Paul-

No problem, will get back to you in a few minutes with these answers.

On Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 1:51 PM, Paul Wagenseil
<pwagenseil@techmedianetwork.com> wrote:

Mr. Brown --

I'm writing up a piece about TrapWire and the various reactions to it online, and figured you might be a good person to ask about it.

As far as I can tell, TrapWire aggregates and analyzes surveillance-camera footage from various cities across the U.S. and looks for signs that potential terrorists are "casing" public facilities like transit systems so on.

The company behind it hasn't been secret about what it does, even if it tried not to make too much of a splash.

But I'm seeing reports that TrapWire incorporates facial-recognition technology, even as the company that makes the system denies it.  Would you have any evidence that it does?

Also, it seems that TrapWire's biggest clients are the NY Metropolitan Transit Authority and the cities of Las Vegas (which installed it in casinos), Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

(The NYPD has its own system which frankly sounds even more intrusive/sophisticated: http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/political_news/166477/new-crime-analyzing-system-expected-to-aid-nypd-sleuthing)

Would you have information on where else TrapWire might be deployed?

Next, a lot of people are pinning the current DDoS attack on Wikileaks on people who want to keep the Stratfor emails referencing TrapWire a secret. But the DDoS attack started more than a week ago, Saturday, Aug. 4, and WikiLeaks didn't start putting up the TrapWire stuff until several days later, on Wednesday, Aug. 8.

Do you think the DDoS attack is nonetheless related to TrapWire?

Finally, there's an Anonymous press release [http://www.peoplesliberationfront.net/anonpaste/?85154060e1fbbee4#3Xmwdn68V/La/W2PEk+sje8EltjYqOnRH847YoXrIow=] that's calling for "Smash a Cam Saturday" (it doesn't say which Saturday) to disable the TrapWire system.

But wouldn't taking out surveillance cameras have the corollary effect of aiding criminal activity?

Anyway, if you have the time to answer some of those questions, or add any information of your own, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul Wagenseil
Managing editor, SecurityNewsDaily | | www.SecurityNewsDaily.com
150 Fifth Avenue, 9th Floor | New York, NY 10011
pwagenseil@techmedianetwork.com
(212) 703-5818

-- 
Regards,

Barrett Brown
512-560-2302