Surveillance

From The IT Law Wiki

Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. Systems surveillance is the process of monitoring the behavior of people, objects or processes within systems for conformity to expected or desired norms in trusted systems for security or social control.

Although the word surveillance in French, literally means "watching over",^[1] the term is often used for all forms of observation or monitoring, not just visual observation. Nevertheless, the all-seeing "eye in the sky" is still a general icon of surveillance. Surveillance in many modern cities and buildings often uses closed-circuit television cameras. Although surveillance can be a useful tool for law enforcement and security companies, many people have concerns about the loss of privacy.

The word surveillance is commonly used to describe observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment or other technological means. For example:

eavesdropping
wiretapping
covert listening devices or "bugs"
subminiature cameras
closed-circuit television
night vision
GPS tracking
bait car
electronic tagging
reconnaissance
trusted computing devices
Internet and computer surveillance

However, surveillance also includes simple, relatively no- or low-technology methods such as direct observation, observation with binoculars, postal interception, or similar methods.