Cars as Cameras

A short overview of #Tesla #surveillance features and lessons for attack.

„Most expect to be captured on video when walking through downtown streets, which are often littered with traditional types of security cameras, such as the dome cameras, bullet cameras, or the newer remote controlled PTZ (Point, Tilt, Zoom) cameras. Previously, this was less expected in residential neighborhoods, which now have an increasing amount of home surveillance systems like Amazon’s Ring or Google Nest cameras.

Police departments have seized on the increasing popularity of these devices and struck deals with their parent companies to directly incorporate them into existing surveillance networks and access data without the knowledge or permission of the camera owner. Some doorbell style cameras offer forms of audio surveillance as well…
(...)
Even without being bugged, almost every modern car contains technology that logs your trips (and much more) and can be easily accessed by law enforcement."

anarchistnews.org/content/cars…

#Data #Privacy #Musk #Technology #SurveillanceCapitalism #SurveillanceCapitalism

If You’ve Got a New Car, It’s a Data Privacy Nightmare

"Bad news: your car is a spy. If your vehicle was made in the last few years, you’re probably driving around in a data-harvesting machine that may collect personal information as sensitive as your race, weight, and sexual activity. Volkswagen’s cars reportedly know if you’re fastening your seatbelt and how hard you hit the brakes.

That’s according to new findings from Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included project. The #nonprofit found that every major car brand fails to adhere to the most basic privacy and security standards in new internet-connected models, and all 25 of the brands Mozilla examined flunked the organization’s test.

#Mozilla found brands including #BMW, #Ford, #Toyota, #Tesla, and #Subaru collect #data about drivers including race, facial expressions, weight, health information, and where you drive. Some of the cars tested collected data you wouldn’t expect your car to know about, including details about sexual activity, race, and immigration status, according to Mozilla."

gizmodo.com/mozilla-new-cars-d…

#Privacy #Surveillance #Data #SurveillanceCapitalism

Meshtastic - MeshCore - Reticulum: Warum Sideband (Reticulum) zurzeit meine №1 ist

Jedes der drei oben genannten (Mesh) Systeme hat sicherlich seine Vor- und seine Nachteile. Reticulum kombiniert allerdings einige der (mir!) wichtigen Funktionen:

• Es legt einen großen Wert auf Sicherheit (Verschlüsselung). Wer also Messenger wie #Session, #Threema oder #Signal statt #WhatsApp bevorzugt, lieg mit Reticulum (Sideband) sicherlich auch nicht falsch.
• Reticulum ist dezentral (!) und selbstorganisierend. Andere Mesh-Netzwerke, die neben der Funkanbindung (LoRa), noch Zugänge untereinander über einen #MQTT-Server anbieten, funktionieren nur, solange diese Server online und nicht überlastet sind. Sideband lässt sich auch ganz einfach über das Internet nutzen und wenn dies ausfallen sollte, gibt es ja auch noch
• LoRa (Funk) Verbindungen für Not- und Krisensituationen. Es lassen sich so einfach und mit kostengünstiger Hardware lokale Netzwerke aufbauen.

Ob ich also an einem PC mit Interzugang sitze, oder mein Smartphone mit Mobilfunkanbindung (oder eben auch mit einem über Bluetooth verbundenen LoRa Device) nutze, ich bin dann Teil des Netzwerkes und kann auf all diesen Geräten erreicht werden und Nachrichten versenden.

Ich weiß jetzt nicht mehr genau, wer diese Frage eigentlich gestellt hatte, aber ich hoffe, diese Erklärung hilft weiter. 😀

_{_(Bildbeschreibung: Screenshot aus dem Messenger Sideband.)_}

#Datenschutz #Privacy #Messenger #Kommunikation #Notfallkommunikation #Meshtastic #MeshCore #Reticulum #Mesh #LXMF #LoRa #ReticulumNetwork #Sideband #NomadNet

Hey Fediverse!

I'm micr0, creator of @altbot, the open-source bot that helps generate alt-text for images on the Fediverse to make content more accessible.

What's New in 2.1?

After successfully moving image processing to local hardware with version 2.0, I've now brought video processing capability back - but with a major privacy upgrade! Altbot can now generate descriptions for videos completely locally and privately without sending content to Google or any other third-party services.

Important note: Currently, video processing is visual-only and doesn't include audio transcription. The audio processing Google was doing was some serious black magic fuckery that isn't possible to replicate locally with current technologies. But the visual descriptions are excellent and totally private!

With this update:

• All processing happens locally with zero data retention
• Complete privacy for all content
• No data used for training models
• Videos processed with the same privacy standards as images

I've also maintained Altbot's focus on energy efficiency - while video processing naturally requires more resources than images, I've implemented it to be as efficient as possible, keeping power consumption to a minimum while still delivering great results.

Thank You for Your Support!

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped me reach my donation goal on Ko-fi with the 2.0 launch! Your generosity made it possible to set up the local processing infrastructure that powers this privacy-focused service.

The response from the community has been incredible, and it means so much to know that privacy and accessibility are values we share.

What's Next for Altbot?

I'm already working on exciting future developments:

• An Altbot API that will allow developers to integrate alt-text generation into their applications
• Direct integration with Fediverse software platforms - I'm collaborating with instance developers to make accessibility a built-in feature!

Remember that Altbot has always been and remains fully open-source, with self-hosting being a core feature from day one for anyone who wants to run their own instance.

Supporting Ongoing Development & Infrastructure

Altbot currently runs on hardware in my home, which means I'm covering all the electricity costs for powering the GPU server that processes your media. While I've designed the system to be energy-efficient, running a dedicated AI server still impacts my monthly power bill.

Monthly donations would be especially helpful in sustainably supporting:

• Ongoing electricity costs
• Time spent on development and maintenance
• Future infrastructure improvements

Even small recurring contributions can make a huge difference in keeping this service running reliably and allowing me to dedicate more time to improvements!

Ways to Support:

• Ko-fi (one-time or monthly): ko-fi.com/micr0byte
• Ethereum: 0xC992E57236eb9F30E79d0469446a6CF08Be05939

I've added the ETH option for those who prefer crypto or don't want to use PayPal!

Version 2.1 also includes various internal improvements and bug fixes that make everything run more smoothly behind the scenes.

Thanks again for your support in making the web more accessible without compromising on privacy!

Feel free to boost or reach out with questions! For press inquiries: inquiries@micr0.dev

#Accessibility #Privacy #Fediverse #AltText #Altbot