Evan Light, Glendon College, York University

virPrague 20: Experiments in Collaboration and Critical Participation

This Making and Doing session presents two RaspberryPi-based projects being used for research on mass surveillance and border spaces. The Snowden Archive-in-a-Box (SAIB) is an offline wireless network and web server providing access to a replica of the Snowden Digital Surveillance Archive. Anybody in the vicinity can access the archive by connecting their wireless device to the Snowden Archive WiFi network and browsing to a website. Open the briefcase up and one finds a wood panel with a LCD inset, playing back the IP traffic of the archive’s current users. Thus, while an audience can access the Snowden documents and learn about mass surveillance from primary materials, they are also shown what data surveillance ‘looks like’. As part of the Border Probes project, it is carried across international borders and installed in public places as a means of attempt to trace the contours of border security practices. Stingray Stinger is a tool for detecting IMSI catchers used for cellphone surveillance using a combination of public information and radio technology. It is in the proof-of-concept phase and can likely be ported to multiple national contexts.