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San Francisco Bay Area In Superbowl Surveillance Mode (wired.com)

Posted by timothy on from the but-don't-worry dept.

An anonymous reader links to Wired's description of a surveillance society in miniature assembling right now in San Francisco: Super Bowl 50 will be big in every way. A hundred million people will watch the game on TV. Over the next ten days, 1 million people are expected to descend on the San Francisco Bay Area for the festivities. And, according to the FBI, 60 federal, state, and local agencies are working together to coordinate surveillance and security at what is the biggest national security event of the year.
Previous year's Superbowl security measures have included WMD sensors, database-backed facial recognition, and gamma-ray vehicle scanners. Given the fears and cautions in the air about this year's contest, it's easy to guess that the scanning and sensing will be even more prevalent this time.

5 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. It's not TSA-level security theater by rmdingler · · Score: 5, Interesting
    But it's pretty close. Look. The venue for this and the next several Superbowls is announced years in advance... plenty of time for any number of threats to be prepared and installed outside the watchful eyes on the stadium (and the surrounding area) right before the big game.

    Given the popularity of the sport and this game, it has to have occurred to those with a bone to pick versus the Americans what a powerful blow this would be.

    The big question is, "Have the anti-UAV defenses been employed?"

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:It's not TSA-level security theater by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 3, Funny

      "Given the popularity of the sport and this game, it has to have occurred to those with a bone to pick versus the Americans what a powerful blow this would be."

      In this world there is religion, fundamentalist religion, and the Super Bowl. Perhaps the only reason why such an attack has not taken place is that everyone knows it would result in the immediate erasure of the Middle East. All of it.

    2. Re:It's not TSA-level security theater by erp_consultant · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You know, it occurs to me that if some radical group really wanted to cause havoc at the Super Bowl they could. But they won't and it's not because of the security theater. It's because if such a thing were to occur the outrage would be so great that our politicians would be forced to act upon it. Every plane, every ship, every gun would be pointed squarely at those responsible and in a matter of days we could wipe them from the face of the earth.

      Instead they engage in attacks that are much smaller in scale. Their objective is not to kill everyone. Their objective is to strike fear into everyone. And these smaller scale attacks are very successful at that. Not only that, it gives politicians cover by allowing them to claim that these are "isolated incidents" and not large scale attacks. Such is the nature of guerrilla warfare.

  2. They slipped by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Previous year's Superbowl security measures have included WMD sensors, database-backed facial recognition, and gamma-ray vehicle scanners."

    All that and still they couldn't stop Janet Jackson's nipple.

  3. Re:100 million ? Yeah right. by bws111 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The population of the US is 318 million, which,last I looked, was far greater than the 100 million expected viewers of the Super Bowl. Also, the World Series, which happens in October, is baseball, and the Super Bowl, which happens in February, is American football. So, if you are not a troll, you are an idiot.