From the New York Times: China Orders Highest Alert Level.

Chinese officials have thrown an almost smothering blanket of security across this capital of 17 million in preparation for the start of the Olympic Games on Friday. Above all else, Chinese leaders say, these Olympics will be “safe.”

China, infamous for accusations of human-rights violations from Amnesty International and suppression of free speech by Reporters Without Borders, is investing heavily into surveillance systems to monitor the country for “suspicious activity.”

The Chinese government has also been installing tens of thousands of surveillance cameras on lamp poles and in Internet cafes and bars.

Critics of the measure say the cameras can be used not only to track potential terrorists, but also anyone who opposes the nation’s one-party rule. Western companies like I.B.M., General Electric, Honeywell and United Technologies have been shipping their latest computer tools to automatically analyze video images from thousands of cameras and alert computer operators to patterns that might indicate a threat.

The Security Industry Association, a Washington-based trade group for security companies around the world, said in a study last year that from 2001, when Beijing was awarded the Olympics, China spent as much as $6.5 billion on security in the Beijing area alone. The bulk of the spending is for extensive video monitoring systems that will stay in place after the Games.

“The surveillance system deployed by China for the Olympics, which includes key pieces of Western technology, is the most comprehensive and sophisticated surveillance system ever,” said James C. Mulvenon of the Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis in Washington, a private group that does classified work for the American government.

Largely separate from the Olympics, China is moving to install video monitoring systems in its 600 largest cities, and some are already far along.

It’s important to note that Western companies are developing the software that will be used for monitoring citizens in cities not at heightened risk of terrorist disruption of the Olympic Games, and that the cameras will remain in place after the Olympics.

Given that many IST and SRA students will enter the field of security, and could develop the very tools being used in China’s surveillance overhaul, the question of ethics presents itself: What if you knew that you would be increasing the efficiency of a heavy-handed, authoritarian government in suppressing dissent?

Many tools developed for security can be bastardized for malicious purposes, e.g., penetration tools, network vulnerability scanners, facial recognition software, cell phone tracking, etc., and perhaps the developers should not be held responsible for the actions of others. The idea and subsequent debate certainly invite merit and cases like Beijing’s surveillance system are excellent for classroom discussion.

Tags: security china ethics sra ist

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