Safeguarding Yourself Against Surveillance Technology

In order to properly appreciate all that police surveillance technology does for our communities we need to know how to use it appropriately. Video surveillance has come a long way since it was first discovered and new advancements help authorities to catch criminals everyday. When video surveillance switched to closed circuit television (CCTV) and then developed into charged coupled device cameras (CCD) it has since revolutionized video surveillance. It is much more reliable now and can operate in both low-light and night circumstances. In the mid 1990s ATMs had mini cameras installed to record every transaction. Many people worried about the security of their accounts when these cameras were installed, but in order to secure your pin number and the safety of your account all you need to do is cover the key pad when you type in your pin number. This way if the camera was being watched, or an alternate camera was fixed on the keypad there wouldn’t be any keypad to film.
There is also the new face recognition program. This program picks off key features on a person’s face, and matches it to a picture or video. These cameras have helped police arrest many criminals but in order to safeguard ourselves against the face recognition program’s mistakes authorities need to remember that even the most precise technology can slip up, also we need to be very cautious of racial/sexual profiling because it is very dangerous to question someone for the reason that they were on x street at x time and that they are black, or a woman.
Both men and women who assume that their spouse is cheating also need to be careful. If you are wrong and have used software programs to record keystrokes or websites visited this could be a major betrayal of trust and will stay with you for a long time. As technologies advance and become readily available to the public, we need to take a step back and look at both the positives and the negatives of its usage. Even if it is simple to use that does not mean that the consequences of using it improperly will be of proportionate size. Thinking twice before using these surveillance devices is a sure way to safeguard youself against the possibility of identity theft, loss of trust, or even false arrests.