MISSION
Go Undercover Inside OSTECK
DID YOU KNOW?
Residents of Shoreditch, East London, are able to subscribe to watch live CCTV camera feeds from locations in their area on their own TV.
For more than 10 years, New York’s Surveillance Camera Players have been performing plays in public spaces that are monitored by CCTV. They act directly to the security cameras, protesting that public CCTV violates their right to privacy.
DID YOU KNOW?
Reported attempts to hack into the Pentagon’s computer network rose from 800 in 1996 to more than 160,000 in 2006.
When spies go undercover, things start to get tough. Depending on their advance intelligence information, they might not know where they are going, what the location will be like or who’s on their side. They need to keep their wits about them and find out as much as possible without drawing attention to themselves.
How do you think it feels to be spied upon? Even if you’re not a target of Government agencies, there are a wide range of organizations that could be collecting information about you in one way or another.
OSTECK SECURITY CLEARANCE
The OSTECK body scanner is based on existing passive-millimeter wave, or terahertz scanners. These waves can pass through your clothes but are reflected by your body or other objects (gadgets, guns, explosives…). Scanners like this are already in use in airports around the world.
The OSTECK brain scanner is based on current research into functional brain imaging, where blood flow inside the brain is monitored to see which regions are active. Scientists are working on several different methods of measuring this blood flow. One technique uses sensors attached to the head to pick up infrared light that has passed through the brain. One day they may be able to capture this data from a distance, making the OSTECK brain scanner a reality.
INTELLIGENT CCTV OBSERVATION STATION
The first large-scale public space CCTV installation in the UK was in Bournemouth in 1985. Twenty years later there are over 4 million CCTV cameras in the country, making UK citizens the most watched of any country in the world.
As more and more CCTV cameras are used, the footage is increasingly being monitored automatically by computers. Current systems can track different colors, look for unattended objects and alert for unusual behavior patterns.
CORPORATE HACKING GAME
Can you hack into OSTECK’s intranet to uncover the secret code word?
Hackers look at computer systems in the same way that burglars look at houses. They look for the equivalent of open or unlocked doors or windows.
Many computer systems have built-in backdoors or special ports that can be used by certain software programs or authorized people to gain access.
Proceed to FUTURE »
The Science of Spying, an exhibition from 
scienceof.com