Statewatch

This author's articles

• Belgium: RFID passports containing sensitive information discovered to be unencrypted, and encrypted ones are easy to decipher

  13 June 2007
  A team of cryptography researchers discovered that around 720,000 passports issued by Belgium between late 2004 and July 2006 are not encrypted and the sensitive material they contain, including the holder’s signature and photograph, could be read using a commercial RFID chip reader held 10 centimetres away, reported Belgian website Rue 89 on 6 June 2007.

• Arming Big Brother: The EU’s Security Research Programme

  3 October 2006
  This Statewatch-TNI report examines the development of the security-industrial complex in Europe and in particular the development of the EU Security Research Programme (ESRP). Spawned by the military-industrial complex, the security-industrial complex has developed as the traditional boundaries between external security (military) and internal security (security services) and law enforcement (policing) have eroded. With the global market for technologies of repression more lucrative than ever in the wake of 11 September 2001, it is on a healthy expansion course.

• A report from the Information Commissioners on Data Access

  2 October 2006
  This report gives the views of Information Commissioners meeting in 2006 on a number of matters relating to data exchange.

• Statewatch launches a new «Observatory» on CIA «rendition»

  22 May 2006
  Statewatch today launches a new «Observatory» on the enquiries taking place into «rendition» and the use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners.

• The European Parliament and data retention: Chronicle of a ‘sell-out’ foretold?

  20 December 2005
  Written just prior to the European Parliament’s 14 December vote on the proposed Directive on data retention, this article sets out how the Council’s agreed text (which the EP voted on) differed from the Commission’s initial proposal and how the EP committee report differed from both those texts. Argues that «if the EP accepts the text as agreed in the Council ... it would amount to a ‘sell-out’ of its position - and the civil liberties of the EU public.»

• Police obtain wholesale access to encrypted e-mails and internet discussion groups used by activists

  27 July 2005
  On 21 June 2005, members of the association Autistici/Inventati found out that an operation by the postal police in June 2004 may have resulted in the entire telecommunications traffic passing through their servers, and its contents, having been under surveillance for the last year in the context of police investigations into terrorist activities by anarchists. Autistici/Inventati is active in the field of privacy rights and provides encrypted Internet and e-mail services widely used by Italian activists, journalists, lawyers and student groups.

• EU : «Anti-terrorism» legitimises sweeping new «internal security» complex

  28 January 2005
  In June 2004 Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for defence and foreign policy, announced that internal security services (eg: MI5 in the UK) are to provide intelligence on terrorism to the Joint Situation Centre (SitCen) - part of the EU’s emerging military structure. At the same time he revealed that the external intelligence agencies (eg: MI6 and GCHQ in the UK) had been cooperating with SitCen since «early 2002». These moves were clearly needed as attempts to bring together meaningful intelligence on terrorism through Europol was doomed to fail - internal security and external intelligence agencies are loath to share information with police agencies.

• Killing me softly ? "Improving access to durable solutions" : doublespeak and the dismantling of refugee protection in the EU

  22 November 2004
  Away from the European elections, enlargement and agreement on the EU constitution, it has been business as usual in the Commission’s justice and home affairs Directorate which has been churning out communications on a host of controversial issues. Its Communication on asylum, "Improving access to durable solutions" (released on 4 June 2004), is based on New Labour’s "new vision for refugees" which was informally proposed to EU member states in 2003.