– IRS buying tiny surveillance equipment hidden in plants, coffee trays, clock radios (End The Lie, June 11, 2013):
Apparently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has branched out from just reading e-mails and other electronic communications without a warrant into the realm of physical surveillance.
A purchase request for cameras and recording equipment small enough to be concealed in everyday household items was submitted by the IRS recently, showing that it isn’t content with the many scandals already plaguing the agency.
Interestingly, the IRS apparently needs the equipment quite urgently. The solicitation was posted on June 6 and is looking to have it fulfilled by June 11, according to the solicitation.
The descriptions of the items in the solicitation “are vague due to the use and nature of the items,” according to the posting.
The items the IRS is purchasing include four “Covert Coffee tray[s] with Camera concealment,” two “Concealed clock radio[s],” and four remote surveillance systems with built-in DVD burners and 2 internal hard drives along with cameras.
The IRS also wants, “(QTY 4) Plant Concealment Color 700 Lines Color IP Camera Concealment with Single Channel Network Server, supports dual video stream, Poe [power over Ethernet], software included, case included, router included” along with “(QTY 4) Color IP Camera Concealment with single channel network server, supports dual video stream, poe, webviewer and cms [content management system] software included, audio.”
The original solicitation was only available to private companies for bids for 19 business hours, according to CNS News.
The purpose for the equipment has not been revealed and the company fulfilling the also remains unknown, even though a provider has been secured, according to the Daily Caller.
This latest expansion of the U.S. government’s spying program comes after the massive NSA surveillance program known as PRISM was uncovered which involved tech companies working with the government.
Obama himself along with others in Washington have defended the program while others have attacked the press for disclosing the existence of the program along with related software known as Boundless Informant. Edward Snowden, the man responsible for exposing the program is now apparently on the run and the Senate is slated to hold a closed briefing on the program.
Based on what we’ve seen when it comes to the defense of the NSA surveillance, one can assume that IRS surveillance will be treated similarly.
– IRS seeks to buy hidden cameras, surveillance equipment (The Daily Caller, June 11, 2013):
The Internal Revenue Service is branching into surveillance territory of its own after submitting a purchase request for cameras and recording equipment small enough to be hidden in average household items.
Requested micro surveillance equipment is manufactured to be easily hidden in coffee trays, plants and clock radios according to CNS News. The order was opened with a brief fulfillment request from June 6 — 10, and was recently pushed to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11.
The IRS did not disclose the purpose for the equipment, nor the company fulfilling the purchase, though a provider has been secured.
Four hidden plant colored cameras, four covert coffee tray cameras, four remote surveillance systems with DVD burners and internal hard drives, two concealed clock radio cameras, and four concealable color cameras are being sought.Solicitation fulfillment requests were directed to IRS contract specialist Ricardo Carter, and were only open to private company bids for 19 hours before opening up to outside vendors — after which it would go to the company originally sought by the agency.
The request surfaces after recent revelations about abuses and overreach by the IRS, including the targeting of conservative political non-profits and wasteful overspending at an annual conference.
A purchase request for cameras and recording equipment small enough to be concealed in everyday household items was submitted by the IRS recently, showing that it isn’t content with the many scandals already plaguing the agency.
Interestingly, the IRS apparently needs the equipment quite urgently. The solicitation was posted on June 6 and is looking to have it fulfilled by June 11, according to the solicitation.
The descriptions of the items in the solicitation “are vague due to the use and nature of the items,” according to the posting.
The items the IRS is purchasing include four “Covert Coffee tray[s] with Camera concealment,” two “Concealed clock radio[s],” and four remote surveillance systems with built-in DVD burners and 2 internal hard drives along with cameras.