Slashdot Mirror


NSA Collecting Millions of Faces From Web Images

Advocatus Diaboli (1627651) writes "The National Security Agency is harvesting huge numbers of images of people from communications that it intercepts through its global surveillance operations for use in sophisticated facial recognition programs, according to top-secret documents. The spy agency's reliance on facial recognition technology has grown significantly over the last four years as the agency has turned to new software to exploit the flood of images included in emails, text messages, social media, videoconferences and other communications, the N.S.A. documents reveal. Agency officials believe that technological advances could revolutionize the way that the N.S.A. finds intelligence targets around the world, the documents show. The agency's ambitions for this highly sensitive ability and the scale of its effort have not previously been disclosed."

3 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Why wouldn't they? Everybody knows that what... by EzInKy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ....you put online stays online. Forever!!

    --
    Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
  2. Re:And GCHQ was watching intimate skype videos ow- by camperdave · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you don't want someone else to see it, don't send it.

    Pray tell, how do I get someone to not post pictures of me?

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  3. Re:Color me by Travis+Mansbridge · · Score: 5, Insightful

    GCHQ, NSA, and their equivalent agencies in Australia, Canada and NZ are all members of the "five eyes" spying group also known as ECHELON. Any time a law might restrict one from spying on citizens of their own country, they just have another member spy for them and hand over the info.