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On an unrelated note, the FT reported today [1] that Israel was able to track Iranian leadership by hacking "nearly all" of the traffic cameras in Tehran. Anywa

On an unrelated note, the FT reported today [1] that Israel was able to track Iranian leadership by hacking "nearly all" of the traffic cameras in Tehran. Anyways, I think we should continue to put as many networked cameras, microphones, and other sensors in as many products as possible. There are no downsides! [1] https://archive.is/QSCjf https://archive.is/QSCjf

twodave 8mo ago
I overall agree with your point, but I don’t think “tracking leadership of a country that murders tens of thousands of its own citizens” is a strong supporting argument…
- palata 8mo ago
  Because you think that "being able to track leadership of a country that knows that other countries may want to target them" does not mean "being able to track pretty much anyone"? Or do you think that those cameras are less secure because the leadership is not good with their people? I'm not sure I follow the criticism here.
  - flockonus 8mo ago
    Anyone who has a mobile phone has been tracked by their phone provider forever, with the accuracy of a couple blocks. Smartphones only bring more trackers to the equation in the form of apps. What's the material concern to tracking that glasses add?
    - Onavo 8mo ago
      You can recognize a threat to national security without supporting the ideology behind it. It sounds like you are trying to to spread FUD around stronger privacy regulations. It would be a lot less funny when the shoe is on the other foot and it's not Iranian networks that's being compromised. Are you perhaps a vendor of mass surveillance systems like your username's namesake?
    - metamet 8mo ago
      Surely the difference between location tracking (that still requires a warrant for the government to get access to, thus Stingrays) and the intimate visual processing and tagging that is derived from the likes of smart glasses is self explanatory, right? To that point, the difference between geolocation and video tracking and analysis (like Flock) seems pretty obvious to me. It's invasively panopticon.
  - twodave 8mo ago
    I thought I stated my position pretty clearly. This is like saying, “We should ban guns!” And then use a successful self-defense case as a supporting argument. Whether you agree or disagree with the thesis, I think we can all agree that’s a stupid way to make the point. But perhaps you just aren’t willing to have a genuine discussion.
    - palata 8mo ago
      You are the one nitpicking about the argument ("I agree with your point, but I will just complain about your example"), so don't be surprised if you get answers :-). > This is like saying, “We should ban guns!” And then use a successful self-defense case as a supporting argument. Not quite, no. It is saying "If even those people who benefit from their national security can be tracked by an actor that does not own the cameras, it means that anyone can be tracked by those cameras. Do we want foreign actors to be able to track anyone in the country, even the leadership?". It actually makes a stronger point than "normal people who gladly share all their data can be tracked", and even stronger than "a journalist taking care not to be tracked can still be tracked". Here we have the leadership of a country that knows that they are targets, who therefore benefit from national security. And they can still be tracked.
      - twodave 8mo ago
        Ok, this is a good point I hadn’t thought of. Thank you.
- Computer0 8mo ago
  I overall agree with your point, but I don’t think defending a country engaged in a genocide is a strong supporting argument…
  - twodave 8mo ago
    Where did I defend anyone in my comment? Edit: no, seriously, you having some personal axe to grind is no excuse for directing it at me or my comments. This is a sign of a person having a skewed perspective.
- bigyabai 8mo ago
  Why not? China is taking notes, it's merely a matter of time before the shoe is on the other foot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Typhoon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Typhoon
  - twodave 8mo ago
    Well, I personally don’t think the answer to, “Our enemies might use the same tactics,” is to avoid entering into what I believe is a justified conflict. Besides, if you think China could push over the US without lighting the entire world on fire then I don’t know what to tell you. Nobody wants that, and they’re not stupid or religiously radical enough to pull something like that. Obviously Iran is, since they woke up yesterday at war with 2 counties and ended up at war with 7 by the end of the day. Imagine if they had nukes.
    - twodave 8mo ago
      Anyway, I can be against domestic surveillance while also being willing to take advantage of my enemies’ surveillance of their own citizens.
      - bigyabai 8mo ago
        Being "against" domestic surveillance doesn't mean shit. It's a done deal, America is surveilled by it's own government and China is actively exploiting it as an attack vector. Get it out of your system now, these double-standards won't be funny when Taiwan is blockaded.
        twodave 8mo ago
        I’m not sure what your point is, but this doesn’t seem like a genuine attempt to engage anymore, so I guess we’re done talking.
dehrmann 8mo ago
This is a little like how congress feels differently about things like email privacy when they're the ones under the microscope. These ideas seem fine in a world of honest actors, but when there's an adversarial element in the mix, what you thought brought security can be used against you.
boca_honey 8mo ago
[flagged]
- paxys 8mo ago
  More like - try not to be someone the government deems a terrorist
  - medi8r 8mo ago
    Like that lady killed in Minnesota by ICE was branded.
- nerevarthelame 8mo ago
  The American government has recently accused peaceful protestors of being terrorists. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/labeling-renee-good-domestic-terrorist-distorts-law https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/labe... https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/us/trump-minnesota-protesters-domestic-terrorists.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/us/trump-minnesota-protes...
- medi8r 8mo ago
  [flagged]
medi8r 8mo ago
Hacking is so 2010s. Now you just ask big tech for the footage.

twodave 8mo ago

I overall agree with your point, but I don’t think “tracking leadership of a country that murders tens of thousands of its own citizens” is a strong supporting argument…

palata 8mo ago
Because you think that "being able to track leadership of a country that knows that other countries may want to target them" does not mean "being able to track pretty much anyone"? Or do you think that those cameras are less secure because the leadership is not good with their people? I'm not sure I follow the criticism here.
- flockonus 8mo ago
  Anyone who has a mobile phone has been tracked by their phone provider forever, with the accuracy of a couple blocks. Smartphones only bring more trackers to the equation in the form of apps. What's the material concern to tracking that glasses add?
  - Onavo 8mo ago
    You can recognize a threat to national security without supporting the ideology behind it. It sounds like you are trying to to spread FUD around stronger privacy regulations. It would be a lot less funny when the shoe is on the other foot and it's not Iranian networks that's being compromised. Are you perhaps a vendor of mass surveillance systems like your username's namesake?
  - metamet 8mo ago
    Surely the difference between location tracking (that still requires a warrant for the government to get access to, thus Stingrays) and the intimate visual processing and tagging that is derived from the likes of smart glasses is self explanatory, right? To that point, the difference between geolocation and video tracking and analysis (like Flock) seems pretty obvious to me. It's invasively panopticon.
- twodave 8mo ago
  I thought I stated my position pretty clearly. This is like saying, “We should ban guns!” And then use a successful self-defense case as a supporting argument. Whether you agree or disagree with the thesis, I think we can all agree that’s a stupid way to make the point. But perhaps you just aren’t willing to have a genuine discussion.
  - palata 8mo ago
    You are the one nitpicking about the argument ("I agree with your point, but I will just complain about your example"), so don't be surprised if you get answers :-). > This is like saying, “We should ban guns!” And then use a successful self-defense case as a supporting argument. Not quite, no. It is saying "If even those people who benefit from their national security can be tracked by an actor that does not own the cameras, it means that anyone can be tracked by those cameras. Do we want foreign actors to be able to track anyone in the country, even the leadership?". It actually makes a stronger point than "normal people who gladly share all their data can be tracked", and even stronger than "a journalist taking care not to be tracked can still be tracked". Here we have the leadership of a country that knows that they are targets, who therefore benefit from national security. And they can still be tracked.
    - twodave 8mo ago
      Ok, this is a good point I hadn’t thought of. Thank you.
Computer0 8mo ago
I overall agree with your point, but I don’t think defending a country engaged in a genocide is a strong supporting argument…
- twodave 8mo ago
  Where did I defend anyone in my comment? Edit: no, seriously, you having some personal axe to grind is no excuse for directing it at me or my comments. This is a sign of a person having a skewed perspective.
bigyabai 8mo ago
Why not? China is taking notes, it's merely a matter of time before the shoe is on the other foot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Typhoon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Typhoon
- twodave 8mo ago
  Well, I personally don’t think the answer to, “Our enemies might use the same tactics,” is to avoid entering into what I believe is a justified conflict. Besides, if you think China could push over the US without lighting the entire world on fire then I don’t know what to tell you. Nobody wants that, and they’re not stupid or religiously radical enough to pull something like that. Obviously Iran is, since they woke up yesterday at war with 2 counties and ended up at war with 7 by the end of the day. Imagine if they had nukes.
  - twodave 8mo ago
    Anyway, I can be against domestic surveillance while also being willing to take advantage of my enemies’ surveillance of their own citizens.
    - bigyabai 8mo ago
      Being "against" domestic surveillance doesn't mean shit. It's a done deal, America is surveilled by it's own government and China is actively exploiting it as an attack vector. Get it out of your system now, these double-standards won't be funny when Taiwan is blockaded.
      - twodave 8mo ago
        I’m not sure what your point is, but this doesn’t seem like a genuine attempt to engage anymore, so I guess we’re done talking.

dehrmann 8mo ago

This is a little like how congress feels differently about things like email privacy when they're the ones under the microscope. These ideas seem fine in a world of honest actors, but when there's an adversarial element in the mix, what you thought brought security can be used against you.

boca_honey 8mo ago

[flagged]

paxys 8mo ago
More like - try not to be someone the government deems a terrorist
- medi8r 8mo ago
  Like that lady killed in Minnesota by ICE was branded.
nerevarthelame 8mo ago
The American government has recently accused peaceful protestors of being terrorists. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/labeling-renee-good-domestic-terrorist-distorts-law https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/labe... https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/us/trump-minnesota-protesters-domestic-terrorists.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/us/trump-minnesota-protes...
medi8r 8mo ago
[flagged]

medi8r 8mo ago

Hacking is so 2010s. Now you just ask big tech for the footage.