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SPYCRAFT: There will be no more coming in from cold

Aw shucks, we all love mysteries don 't we... what you see is what it is - or what it used to be for all those disguises, secret identities and work that was done undercover.

As Tim Cushing reported yesterday, "The spies are back to complaining that the always-on digital world and the omnipresence of surveillance devices (both public and private) is making it difficult to do spy stuff

Always-on surveillance is leading to always-on spycraft.

Another alternative -- one already in use -- is the use of teams to perform covert work, with one handling the actual legwork while the rest of the team steers the operative clear of surveillance cameras in the area. . ."

Disrupting Spycraft: Always-On Surveillance Is Prompting Massive Changes In Covert Operations

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the move-fast-and-break-your-own-stuff dept

Thu, Dec 9th 2021 10:44am — Tim Cushing

 

". . .Something approaching schadenfreude comes from reading reports like these, where the early adopters and pioneers of surveillance tech are now realizing there's too much surveillance tech standing between them and their work.

Pervasive surveillance has made citizens around the world aware lives can no longer be lived largely unobserved.

A wealth of personal data only clicks away makes anonymity almost impossible."

Let's get into it:

"Last January, sources were telling Yahoo that it's no longer enough to carry around a few fake documents to get past customs and engage in spycraft -- not when the cover identities are bereft of the digital detritus generated by simply existing in a connected world. And it's difficult to move about unobserved when every street light, business, and front porch has a camera attached to it, monitoring activity 24/7/365.

The report also noted that online access to a large variety of information also made it more difficult to engage in covert activities.

> Russian counterintelligence agents were apparently able to sniff out CIA agents working in US embassies by looking for things like prior postings in certain countries, pay bumps for hazardous work, or mismatches in salary for employees with similar titles.

> Some of this investigative work could be achieved by utilizing open source information gleaned from government sites and professional-oriented platforms like LinkedIn. Data from the massive Office of Personnel Management hack likely filled in the rest of the details.

It isn't all losses, though.

The same surveillance apparati that made it difficult for covert operatives to maintain cover also made it easier for them to track their targets. But the overall tone of the report was that undercover work needed to undergo an extensive overhaul or it would be rendered almost entirely useless. . ."

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READ MORE:

Disrupting Spycraft: Always-On Surveillance Is Prompting Massive Changes In Covert Operations

Thu, Dec 9th 2021 10:44am— Tim Cushing

Techdirt.

 

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From Aljazeera VISUALIZING GLOBAL AIR TRAVEL

Economy|Infographic

Visualising the global air travel industry

While air travel picked up in 2021, passenger numbers are still down by roughly half of pre-pandemic levels.

Total air travel industry losses during 2020-22 are expected to reach $201bn, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) [Al Jazeera]

By Hanna Duggal and Mohammed Haddad

Published On 9 Dec 20219 Dec 2021

 

"As the Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads across the globe, governments are once again tightening travel restrictions injecting fresh uncertainty into the aviation industry.

Though economies around the globe have been recovering this year, the number of international air passengers is still down by roughly half of pre-pandemic levels, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) latest report [PDF].

[...]

The world’s busiest airports

Prior to the pandemic, the world’s busiest airports by the number of passengers were spread across North America, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. However, in 2020, the top 10 busiest airports were split between China and the United States.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, located in the south Chinese province of Guangdong, was the busiest airport in 2020, with more than 43.8 million passengers travelling through the airport, according to Airports Council International (ACI).

> Atlanta Airport in Georgia, US, had the second-highest number of passengers with 42.9 million people using the airport. However, this was a 61 percent decrease from 2019, when it was ranked the busiest airport in the world.

Seven of the 10 busiest airports in 2020 were situated in China.

(Al Jazeera)

Financial losses

Total air travel industry losses during 2020-22 are expected to reach $201bn, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

In 2020 alone, the industry lost upwards of $137bn with losses expected to reduce to $11.6bn in 2022.

(Al Jazeera)

Global air travel during the pandemic

In 2019, some 4.5 billion passengers took 42 million flights worldwide. That is an average of 115,000 commercial flights every day, according to FlightRadar24.

Then on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Over the course of just one month, passenger air travel dropped by more than 75 percent, reaching a low of 23,926 flights on April 12, 2020.

With lockdowns and quarantines sweeping the globe for most of 2020, many people cancelled or postponed travel plans. By the end of the year, 2.7 billion fewer people travelled by air compared with 2019, according to the ICAO.

Though international and domestic flights picked up in 2021, the number of total air passengers still stands at about half of 2019 levels.

THERE ARE MORE DETAILS -- Reference: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/12/9/visualising-the-global-air-travel-industry-interactive 

 

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