, radar needed massive fixed equipment to work and transmissions from mobile phone masts were thought too weak to be useful.

The system works wherever a mobile phone can pick up a signal. By using receivers attached to mobile phone masts, users of the new technology could focus in on areas hundreds of miles away and bring up a display showing any moving vehicles and people.

An individual with one type of receiver, a portable unit little bigger than a laptop computer, could even use it as a 'personal radar' covering the area around the user. Researchers are working to give the new equipment 'X-ray vision' - the capability to 'see' through walls and look into people's homes.

Ministry of Defence officials are hoping to introduce the system as soon as resources allow. Police and security services are known to be interested in a variety of possible surveillance applications. The researchers themselves say the system, known as Celldar, is aimed at anti-terrorism defense, security and road traffic management.
However civil liberties groups have been swift to condemn the plan.

'It's an appalling idea,' said Simon Davies, director of Privacy International. 'The Government is just capitalizing on current public fears over security to introduce new systems that are neither desirable nor necessary.'

The system, used alongside technology which allows individuals to be identified by their mobile phone handsets, will mean that individuals can be located and their movements watched on a screen from hundreds of miles away. Prototypes have been effective over 50 to 100 meters but the developers are confident that range can be extended.

Private security specialists have welcomed the new technology. 'It will be enormously useful,' the director of one private security firm said. 'Instead of setting up expensive and cumbersome surveillance equipment, police or the security services could start work quickly and easily almost anywhere. For tracking a suspect, preventing a potential crime or a terrorist strike or simply locating people [the system] has enormous advantages.'

It is likely that the technology would be used at first to protect sensitive installations such as ports and airfields. The perimeter of a nuclear power station or an air base could be watched without having a bank of CCTV screens and dozens of expensive cameras. If the radar picked up movement then a single camera could be focused on a specific area.

Celldar could also monitor roads when poor visibility due to bad weather rendered cameras useless. 'The equipment could pick up traffic flows towards an accident site and the details of a crash; that is where and so on,' said Peter Lloyd of Roke Manor. Lloyd also outlined a number of military applications for the technology. Individual armored vehicles or even soldiers could carry the detectors which could tell them where enemy troops were.

Security specialists point out how useful personal radars would be in siege situations. However there are significant concerns that the technology might be abused by authorities or fall into the wrong hands. 'Like all intrusive surveillance, we need to be sure that it is properly regulated, preferably by the judiciary,' said Roger Bingham of Liberty. Bingham expressed concerns that the new equipment, which would be virtually undetectable, could be used by private detectives or others for personal or commercial gain.

Modern technology has brought massive opportunities for wider surveillance. Since the 11 September terrorist attacks on Washington and New York, the government has been pushing through a package of anti-terrorism legislation which targets electronic communications.

The system works wherever a mobile phone can pick up a signal. By using receivers attached to mobile phone masts, users of the new technology could focus in on areas hundreds of miles away and bring up a display showing any moving vehicles and people.

An individual with one type of receiver, a portable unit little bigger than a laptop computer, could even use it as 'personal radar' covering the area around the user. Researchers are working to give the new equipment 'X-ray vision' - the capability to 'see' through walls and look into people's homes.

Ministry of Defence officials are hoping to introduce the system as soon as resources allow. Police and security services are known to be interested in a variety of possible surveillance applications. The researchers themselves say the system, known as Celldar, is aimed at anti-terrorism Defence, security and road traffic management.
However civil liberties groups have been swift to condemn the plan.

'It's an appalling idea,' said Simon Davies, director of Privacy International. 'The Government is just capitalizing on current public fears over security to introduce new systems that are neither desirable nor necessary.'

The system, used alongside technology which allows individuals to be identified by their mobile phone handsets, will mean that individuals can be located and their movements watched on a screen from hundreds of miles away. Prototypes have been effective over 50 to 100 meters but the developers are confident that range can be extended.

After a series of meetings with Roke Manor, a private research company in Romsey, Hants, MoD officials have started funding the multi-million pound project. Reports of the meetings are 'classified'. Whitehall officials involved in radar confirmed that the MoD was 'very interested' last week. 'It's all about resources now,' said one. Private security specialists have also welcomed the new technology. 'It will be enormously useful,' the director of one private security firm said. 'Instead of setting up expensive and cumbersome surveillance equipment, police or the security services could start work quickly and easily almost anywhere.

'For tracking a suspect, preventing a potential crime or a terrorist strike or simply locating people [the system] has enormous advantages.' It is likely that the technology would be used at first to protect sensitive installations such as ports and airfields.

The perimeter of a nuclear power station or an RAF base could be watched without having a bank of CCTV screens and dozens of expensive cameras. If the radar picked up movement then a single camera could be focused on a specific area. Celldar could also monitor roads when poor visibility due to bad weather rendered cameras useless.

'The equipment could pick up traffic flows towards an accident site and the details of a crash; that is where and so on,' said Peter Lloyd of Roke Manor. Lloyd also outlined a number of military applications for the technology. Individual armored vehicles or even soldiers could carry the detectors which could tell them where enemy troops were.

Security specialists point out how useful personal radars would be in siege situations. However there are significant concerns that the technology might be abused by authorities or fall into the wrong hands. 'Like all intrusive surveillance, we need to be sure that it is properly regulated, preferably by the judiciary,' said Roger Bingham of Liberty.

Bingham expressed concerns that the new equipment, which would be virtually undetectable, could be used by private detectives or others for personal or commercial gain.

Modern technology has brought massive opportunities for wider surveillance. Since the 11 September terrorist attacks on Washington and New York, the government has been pushing through a package of anti-terrorism legislation which targets electronic communications.

Senior police officers are now allowed to access mobile telephone and email records without judicial or executive assent. Within two years, all mobile phones are expected to have satellite-locating devices built into them.

Careers in Pakistan

If we were in Pakistan, our options for professional courses after Std. XII would be as follows :

JEE - Jehadic Entrance Examination

IIT - Islamic Institute of Terrorism

IIM - Institute of Infiltration Management

CAT - Career in Alqaida & Taliban

IAS - Iraq after Saddam

M Tech - Masters in Terror Technology

GATE - General Aptitude in Terror and Extremism

TOEFL - Test of Extremist Foreign Languages

GRE - Graduate in Relocation Extremism

MBBS - Master of Bomb Blasting Strategies

MBA - Master of Bombing Administration

Crime Investigation

What makes a serial killer tick? How do forensic experts solve crimes using cutting-edge technology? Who are the men and women that risk their lives to put criminals behind bars?

These questions and more are related to the subject of Crime Investigation. Real crime, real people, real drama - Crime Investigation is the hard work by the true professionals who work meticulously and methodically to solve the mystery behind the crime – motive, the modus-operendai and men involved in crime! Crime Investigation opens the door to crime labs, police archives and courtrooms, providing a behind-the-scenes look at criminal investigations and probing unexplained mysteries.

Physical Evidence at a Crime Scene

Evidence used to resolve an issue can be split into 2 areas - testimonial evidence and physical evidence. The testimonial evidence would be any witnessed accounts of an incident. The physical evidence would refer to any material items that would be present on the crime scene. These items would be presented in an issue or incident to prove or disprove the facts of the issue. What will evidence collected at a scene do for the investigation -

* May prove that a crime has been committed.
* Establish any key elements of a crime.
* Link a suspect with a scene or a victim.
* Establish the identity of a victim or suspect.
* Corroborate verbal witness testimony.
* Exonerate the innocent.

The evidence that is located and recovered at a scene will give the detectives responsible for the investigation leads to work with in the case.

Types of Evidence

o Impressions include fingerprints, tool marks, footwear, fabric impressions, tire

marks and bite marks.
o Forensic Biology includes blood, semen, body fluids, hair, nail scrapings, blood stain ptterns,
o Trace Evidence includes gun shot residues, arson accelerant, paint, glass and fibers.
o Firearms - includes weapons, gun powder patterns, casings, projectiles, fragments,

pellets, wadding and cartridges.

Personnel Duties and Responsibilities

There are certain personnel duties and responsibilities which are necessary in almost any major crime investigation operation. Those enumerated herein concentrate on the ones which are typically crucial to ensure that such efforts are conducted in an organized and methodical fashion. It is important to note it may not be feasible to have one person assigned to each duty. It is relatively common for one person to accomplish two or more duties.

For all positions, interest and attitude of personnel are paramount concerns. Training and experience will only be used to best potential when team members possess a positive attitude. This human side of evidence response teams is significant due to the long hours and attention to detail often required of personnel.

The major assignments, as well as corresponding general duties and responsibilities, are set forth as follows:

* Team Leader
* Photographer and Photographic Log Recorder
* Sketch Preparer
* Evidence Recorder/Evidence Recovery Personnel
* Specialists

Team Leader

1. Assume control - ensure safety of personnel and security at scene. Ensure personnel use appropriate protective equipment and follow standard recommendations to protect them from any health hazard which might be presented by blood or any other human body fluid.
2. Conduct initial walk-through for purposes of making a preliminary survey, evaluating potential evidence, and preparing a narrative description.
3. Determine search patterns, and make appropriate assignments for team members.
4. Designate command post location and ensure exchange of information between search and investigative personnel.
5. Coordinate with other law enforcement agencies and make sure a cooperative spirit is maintained.
6. Ensure that sufficient supplies and equipment are available for personnel.
7. Control access to the scene and designate an individual to log everyone into the scene.
8. Continuously reevaluate efficiency of search during entire course of operation.
9. Release the scene after a final survey and inventory of the evidence has been done.

Photographer and Photographic Log Recorder

1. Photograph entire area before it is entered.
2. Photograph victims, crowd, and vehicles.
3. Photograph entire scene with overall, medium and close-up coverage, using measurement scale when appropriate.
4. Photograph major evidence items before they are moved; coordinate this effort with Sketch Preparer, Evidence Recorder, and Evidence Recovery Personnel.
5. Photograph all latent fingerprints and other impression evidence before lifting and casting are accomplished.
6. Prepare photographic log and photographic sketch.

Sketch Preparer

· Diagram immediate area of scene and orient diagram with sketch.
· Set forth major items of evidence on sketch.
· Designate and label areas to be searched and advise team leader and all other search members of nomenclature for designated areas.
· Obtain appropriate assistance for taking measurements and double check measurements.
· Ensure necessary administrative information, such as scale disclaimer (not drawn to scale), is recorded on sketch.

Evidence Recorder / Custodian

o Have significant evidence photographed before collection.
o Describe evidence and its location on appropriate bag or envelope.
o Sign and date evidence container/maintain chain of custody.
o Appropriately collect and package evidence to maximize evidence integrity.
o Maintain evidence log.

o Use appropriate protective equipment (gloves) and methods when dealing with potentially infective evidence (blood).
o Documents in question

Processing the Crime Scene

In an Organized approach to Crime Scene Investigations there are three (3) basic and simple stages in properly processing the crime scene. Those stages consist of –

· Scene Recognition,
· Scene Documentation and
· Evidence Collection.

An organized approach is a sequence of established and excepted duties and protocols.

An organized approach assures:

oo A thorough and legal search is conducted.
oo Expeditious processing without compromise.
oo Proper scene documentation.
oo Proper methods and techniques for evidence recovery.
oo Proper use and knowledge of resources and equipment.
oo All pertinent evidence recovery.
oo Proper handling and packaging of evidence.
oo Proper distribution points for evidence analysis.
oo Proper safety precautions are followed.

Challenges in security training after the PSAR Act

Scene before passing of PSAR:

"The private security business employs more people than the police forces of all States combined and pays to the exchequer Rs. 10,000 crore by way of service tax, provident fund and contribution to the Employees' State Insurance Corporation.” The Hindu: 04.12.2006

It is not that there were no training needs for security professionals before PSAR. There were security agencies, there were contract security personnel and then there were proprietary security in many PSUs. They all needed training. Then there were DGR sponsored security agencies providing ex-servicemen.

As security personnel need to unlearn more then the learning to come out of fixed mindset working only in confined and constrained environment and straight-jacketed hierarchical structure, their training needs were found to be very peculiar in which they had to mostly unlearn what was leaned in armed forces so that they freshly approach the subject of industrial security which is different to national security!

As proven by the IT sector, every sector creates it niche and also creates it own trained professionals! The NIIT certification course is not the one given by any university, nor was initially approved by the Government. Same is the case with ‘Aptech”. Their quality of contents and training got the approval of the industry players and soon these certificate courses became eligibility criterion for employment in IT sector. Similarly the ‘Industrial Security Sector’ also created it demand of true security professionals and there supply of trained manpower became scarce. Few training institute got their act together and raised their training standards. All this was before passing of PSAR. There was still no benchmarking, there was no minimum syllabus nor were there any minimum training hours fixed. Mostly this was due to no regulatory authority and sector’s own internal co-ordination and self regulation failed to materialize.

Why PSAR and what it says about Training:

Statement of Objects and Reasons for PSAR Act - Due to increase in the number of business establishments and increasing demands for security, there has been a proliferation of private security agencies in the recent years. The growing tendency to hire security guards from private sources by an industrial or business undertaking has led to coming up of large number of private security agencies all over the country.

1. Though these private security agencies have helped in meeting the security needs of business establishments, there has been a growing concern about the manner of functioning of these agencies, many of which seem to conduct their operations without due care for verifying the antecedents of the personnel employed as private security guards and supervision.

2. There is also a danger of the employees of the private security agencies encroaching upon the duties of the police, using weapons in an illegal manner and wearing uniforms which resemble those of the police. In many instances, personnel employed by these agencies have also been involved in criminal activities.

3. For all these reasons, Union Government has been considering to regulate the functioning of these private security agencies, so that they are run within legal parameters and are accountable to a regulatory mechanism. In view of above, it is proposed to regulate the private security agencies through an Act which provides for a Controlling Authority to be appointed by the State Governments for the purpose of granting licenses and also to make holding of licenses mandatory for the carrying on of business of security agencies and other related matters.

Following are the sections of the PSAR Act which deal with the aspects of training -

9. Conditions for commencement of operation and engagement of supervisors-

(2) Every private security agency shall ensure imparting of such training and skills to its private security guards and supervisors as may be prescribed: Provided that the person carrying on the business of private security agency, before the commencement of this Act, shall ensure the required training to its security guards and supervisors within a period of one year from the date of such commencement.

10. Eligibility to be a private security guard-

(1) (d) Has completed the prescribed security training successfully;
(e) Fulfils such physical standards as may be prescribed; and
(f) Satisfies such other conditions as may be prescribed.

11. Conditions of license-

(1) The State Government may frame rules to prescribe the conditions on which license shall be granted under this Act and such conditions shall include requirements as to the training which the licensee is to undergo, details of the person or persons forming the agency, obligation as to the information to be provided from time to time to the Controlling Authority regarding any change in their address, change of management and also about any criminal charge made against them in the course of their performance of duties of the private security agency or as the case may be, a private security guard employed or engaged by them.

(2) The State Government may make provision in the rules to verify about imparting of required training by the private security agency under sub-section (2) of Section 9 and to review continuation or otherwise of license of such private security agency which may not have adhered to the condition of ensuring the required training.

13. Cancellation and suspension of license-

(1) The Controlling Authority may cancel any license on any one or more of the following grounds, namely:-

(c) That the license holder has violated the provisions of this Act or the rules made there under or any of the conditions of the license;

15. Register to be maintained by a private security agency-

(1) Every private security agency shall maintain a register containing—
(d) Such other particulars as may be prescribed.

24. Framing of model rules for adoption by States-

The Central Government may frame model rules in respect of all or any of the matters with respect to which the State Government may make rules under this Act, and where any such model rules have been framed the State Government shall, while making any rules in respect of that matter under Section 25, so far as is practicable, conform to such model rules.

25. Power of State Government to make rules-

(1) The State Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-

(g) Particulars to be maintained in a register under sub-section (1) of Section 15;

What are the challenges?

Training institutes of repute: accreditation by central / state governments
Training infrastructure: benchmarking
Training syllabus: elaborate training hour / subject basis
Training faculties: ranking system
Reading & reference material: Indian publication
Finances involved in separate training activities by Individual security agencies

Training institutes of repute: accreditation by central / state governments

"It is estimated that in the next five years, requirement of private security will increase to one crore security personnel which works out to be nine times the present strength of our Army. The private security industry today is operating in the most haphazard manner totally unregulated and suitable to meet the challenges. The manner in which most of the private security agencies function has become a matter of great concern. Many of these agencies conduct their operations without due care for verifying the antecedents of the personnel employed as private security guards and supervisors," pointed out Major General Satbir Singh,

"The private security personnel are required to be highly skilled, capable of understanding and using the modem security equipments." says Singh.
Gurgaon Plus – Digital 8.3.2006

There are many training institute which have mushroomed all over the country post PSAR. Some of them have capitalized the opportunity purely on commercial considerations since training has been given major emphasis in the Act. They will need more seasoning time to earn good repute.

Training infrastructure: benchmarking

All the training institutes need to have required training infrastructure including the training aids. It has to be kept in mind that the trainees can not be taught in ‘class room style’. All of them would be mature age, sufficient exposure to the industrial world and will also have some experience in industrial security. Understandably they may not be the brightest of the students as other-wise they would have had better career options but still they can be treated as fresh college students. For this purpose the training infrastructure must be appropriate most preferably multi-media based. Flip charts, overhead projectors etc. are no more suitable. Class rooms also must be suitable for circulation of the instructors and effortless interaction with the participants. They must also have wi-fy networking and suitable for LCD projection with good audio system.

Training syllabus: training hours / subjects-wise

The training syllabus drafted so far by certain states appears to be without practical approach and application of industrial experience. More then the security professionals these appear to be drafted by the police officers with foggy idea about security duties being synonymous to policing duties. This may not be the case and at least security professionals know it! In fact in one of the article recently published in ‘Security Today’, one of the retired IG has questioned the justification of keeping the subject of “Crowd Psychology and Techniques of crowd control” in the training syllabus of the security guards. Since it will take some time for ‘dust to settle down’, different training institutes will continue to have their own training syllabus. The Directorate General of Resettlement, Ministry of Defense, one government organization which could have taken some initiative at-least for the security agencies run by ex-armed force personnel has woefully disappointed in this aspect. It could have but done nothing so far regarding finalizing the security training syllabus for ex-servicemen security guards under their sponsored security agencies.
The DGR made half-hearted attempts to specify the training aspects in their ‘Guidelines’. Half hearted in the sense that though there was mention of specific training need in different sectors such as oil sector, mining sector etc, there was no syllabus or training hours specified! Further, there were few courses being run by DGR only to train the officers with the emphasis on how to run a security agency rather then becoming security professionals. These courses were conducted by sundry Training Institutes (?) with grandiose proclamation of being “International” when they had no separate one room office even and classes were being held in evening hours in some schools!

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India's Antiterror Blunders: Years of appeasing militants has made the problem worse...

By : Sadanad Dhume

As the story of the carnage in Mumbai unfolds, it is tempting to dismiss it as merely another sorry episode in India's flailing effort to combat terrorism. Over the past four years, Islamist groups have struck in New Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad, among other places. The death toll from terrorism -- not counting at least 119 killed in Mumbai on Wednesday and Thursday -- stands at over 4,000, which gives India the dubious distinction of suffering more casualties since 2004 than any country except Iraq.

The attacks highlight India's particular vulnerability to terrorist violence. But they are also a warning to any country that values what Mumbai symbolizes for Indians: pluralism, enterprise and an open society. Put simply, India's failure to protect its premier city offers a textbook example for fellow democracies on how not to deal with militant Islam. The litany of errors is long. Unlike their counterparts in the West, or in East Asia, India's perpetually squabbling leaders have failed to put national security above partisan politics. The country's antiterrorism effort is reactive and episodic rather than proactive and sustained. Its public discourse on Islam oscillates between crude, anti-Muslim bigotry and mindless sympathy for largely unjustified Muslim grievance-mongering. Its failure to either charm or cow its Islamist-friendly neighbors -- Pakistan and Bangladesh -- reveals a limited grasp of statecraft.

Finally, India's inability to modernize its 150-million strong Muslim population, the second largest after Indonesia's, has spawned a community that is ill-equipped to seize new economic opportunities and susceptible to militant Islam's faith-based appeal. To be sure, not all of India's problems are of its own making. In Pakistan, it has a neighbor founded on the basis of religion, whose government -- along with those of Iran and Saudi Arabia -- has long been one of the world's principal exporters of militant Islamic fervor.

Bangladesh also hosts a panoply of jihadist groups. As in Pakistan, public sympathy with the militant Islamic worldview forestalls any meaningful effort against those who regularly use the country as a sanctuary to plan mayhem in India. America's unsuccessful Pakistan policy -- too many carrots and too few sticks -- has also contributed to a fundamentally unstable neighborhood.

Nonetheless, the reflexive Indian response to most every act of terrorism is to apportion blame rather than to seek a solution that will prevent, or at least minimize, its recurrence. Even Indonesia -- a still-poor Muslim-majority nation where sympathy for militants runs deeper than it does in India -- has done an infinitely better job of recognizing that the protection of citizens' lives is any government's first responsibility. A superbly trained, federal antiterrorism force called Detachment 88 has ensured that country has not suffered a terrorist attack in more than three years.

By contrast, India's leaders -- who invariably swan around with armed guards paid for by the taxpayer -- can't even agree on a legal framework to keep the country safe. On taking office in 2004, one of the first acts of the ruling Congress Party was to scrap a federal antiterrorism law that strengthened witness protection and enhanced police powers.


The Congress Party has stalled similar state-level legislation in Gujarat, which is ruled by the opposition Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. And it was a Congress government that kowtowed to fundamentalist pressure and made India the first country to ban Mumbai-born Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" in 1988.
The BJP hasn't exactly distinguished itself either. In 1999, the hijacking of an Indian aircraft to then Taliban-ruled Afghanistan led a BJP government to release three hardened militants, including Omar Sheikh Saeed, the former London School of Economics student who would go on to murder Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

More recently, the BJP, driven by tribal religious solidarity and a penchant for conspiracy theories, has failed to demand the same tough treatment for alleged Hindu terrorists as it does for Muslims. Minor parties, especially those dependent on the Muslim vote, compete to earn fundamentalists' favor.

In sum, the Indian approach to terrorism has been consistently haphazard and weak-kneed. When faced with fundamentalist demands, India's democratically elected leaders have regularly preferred caving to confrontation on a point of principle. The country's institutions and culture have abetted a widespread sense of Muslim separateness from the national mainstream. The country's diplomats and soldiers have failed to stabilize the neighborhood. The ongoing drama in Mumbai underscores the price both Indians and non-Indians caught unawares must now pay.
Mr. Dhume is a Washington-based writer and the author of "My Friend the Fanatic: Travels with an Indonesian Islamist" (Text Publishing, 2008).