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Uk UFO sightings – june 2008 (updated regularly)
Posted by dandare on June 29, 2008
i will try and keep this up to date, with all information from the UK.
Please check back from time to time, as this will be updated regularly…
If you see something that i have missed, please contact me (thanks).
I have also put the posts, in date order, the same format as last month … I will try and put a conclusion to the sightings at the end of each month as well …… (although i need to do this from april onwards..oops!).
There has been an explosion of UK UFO activity, after the MOD released its UFO archive, and this might account for the media clamouring for our attention (how much of it is fact, is frankly anyone's guess), and also the public looking at the sky more than normal…. and wanting explanations also.
Some incidents could be UFO balloons (please see: https://dandare.wordpress.com/2007/05/19/ufo-balloons-what-are-they/ for more details, froma previous article).
However, as i have said before, i am not sure what value they are to any UFO research.
Many of the sightings are sensationalised, with usually alot of information missing. Please keep this in mind as you view these postings from the local and national press.
I'm afraid many also fail to follow up on their initial leads, and many reports just remain forgotten.
Kevmc commented in another post about an incident, and i am posting it here (if anyone else saw anything around this time and place, please comment below).
"last night 3rd june roughtly about 6.30 pm i was standing in my back yard just watching the clouds when suddenly i seen a oval shape object floating through the sky it was a gold / silver colour i know in my heart it was not a plane or anything else thats on this earth the way it moved and turned from one spot to another was impossible for any aircraft to do i was a none beliver about aliens and things like that but now it has me thinking !!!! i called my partner to come and see what i was seeing but by the time she got out it had just went straight over the house and dissapeared out of sight it has left me totally confused and baffled to what ive seen .. has anyone else seen this ?????? time seen 3rd june tuesday 6.30pm north belfast northern ireland".
The western and Somerset mercury has "UFO sighting in Worle"
"Police, scientists in white protective suits and the press turned up to the site on Monday morning to see the area where a flying saucer had 'crash landed'.
The mock-up was all part of an exercise, organised by teacher Kate Gill, to get the youngsters at the school enthusiastic about writing" (extract from article).
The Wrexham leader "Fireball ufo spotted over Buckley"
"Lisa Tinsdeall-Hughes, 36, of Bryn Awelon, Buckley, claims she saw an orange orb, which looked like a "ball of fire", in the sky above her home late on Friday night" (extract from article).
The Royston Crow "MOD reveals UFO sightings details" … (short article).
Preston Today (part of Lancashire Evening News) "Dad and daughter spot UFO above Preston"
"The father-of-two, from Wildman Street, said: "We were going down a lane and I saw something in the sky. It looked like a star but a lot brighter and I wondered what it was.
"The underneath looked like the underside of an iron and it was a copper colour. It looked like it was reflecting the sun but it was dark.
"It was moving very slowly. I was amazed, I don't know what it was and I've never seen anything like it before. ""I thought it might be a spycraft but then it wouldn't have been lit up.""
Construction officer John and his daughter sat in the layby and watched the silent object hover above for around 15 minutes before returning home to tell sceptical wife Julie about the experience " (extract from article). This incident happened last winter….
Evening Leader "More sightings of Flintshire's fireball UFO"
"Since we revealed on Tuesday that an orange orb was seen above Buckley, the debate between readers has been raging.
More Flintshire residents have contacted the Leader saying they too saw the "orb" and think it could have been a sign of the supernatural.
But others have offered a much simpler explanation – that it was a paper bag with a candle below it" (extract from article). This is relation to article written in The Wrexham leader "Fireball ufo spotted over Buckley" (above).
The Daily Post "Reports of UFO over North Wales"
"The bright orange circular objects were seen shooting across the sky above Caerwys on Wednesday evening by drinkers in the Royal Oak and Piccadilly Inn pubs..[.]…."There was a strange bright orange circle and it moved in a way that no normal aircraft would move" (extract from article).
Blackpool gazette "UFO group to host Paranormal visitors"
computer weekly.com "National Archives sparks UFO mania"
webuser.co.uk "UFO files go down a storm"
24-7 press release "The National Archives sparks UFO mania"
"The National Archives' UFO webpage attracted 264,285 visits the first day, five times more than usual. Over the next four days 1,348,054 files were downloaded" (extract from article).
This is Hampshire.net "UFO mystery deepens with more sightings"
"Mrs Bartlett said she had no idea what the mystery object was, but said it could not be a kite as there was absolutely no wind that day. Another reader, Leonard Cattley, spotted a similar UFO on the same day and said: "It was hovering for at least 15 minutes so we got a very good look at it, if it was a kite it would have been huge" (extract from article).
Later on it mentions…… ""It was more of a square shape than a triangle and there was a dull humming sound, but I cannot be sure that wasn't coming from the road". The X-Files-style mystery has left UFO enthusiasts baffled and an investigation was even launched by Southampton Airport after a worried member of the public alerted bosses.
Possible explanations include Chinese lanterns, microlights, model aircrafts, kites or even a secret military project.
Recruitment consultant Gavin Chapman also came forward with another mysterious photograph, which he took in the city last summer" (second extract from article).
Denbighshire free press "UFO sighted over Caerwys"
"Residents in Caerwys spotted a UFO last bank holiday weekend on Saturday, May 24, at 6.23pm, heading past the Flintshire town down towards Denbigh.
"I was just starting up the barbecue when myself, my partner and her mother saw a very bright, fast object come from the north," said Caerwys resident Neville Pierce-Jenkins" (extract from article).
Gloucestershire Gazette "Space debris or UFO Balloons – What's your theory"
"MYSTERIOUS lights over Wotton-under-Edge have been the talk of the town this week.
Last week the Gazette reported how a group of orange lights had been seen moving across the sky above the town late at night.
The strange sighting happened on the night of Friday, July 27 at about 10.30pm" (extract from article).
This is Hampshire.net is back again with "is this the answer to Hampshire's UFO mystery ? "
"The mini-hot air balloon can be made with just four black bin bags, sticky tape, scissors and a hairdryer.
Mix those ingredients with a warm, sunny day and you have a black triangular balloon which could easily be mistaken for one of the UFOs which have been spotted over the city" (extract from article).
This is croydon today.co.uk "UFO spotted over South Norwood"
"The 37-year-old was on her garden patio in Crowther Road when she spotted a mysterious orange object flying erratically in the sky.
Samantha – who claims she didn't previously believe in aliens – says she now wonders if they do exist after the sighting at around 11pm on Saturday, June 7.
"Initially I thought it was a plane, but I had another look and it was bright orange and red," she said" (extract from article).
The sun "Cops chase a UFO over Cardiff"
"The incident happened as the helicopter was returning to the MoD's St Athan base near Cardiff, where it is stationed.The chopper was at 500ft and waiting to land when the crew saw the UFO speeding towards them from below.
A source said: "It closed in at great speed, aiming straight at the helicopter. "The chopper had to swerve sharply to avoid being hit. The guys said if they'd stayed where they were, they'd be dead – it would've been a direct hit.
"They are convinced it was a UFO. It sounds far-fetched, but they know what they saw" (extract from article). The incident took place on the 7th june 2008.
Pendle today "UFO spotted over Colne? "
"DID anyone else see 17 to 18 mysterious bright lights in the night sky on Saturday night, a resident from Hawley Street, Colne, would like to know" (extract from article).
RTE News "UFO alert: Unusual aircraft seen in wales"
"The sighting reportedly took place at 12.40am on 8 June. South Wales Police denied there was a pursuit and indicated that the helicopter crew was never in any danger" (extract from article).
itv.com "Ufo over cardiff" (video)….. some is cheesy, ie music, but does make some valid points.. that the helicopter did not chase the UFO, for starters? unlike some media would have us believe.
north devon gazette "UFO police chase".
yahoo news "UFO alert: Welsh police spot unusual aircraft"
marshall paranormal investigations "Cops chase a UFO over Cardiff Wales"
Mail online "Invasion of the bobby snatchers: police helicopter has close encounter with a UFO" (and i thought it could not get any worse).
ABC News "Welsh police confirm UFO sighting"
"UFO enthusiasts got a boost overnight when Welsh police confirmed that one of their helicopter crews had spotted an "unusual aircraft" flying over Cardiff earlier this month.
An investigation into the sighting had been launched, they said" (extract from article).
ABS-CBN News online "UFO alert; Welsh police helicopter spots unusual aircraft"
There are many repeat articles (ie the same info) about the Cardiff UFO incident, so i am trying to keep this down to a minimum.
Wales online "very strange Wales ufo encounter"
""Maybe it was a some kind of top secret military surveillance aircraft from this or some other country, who knows?" he added. However the professor didn't rule out the chances of life existing elsewhere in the universe" (extract from article).
Wired.com "British police in high speed chase"
The Sun "UFO spotted over Bristol" with video.
BBC News "UFO man in liverpool lights claim" (video).
Dengighshire Free Press "UFO in Bala? what do you think? "
De Void " Enemy? What enemy? "
Red Orbit "More UFOs spotted over Wales"
BBC News "Hotel behind UFO fleet mystery" (about Shropshire UFO incident).
Worcester news " County is top spot for seeing UFOs "
"WORCESTERSHIRE has been described as the perfect place to see UFOs, after a dog walker spotted mysterious objects flying over Bromsgrove.
Bonnie Lewis filmed seven shapes – which made no sound and flashed different colours – in the sky at 10pm on Friday.
The 29-year-old from Tamworth initially thought that they were satellites, but a UFO expert believes they could well be from another world" (extract from article).
Macedonia online "UFO's pick the UK as their top tourist destination" this is in relation to "the Sun" with the headlines
"A SHAKEN soldier told last night how he saw THIRTEEN UFOs spinning in the skies above his military barracks.
Corporal Mark Proctor was among three squaddies who spotted the objects while out on night patrol.
He filmed them on his mobile phone and reported the close encounter to Army top brass.
Ministry of Defence experts were studying his report and video yesterday — after ordering Mark and his pals NOT to say anything else about the incident.
The sighting, at Tern Hill barracks near Market Drayton, Shrops, came two hours before helicopter police officers reported an encounter with a huge craft 80 miles away near Cardiff.
And three hours before a couple claimed they were followed by a strange light in the sky along the A5 near Shrewsbury.
Yesterday further mind-boggling evidence emerged as dog walker Bonnie Lewis, 29, told how she filmed seven UFOs at Bromsgrove, Worcs, last Friday " (extract from article).
Birmingham Mail "Dog-walker spots a UFO"
Hastings observer "UFO expert comments on mysterious objects seen over Hastings"
"A local woman, who has asked not to be named, spotted several mysterious orange balls floating above the horizon on Monday night"…[.].."She called her husband and the pair watched in amazement as a number of orange, flaming balls appeared to hover in the night sky over the sea.
They then began fading and disappeared. Shortly after the couple saw a plane flying away from the exact area the objects had been in and they believe it could have been sent to investigate.
The paranormal buff said it could well have been chinese lanterns, which he says have seen an increase in reported false UFO sightings in the UK. He also suggested the flaming orange appearance of the objects might point toward a flare being released by local fisherman" (extracts from article).
The Sun "The world's best ever UFO vids"
chinaview.cn "UK: alien invasion or blazing chinese lanterns? "
" Britain's Ministry of Defense has received numerous reports of a squadron of rotating, cubelike UFOs in June, including one from a soldier who used his mobile phone to record video footage of the suspected space visitors.
The UFO sightings earlier this month included one made by a police helicopter crew in Wales, prompting at least the Sun tabloid to announce Wednesday that an "Alien Army" was gathering above the seemingly tranquil British countryside".
It later went on to say "Some UFO experts are not convinced there is anything unusual going on, especially in light of a new craze that has spread to England — the practice of releasing lit Chinese lanterns into the night sky to celebrate weddings and other special events.
It turns out that two newlyweds who had purchased 100 lanterns to celebrate their wedding had released them into the sky shortly before the purported UFO sighting in Wales, offering a logical explanation for the lights seen in the sky" (extracts from article). mmm… definately some good points to ponder on there… of course, it is not only chinese lanterns that are in the night sky though.
A similar article can be seen here : by world news Australia.
thisissentinel "Was UFO sighting just chinese lanterns"? (with video)
Lancashire evening post "Have you seen a UFO in Lancashire? "
Walesonline "Give help to this band of UFO watchers"
"COLLEAGUES and I at UFO Data magazine are launching a full investigation into the alleged sighting of a UFO by the crew of a police helicopter over Cardiff at 12.40am on June 8″….[.]……"We would simply like to ask if any of your readers have any information concerning the alleged UFO sighting made by the police helicopter crew who were part of the South and East Wales Air Support Unit which is shared between the South Wales Police and Gwent Police".
Later on it mentions "We would also like to ask if any of your readers observed anything unusual themselves overnight on June 7 and 8". Also "Any information can be reported to us in confidence at UFO DATA Magazine, PO Box 280, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS26 1AN. Telephone 077 9257 2356.
E-mail: email@example.com " (extracts from article)…. They have already sent a Freedom of Information request to the MOD, CAA and Gwent Police.
Lancashire evening post "Pub boss is seeing stars….or is it a UFO?"
"The pub boss was mesmerised by lights he saw flickering in the sky over Preston city centre" (extract from article).
Daily star "Chinese lanterns prove a bit alien"
"Dozens of locals dialled 999 after spotting strange lights out at sea.
But they were brought down to Earth yesterday when coastguards revealed the source was 50 giant sky lanterns.
The 3ft tall man-made lights, with burning candles inside, were released into the night sky by party-goers at a beach rave in Hastings, Sussex, at 10pm on Wednesday.
Minutes later the emergency services started receiving panicky calls" (extract from article).
Basingstoke gazette "Strange lights over Basingstoke"
"BASINGSTOKE may have become the latest place to embrace the Chinese lantern craze sweeping the UK" (extract from article).
Bedford today "VIDEO: Resident captures film of UFO" (video= 1 min 6 secs; unfortunately the viewer is small).
"The group Scope-Paranormal.com has been analysing footage which was captured by an eagle-eyed resident at 9.45pm on Saturday, June 7.
It shows seven red lights moving in formation for around two-and-a-half minutes" (extract from article).
Wales online "Other UFO sightings"
The Independant "The papers would blush but anything goes on their websites"
"Pete Picton, editor of The Sun Online, says that when US website The Drudge Report picked up its UFO front page story on Wednesday, its site saw a 169 per cent rise in traffic. The Telegraph also knows the game.
"I think it is a reality that the Mail and others, including ourselves included, get a lot of traffic from Drudge, Digg and Fark," says Ed Roussel, the Telegraph's digital editor"…..[.]…."The Telegraph, too, is not ashamed of using celebrity content or quirkies, another favourite of the big blogs, to drive traffic" (extracts from article).
This shows another force, that is sometimes driving these stories upon us (ie in silly season, when news stories are slightly harder to come by, a sensational headline gains quick popularity)….. this is an important point to keep in mind….alot of the time the papers do not want the facts, they see it as fun, to place all those cliches on articles/posts.
The Independant "UFO Alert! Aliens everywhere" this however suggests that "If you still live with your parents, wear a zip-up cardigan over your collar and tie, have enamel badges in your lapel and don't get out much because you're too busy curating your collection of Star Trek memorabilia, it has been quite a week" (extract from article).
Well no to all the above, thanks (that does not apply to me and probably quite a few ufologists/researchers)! they do have some valid points, but it is the papers that have made this into more than it possibly is….. or made it tacky, or both. I would be quite happy to just have the raw facts….. but hell that does not go with the media agenda (ok rant over).
For the rest of us mortal souls, it starts to get harder, to try and find out, which are the ones worth looking into…. the reports are numerous, and increasing by the day.
Will soon catch up to date with sightings this month….
This entry was posted on June 29, 2008 at 12:59 am and is filed under chinese lanterns, flying Disk, IFO, liverpool ufo, MOD UFO files, news, newspapers, science, ufo, ufo in uk, ufo research, ufo video, ufo's in UK, uk ufo sightings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
9 Responses to "Uk UFO sightings – june 2008 (updated regularly)"
Lamya said
I have been fascinated by ufos since travelling and living in the Himalayas,where there was no pollution light or mechanical no electricity no tv,staring up at the sky,seeing the way things move up there so far away.
We are not alone in the universe.
Prompted by local news in rural Hampshire England of ufo to check website.
dandare said
Thanks Lamya for your comments
Hakim said
UFO's to is one of those things i will neve understand. So many people including the gov't say they are just balls of gas…etc. But they have all these secret agencies to cover up UFO's. They know something and tehy just don't want to tell the public, so they can take advantage of it and use it for there own sinister purposes.
Contact Request said
Hi again, great work as usual!!
Re: "Some incidents could be UFO balloons"
Just finished writing something about this as well, it's at:
Thought you may find it interesting.
dandare said
Thanks Michael..
I love the link …
Its great as a guide of past events, for information on ufo balloons, the media and the phenomena as a whole (and the disinformation kings, "The Sun" ). Not sure of the long term effect this will have on Uk ufo sightings, but i suspect that it might not be a good one?
Personally, i would love to lead a crusade against "The Sun", but that's another story entirely.
Regards (sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this).
bloby said
i was sleeping down stairs when my dad came running down saying wheres the camara (vidoe camara) i asked why he said come out and see and we looked up in the sky there it was an orange orb and we kept watching and watching and it slowly started to move in a circle nothing else just it drifting in a circle and then……. bang buqqqqqqaa shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh bang bang it shot out of site like a bullet being shot out of a gun i meen weird right (july 5th saturday 2008 11:00 sometime)
Claire said
Last night (19th July 08) in Bewdley, Worcs, we were sat in Garden when we saw a large satellite type thing. Then suddenly out of nowhere a long libe of ornage blotches moved in a exact line towards this satelitte thing! there were loads of them all going in the same directuion travelling at a high speed. they werent planes etc. It was approx. 11pm. Very weird, even my dad couldn't figure it out! and he knows everything!
dandare said
Thanks bloby and Claire…. sorry for the slow reply, as i have been a bit busy of late.
I will try and put your descriptions in the july post, when i can.
rbob said
You got excellent site here! I have been recently getting interested of UFO's since my friend has UFO site also.
Are you familiar with ufo contactee Alex Collier btw? Here's some talk about his videos on youtube.


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Permanent partial (PP) – Scheduled loss benefit
A certain amount of permanent damage (also called residual damage) may remain because of a work-related injury. The Permanent Partial (PP) – Scheduled Loss pays for loss-of-use injuries, such as the loss of the injured worker's vision, hearing or an amputation caused by a work injury. It is based on the loss suffered prior to treatment, not on the injured condition after treatment.
Example: An injured worker may get a Permanent Partial (PP) – Scheduled Loss award if their work-related injury causes them to have a finger amputated.
Requesting PP – scheduled loss benefits
To request this benefit, complete the (C-86) Motion and include the supporting medical evidence as requested.
PP – scheduled loss award amount
Compensation for the PP – Scheduled Loss award is based on the nature of the injury, as well as the year that the injury occurred.
Under Ohio Revised Code (OCR) 4123.57(B), BWC or the self-insuring employer will pay all initial awards of the PP – Scheduled Loss benefit. These awards are commonly referred to as "Paragraph B" awards. They include payment for all scheduled losses (such as amputations), loss of use, loss of vision, total loss of hearing, or ankylosis (a stiffening of the joints).
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subset: commoncrawl


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The White Sox literally went back to the future prior to Friday's season opener in Texas by agreeing to a Minor League deal with right-hander Kip Wells.
Yes, it's the same Wells who was the team's 16th pick overall in the 1998 First-Year Player Draft and the same right-handed hurler who posted a 20-21 record and 5.14 ERA over three years with the White Sox. Wells has not pitched since 2009 with the Reds but impressed White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper with a bullpen session this week in Houston.
According to Buddy Bell, who is the White Sox vice president, player development and special assignments, Wells will be stretched out at extended Spring Training to be used as a starter.
"Coop worked him out in Houston and he said he was throwing better than most of the guys we had," said Bell of Wells, who has had no Spring Training. "So we'll see."
He "will be stretched out at extended Spring Training to be used as a starter"? Oh boy…
UPDATE: Wells was released before he reported to extended spring training.


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World's Best Airline Awards, Do You Agree?
May 3, 2012 § 14 Comments
Last week I wrote about the best airports in the world. But if you want to get to one of them, which airline should you take? Skytrax has that covered, too. Here's a list of the top five airlines from 2011, followed by the winners in specific categories, all from World Airline Awards, "the most prestigious and coveted awards for the airline industry":
- Qatar Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- Asiana Airlines (South Korea)
- Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong)
- Thai Airways International
(Singapore is the only one of these I've had the pleasure of flying. Maybe I took Cathay once, but I can't remember. Flying Singapore was great for our family of six, but that was several years ago. Too bad they're so expensive now.)
Best cabin staff:
- Asiana Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
(Our family flew Malaysia once, too. In our estimation, it's pretty close to Singapore overall. It's hard to beat Asian hospitality.)
And best economy class meals:
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- Asiana Airlines
(Any airline that served Dr. Pepper would get a vote from me.)
[photo: "Fabulous Flight Attendants," by Carol Schafer, used under a Creative Commons license]
§ 14 Responses to World's Best Airline Awards, Do You Agree?
I would totally agree with the commendation for hospitality on THY (Turkish). Not only is the flight very welcoming, but if you belong to "Miles and Smiles" they send you an e-mail birthday card.
I flew Cathay Pacific out to Jakarta and back to NYC. They were quite nice. I was quite spoiled. Thanks for the recommendations.
HI Craig, good to see your blog!!!!! Singapore Airlines (SQ) always!!! Qantas, only if we have to, even if it is our national airline. Zac's first flight to TW on SQ, flight leaving after graduation also on SQ. Ask nicely and you might well get a 2nd meal and a 2nd Haagen Daz icecream:_)


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Nigel Farage is no Winston Churchill.
But the man who led the Brexit campaign sees clearly the growing threat from the German dominated EU, just as Churchill warned of the growing threat from Hitler's Germany. Most British people remain clueless. In fact, almost 50% of the electorate would gladly be subservient to Berlin, including former prime ministers, Tony Blair and John Major.
Earlier this week the President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, gave his State of the Union speech to the European parliament. Amongst other things, he called for a strong European president with extensive powers, a strong finance minister with dictatorial powers over all 27-member nations, a stronger united military and a more aggressive foreign policy; all of this to begin immediately after Brexit is completed in March, 2019.
This, remember, is a man who is at the head of the world's most powerful economic system. It has a population roughly one and a half times that of the United States and a currency that is used by more people around the world than the US dollar. While the dollar keeps falling in value, the euro is rising, now at $1.20. This reflects growing confidence in the euro and declining confidence in the greenback.
Note the following from the London Daily Express:
"After listening to more than an hour of Jean-Claude Juncker's self-agrandising State of the Union speech Farage's laser-guided attack took just seconds to dismantle almost every plan, proposal and pontification made by the former Luxembourg politician turned European Commission President.
He called Jean-Claude Juncker's plans to hugely expand the powers of the EU without a vote "extremely worrying" and shouted: "Thank *** we're leaving! You've learned nothing from Brexit!"
"The former UKIP boss, and champion of Brexit, added that Juncker and his colleagues were appointing powerful unelected people in positions of huge power including "a finance minister who intervenes when he feels it necessary" and plans for "a European army with a more aggressive foreign policy."
"And all this to be done without the consent of the people."
"Mr. Farage was clearly appalled by Junker's earlier claim that the EU could appoint pan-European ministers with unprecedented powers WITHOUT any form of electoral process." ("Nigel Farage TERRIFIED at Juncker's plan for UNDEMOCRATIC EU", Daily Express, 9/13/17).
Mr. Juncker's speech does not mean that all is well in the Union, or that there is perfect harmony between member countries. Some of the former communist countries of Eastern Europe are at odds with Brussels over a number of issues, including migration.
Note the following from Bloomberg Politics:
"European leaders are declaring the continent's financial crisis to be over, but now a political one is fermenting.
"A battle between European Union regulators and the Polish government over its plans to weaken the judiciary's independence is splitting eastern and western Europe……
"The government in Warsaw is at the sharp end of a campaign to rein in errant states. Populist leaders in Poland and Hungary have been emboldened by Donald Trump's U.S. presidency and Britain's decision to quit the EU. Yet the continent's center has held together. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now joined by French President Emmanuel Macron in an active defense of Europe against those centrifugal forces. Opponents in the east face the prospect of being marginalized politically and even economically. ("Europe's Eastern Rebels expose next fault line for EU leaders", Jonathan Stearns, Bloomberg, July 29th, 2017)"
Europe has come a long way since the European Coal and Steel Community was formed 66 years ago, in 1951. Six years later, six countries signed the Treaty of Rome, which laid the foundation for the European Union. Those six countries eventually became 28. Following Brexit they are now at 27. A few more could leave over various issues. Perhaps they will get down to the biblical number ten, forming the final union of ten European nations that will be a future superpower. You can read about this revival of the Roman Empire in Revelation chapter 17. 66 years ago, only serious Bible students would have foreseen the EU becoming as powerful as it is.
- Turkey controls 900 mosques in Germany and feels free to say that a "liberal mosque" in Germany is "incompatible" with Islam.
- Can you imagine Germany offering Iraq, Syria and Egypt to build "200 new churches" to reconstruct the derelict and dispossessed Christian communities there? No, because in the Middle East, Christians have been eradicated in a forced de-Christianization.
- Christians in Germany will become a minority in the next 20 years, according to Die Welt.
- We risk losing not only our churches, but more importantly, our cultural strength and even confidence in the values of our own civilization.
(Germany: the rise of Islam, Giulio Meotti , Gatestone Institute, September 12th, 2017.)
"Why do millions of Muslims risk everything to reach a civilization they blame for all the world's evils?" (Burak Bekdil, a Muslim, "What's on the Mind of a Muslim refugee?" Middle East Forum, September 10th.)
There was another terror attack on the London Underground (subway) this morning, during the rush hour. It injured 22 people. There would have been many more casualties, including deaths, if the IED had exploded properly as intended. The train had dozens of school children on board, likely the intended target. (The Manchester Arena target in May was also children.)
Theresa May called an emergency Cabinet meeting following this morning's attack.
It's rather pointless. No western leader will do anything about the immigration policies that have led to the current situation. Even President Trump is backing away from the promises he made before the election.
If You Live in Freedom, Thank the British Empire
Americans are starting to pile up more credit card debt than ever before.
According to a new study released Monday, U.S. consumers added $33 billion in credit card debt during the second quarter of 2017, making it the second-highest point of debt since the end of 2008.
Personal Finance website WalletHub.com — who conducted the study—projects that by the end of 2017, Americans will pile more than $60 billion in new credit card debt, which means overall the U.S. is headed towards well over $1 trillion in credit card debt. (Fox Business News, 9/11)


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Anti-piracy system for wireless telephony
A method and system are described for reducing the theft of wireless telephony services, such as cellular systems and PCS systems, altering voice data to steganographically embed verification data therein. The verification data comprises a plurality of symbols which are steganographically detected at the carrier facility to confirm authorized use of the wireless device.
Latest Digimarc Corporation Patents:
The present invention relates to wireless communication systems, such as cellular systems and PCS systems, and more particularly relates to methods and systems for reducing theft of wireless telephony services by use of steganographically encoded authentication data.BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
(For expository convenience, this disclosure generally refers to cellular telephony systems. However, it should be recognized that the invention is not so limited, but can be used with any wireless communications device, whether for voice or data; analog or digital.)
In the cellular telephone industry, hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue is lost each year through theft of services. While some services are lost due to physical theft of cellular telephones, the more pernicious threat is posed by cellular telephone hackers.
Cellular telephone hackers employ various electronic devices to mimic the identification signals produced by an authorized cellular telephone. (These signals are sometimes called authorization signals, verification numbers, signature data, etc.) Often, the hacker learns of these signals by eavesdropping on authorized cellular telephone subscribers and recording the data exchanged with the cell cite. By artful use of this data, the hacker can impersonate an authorized subscriber and dupe the carrier into completing pirate calls.
In the prior art, identification signals are segregated from the voice signals. Most commonly, they are temporally separated, e.g. transmitted in a burst at the time of call origination. Voice data passes through the channel only after a verification operation has taken place on this identification data. (Identification data is also commonly included in data packets sent during the transmission.) Another approach is to spectrally separate the identification, e.g. in a spectral subband outside that allocated to the voice data.
Other fraud-deterrent schemes have also been employed. One class of techniques monitors characteristics of a cellular telephone's RF signal to identify the originating phone. Another class of techniques uses handshaking protocols, wherein some of the data returned by the cellular telephone is based on an algorithm (e.g. hashing) applied to random data sent thereto.
Combinations of the foregoing approaches are also sometimes employed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,465,387, 5,454,027, 5,420,910, 5,448,760, 5,335,278, 5,345,595, 5,144,649, 5,204,902, 5,153,919 and 5,388,212 detail various cellular telephone systems, and fraud deterrence techniques used therein. The disclosures of these patents are incorporated by reference.
As the sophistication of fraud deterrence systems increases, so does the sophistication of cellular telephone hackers. Ultimately, hackers have the upper hand since they recognize that all prior art systems are vulnerable to the same weakness: the identification is based on some attribute of the cellular telephone transmission outside the voice data. Since this attribute is segregated from the voice data, such systems will always be susceptible to pirates who electronically "patch" their voice into a composite electronic signal having the attribute(s) necessary to defeat the fraud deterrence system.
To overcome this failing, the preferred embodiments of the present invention steganographically encodes the voice signal with identification data, resulting in "in-band" signaling (in-band both temporally and spectrally). This approach allows the carrier to monitor the user's voice signal and decode the identification data therefrom.
In one form of the invention, some or all of the identification data used in the prior art (e.g. data transmitted at call origination) is repeatedly steganographically encoded in the user's voice signal as well. The carrier can thus periodically or aperiodically check the identification data accompanying the voice data with that sent at call origination to ensure they match. If they do not, the call is identified as being hacked and steps for remediation can be instigated such as interrupting the call.
In another form of the invention, a randomly selected one of several possible messages is repeatedly steganographically encoded on the subscriber's voice. An index sent to the cellular carrier at call set-up identifies which message to expect. If the message steganographically decoded by the cellular carrier from the subscriber's voice does not match that expected, the call is identified as fraudulent.
In the preferred form of the invention, the steganographic encoding relies on a pseudo random data signal to transform the message or identification data into a low level noise-like signal superimposed on the subscriber's digitized voice signal. This pseudo random data signal is known, or knowable, to both the subscriber's telephone (for encoding) and to the cellular carrier (for decoding). Many such embodiments rely on a deterministic pseudo random number generator seeded with a datum known to both the telephone and the carrier. In simple embodiments this seed can remain constant from one call to the next (e.g. a telephone ID number). In more complex embodiments, a pseudo-one-time pad system may be used, wherein a new seed is used for each session (i.e. telephone call). In a hybrid system, the telephone and cellular carrier each have a reference noise key (e.g. 10,000 bits) from which the telephone selects a field of bits, such as 50 bits beginning at a randomly selected offset, and each uses this excerpt as the seed to generate the pseudo random data for encoding. Data sent from the telephone to the carrier (e.g. the offset) during call set-up allows the carrier to reconstruct the same pseudo random data for use in decoding. Yet further improvements can be derived by borrowing basic techniques from the art of cryptographic communications and applying them to the steganographically encoded signal detailed in this disclosure.
Details of applicant's preferred techniques for steganographic encoding/decoding with a pseudo random data stream are more particularly detailed in applicant's prior applications, but the present invention is not limited to use with such techniques. A brief review of other steganographic techniques suitable for use with the present invention follows.
British patent publication 2,196,167 to Thorn EMI discloses a system in which an audio recording is electronically mixed with a marking signal indicative of the owner of the recording, where the combination is perceptually identical to the original. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,963,998 and 5,079,648 disclose variants of this system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,735 to B.B.N. rests on the same principles as the earlier Thorn EMI publication, but additionally addresses psycho-acoustic masking issues.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,425,642, 4,425,661, 5,404,377 and 5,473,631 to Moses disclose various systems for imperceptibly embedding data into audio signals--the latter two patents particularly focusing on neural network implementations and perceptual coding details.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,973 to AT&T discloses a system employing spread spectrum techniques for adding a low level noise signal to other data to convey auxiliary data therewith. The patent is particularly illustrated in the context of transmitting network control signals along with digitized voice signals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,210 to U.S. Philips discloses a system in which additional low-level quantization levels are defined on an audio signal to convey, e.g., a copy inhibit code, therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,471 to Gross discloses a system intended to assist in the automated monitoring of audio (e.g. radio) signals for copyrighted materials by reference to identification signals subliminally embedded therein.
There are a variety of shareware programs available on the internet (e.g. "Stego" and "White Noise Storm") which generally operate by swapping bits from a to-be-concealed message stream into the least significant bits of an image or audio signal. White Noise Storm effects a randomization of the data to enhance its concealment.
A British company, Highwater FBI, Ltd., has introduced a software product which is said to imperceptibly embed identifying information into photographs and other graphical images. This technology is the subject of European patent applications 9400971.9 (filed Jan. 19, 1994), 9504221.2 (filed Mar. 2, 1995), and 9513790.7 (filed Jul. 3, 1995), the first of which has been laid open as PCT publication WO 95/20291.
Walter Bender at M.I.T. has done a variety of work in the field, as illustrate by his paper "Techniques for Data Hiding," Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Media Laboratory, January 1995.
Dice, Inc. of Palo Alto has developed an audio marking technology marketed under the name Argent. While a U.S. Patent Application is understood to be pending, it has not yet been issued.
Tirkel et al, at Monash University, have published a variety of papers on "electronic watermarking" including, e.g., "Electronic Water Mark," DICTA-93, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, December, 1993, pp.666-673, and "A Digital Watermark," IEEE International Conference on Image Processing, Nov. 13-16, 1994, pp. 86-90.
Cox et al, of the NEC Technical Research Institute, discuss various data embedding techniques in their published NEC technical report entitled "Secure Spread Spectrum Watermarking for Multimedia," December, 1995.
Moller et al. discuss an experimental system for imperceptibly embedding auxiliary data on an ISDN circuit in "Rechnergestutzte Steganographie: Wie sie Funktioniert und warum folglich jede Reglementierung von Verschlusselung unsinnig ist," DuD, Datenschutz und Datensicherung, 18/6 (1994) 318-326. The system randomly picks ISDN signal samples to modify, and suspends the auxiliary data transmission for signal samples which fall below a threshold.
In addition to the foregoing, many of the other cited prior art patents and publications disclose systems for embedding a data signal on an audio signal. These, too, can generally be employed in systems according to the present invention.
The foregoing and additional features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing principal components of an exemplary wireless telephony system.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary steganographic encoder that can be used in the telephone of the FIG. 1 system.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary steganographic decoder that can be used in the cell site of the FIG. 1 system.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are histograms illustrating signal relationships which may be exploited to facilitate decoding.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The reader is presumed to be familiar with cellular communications technologies. Accordingly, details known from prior art in this field aren't belabored herein.
Referring to FIG. 1, an illustrative cellular system includes a telephone 10, a cell site 12, and a central office 14.
Conceptually, the telephone may be viewed as including a microphone 16, an A/D converter 18, a data formatter 20, a modulator 22, an RF section 24, an antenna 26, a demodulator 28, a data unformatter 30, a D/A converter 32, and a speaker 34.
In operation, a subscriber's voice is picked up by the microphone 16 and converted to digital form by the A/D converter 18. The data formatter 20 puts the digitized voice into packet form, adding synchronization and control bits thereto. The modulator 22 converts this digital data stream into an analog signal whose phase and/or amplitude properties change in accordance with the data being modulated. The RF section 24 commonly translates this time-varying signal to one or more intermediate frequencies, and finally to a UHF transmission frequency. The RF section thereafter amplifies it and provides the resulting signal to the antenna 26 for broadcast to the cell site 12.
The process works in reverse when receiving. A broadcast from the cell cite is received through the antenna 26. RF section 24 amplifies and translates the received signal to a different frequency for demodulation. Demodulator 28 processes the amplitude and/or phase variations of the signal provided by the RF section to produce a digital data stream corresponding thereto. The data unformatter 30 segregates the voice data from the associated synchronization/control data, and passes the voice data to the D/A converter for conversion into analog form. The output from the D/A converter drives the speaker 34, through which the subscriber hears the other party's voice.
The cell site 12 receives broadcasts from a plurality of telephones 10, and relays the data received to the central office 14. Likewise, the cell site 12 receives outgoing data from the central office and broadcasts same to the telephones.
The central office 14 performs a variety of operations, including call authentication, switching, and cell hand-off.
(In some systems, the functional division between the cell site and the central station is different than that outlined above. Indeed, in some systems, all of this functionality is provided at a single site.)
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, each telephone 10 additionally includes a steganographic encoder 36. Likewise, each cell site 12 includes a steganographic decoder 38. The encoder operates to hide an auxiliary data signal among the signals representing the subscriber's voice. The decoder performs the reciprocal function, discerning the auxiliary data signal from the encoded voice signal. The auxiliary signal serves to verify the legitimacy of the call.
An exemplary steganographic encoder 36 is shown in FIG. 2.
The illustrated encoder 36 operates on digitized voice data, auxiliary data, and pseudo-random noise (PRN) data. The digitized voice data is applied at a port 40 and is provided, e.g., from A/D converter 18. The digitized voice may comprise 8-bit samples. The auxiliary data is applied at a port 42 and comprises, in one form of the invention, a stream of binary data uniquely identifying the telephone 10. (The auxiliary data may additionally include administrative data of the sort conventionally exchanged with a cell site at call set-up.) The pseudo-random noise data is applied at a port 44 and can be, e.g., a signal that randomly alternates between "-1" and "1" values. (More and more cellular phones are incorporating spread spectrum capable circuitry, and this pseudo-random noise signal and other aspects of this invention can often "piggy-back" or share the circuitry which is already being applied in the basic operation of a cellular unit).
For expository convenience, it is assumed that all three data signals applied to the encoder 36 are clocked at a common rate, although this is not necessary in practice.
In operation, the auxiliary data and PRN data streams are applied to the two inputs of a logic circuit 46. The output of circuit 46 switches between -1 and +1 in accordance with the following table:
(If the auxiliary data signal is conceptualized as switching between -1 and 1, instead of 0 and 1, it will be seen that circuit 46 operates as a one-bit multiplier.)
The output from gate 46 is thus a bipolar data stream whose instantaneous value changes randomly in accordance with the corresponding values of the auxiliary data and the PRN data. It may be regarded as noise. However, it has the auxiliary data encoded therein. The auxiliary data can be extracted if the corresponding PRN data is known.
The noise-like signal from gate 46 is applied to the input of a scaler circuit 48. Scaler circuit scales (e.g. multiplies) this input signal by a factor set by a gain control circuit 50. In the illustrated embodiment, this factor can range between 0 and 15. The output from scaler circuit 48 can thus be represented as a five-bit data word (four bits, plus a sign bit) which changes each clock cycle, in accordance with the auxiliary and PRN data, and the scale factor. The output from the scaler circuit may be regarded as "scaled noise data" (but again it is "noise" from which the auxiliary data can be recovered, given the PRN data).
The scaled noise data is summed with the digitized voice data by a summer 51 to provide the encoded output signal (e.g. binarily added on a sample by sample basis). This output signal is a composite signal representing both the digitized voice data and the auxiliary data.
The gain control circuit 50 controls the magnitude of the added scaled noise data so its addition to the digitized voice data does not noticeably degrade the voice data when converted to analog form and heard by a subscriber. The gain control circuit can operate in a variety of ways.
One is a logarithmic scaling function. Thus, for example, voice data samples having decimal values of 0, 1 or 2 may be correspond to scale factors of unity, or even zero, whereas voice data samples having values in excess of 200 may correspond to scale factors of 15. Generally speaking, the scale factors and the voice data values correspond by a square root relation. That is, a four-fold increase in a value of the voice data corresponds to approximately a two-fold increase in a value of the scaling factor associated therewith. Another scaling function would be linear as derived from the average power of the voice signal.
(The parenthetical reference to zero as a scaling factor alludes to cases, e.g., in which the digitized voice signal sample is essentially devoid of information content.)
More satisfactory than basing the instantaneous scaling factor on a single voice data sample, is to base the scaling factor on the dynamics of several samples. That is, a stream of digitized voice data which is changing rapidly can camouflage relatively more auxiliary data than a stream of digitized voice data which is changing slowly. Accordingly, the gain control circuit 50 can be made responsive to the first, or preferably the second- or higher-order derivative of the voice data in setting the scaling factor.
In still other embodiments, the gain control block 50 and scaler 48 can be omitted entirely.
(Those skilled in the art will recognize the potential for "rail errors" in the foregoing systems. For example, if the digitized voice data consists of 8-bit samples, and the samples span the entire range from 0 to 255 (decimal), then the addition or subtraction of scaled noise to/from the input signal may produce output signals that cannot be represented by 8 bits (e.g.--2, or 257). A number of well-understood techniques exist to rectify this situation, some of them proactive and some of them reactive. Among these known techniques are: specifying that the digitized voice data shall not have samples in the range of 0-4 or 241-255, thereby safely permitting combination with the scaled noise signal; and including provision for detecting and adaptively modifying digitized voice samples that would otherwise cause rail errors.)
Returning to the telephone 10, an encoder 36 like that detailed above is desirably interposed between the A/D converter 18 and the data formatter 20, thereby serving to steganographically encode all voice transmissions with the auxiliary data. Moreover, the circuitry or software controlling operation of the telephone is arranged so that the auxiliary data is encoded repeatedly. That is, when all bits of the auxiliary data have been encoded, a pointer loops back and causes the auxiliary data to be applied to the encoder 36 anew. (The auxiliary data may be stored at a known address in RAM memory for ease of reference.)
It will be recognized that the auxiliary data in the illustrated embodiment is transmitted at a rate one-eighth that of the voice data. That is, for every 8-bit sample of voice data, scaled noise data corresponding to a single bit of the auxiliary data is sent. Thus, if voice samples are sent at a rate of 4800 samples/second, auxiliary data can be sent at a rate of 4800 bits/second. If the auxiliary data is comprised of 8-bit symbols, auxiliary data can be conveyed at a rate of 600 symbols/second. If the auxiliary data consists of a string of even 60 symbols, each second of voice conveys the auxiliary data ten times. (Significantly higher auxiliary data rates can be achieved by resorting to more efficient coding techniques, such as limited-symbol codes (e.g. 5- or 6-bit codes), Huffman coding, etc.) This highly redundant transmission of the auxiliary data permits lower amplitude scaled noise data to be used while still providing sufficient signal-to-noise headroom to assure reliable decoding--even in the relatively noisy environment associated with radio transmissions.
Turning now to FIG. 3, each cell site 12 has a steganographic decoder 38 by which it can analyze the composite data signal broadcast by the telephone 10 to discern and separate the auxiliary data and digitized voice data therefrom. (The decoder desirably works on unformatted data (i.e. data with the packet overhead, control and administrative bits removed; this is not shown for clarity of illustration).
The decoding of an unknown embedded signal (i.e. the encoded auxiliary signal) from an unknown voice signal is best done by some form of statistical analysis of the composite data signal.
In one approach, decoding relies on recombining the composite data signal with PRN data (identical to that used during encoding), and analyzing the entropy of the resulting signal. "Entropy" need not be understood in its most strict mathematical definition, it being merely the most concise word to describe randomness (noise, smoothness, snowiness, etc.).
Most serial data signals are not random. That is, one sample usually correlates--to some degree--with adjacent samples. This is true in sampled voice signals.
Noise, in contrast, typically is random. If a random signal (e.g. noise) is added to (or subtracted from) a non-random signal (e.g. voice), the entropy of the resulting signal generally increases. That is, the resulting signal has more random variations than the original signal. This is the case with the composite data signal produced by encoder 36; it has more entropy than the original, digitized voice data.
If, in contrast, the addition of a random signal to (or subtraction from) a non-random (e.g. voice) signal reduces entropy, then something unusual is happening. It is this anomaly that can be used to decode the composite data signal.
To fully understand this entropy-based decoding method, it is first helpful to highlight a characteristic of the original encoding process: the similar treatment of every Nth (e.g. 480th) sample.
In the encoding process discussed above, the auxiliary data is 480 bits long. Since it is encoded repeatedly, every 480th sample of the composite data signal corresponds to the same bit of the auxiliary data. If this bit is a "1", the scaled PRN data corresponding thereto are added to the digitized voice signal; if this bit is a "0", the scaled PRN data corresponding thereto are subtracted. Due to the repeated encoding of the auxiliary data, every 480th sample of the composite data signal thus shares a characteristic: they are all either augmented by the corresponding noise data (which may be negative), or they are all diminished, depending on whether the bit of the auxiliary data is a "1" or a "0".
To exploit this characteristic, the entropy-based decoding process treats every 480th sample of the composite signal in like fashion. In particular, the process begins by adding to the 1st, 481st, 861st, etc. samples of the composite data signal the PRN data with which these samples were encoded. (That is, a set of sparse PRN data is added: the original PRN set, with all but every 480th datum zeroed out.) The localized entropy of the resulting signal around these points (i.e. the composite data signal with every 480th sample modified) is then computed.
(Computation of a signal's entropy or randomness is well understood by artisans in this field. One generally accepted technique is to take the derivative of the signal at each sample point near a point in question (e.g. the modified sample and 4 samples either side), square these values, and then sum the resulting signals over all of the localized regions over the entire signal. A variety of other well known techniques can alternatively be used.)
The foregoing step is then repeated, this time subtracting the PRN data corresponding thereto from the 1st, 481st, 961st, etc. composite data samples.
One of these two operations will counteract (e.g. undo) the encoding process and reduce the resulting signal's entropy; the other will aggravate it. If adding the sparse PRN data to the composite data reduces its entropy, then this data must earlier have been subtracted from the original voice signal. This indicates that the corresponding bit of the auxiliary data signal was a "0" when these samples were encoded. (A "0" at the auxiliary data input of logic circuit 46 caused it to produce an inverted version of the corresponding PRN datum as its output datum, resulting in subtraction of the corresponding PRN datum from the voice signal.) Conversely, if subtracting the sparse PRN data from the composite data reduces its entropy, then the encoding process must have earlier added this noise. This indicates that the value of the auxiliary data bit was a "1" when samples 1, 481, 961, etc., were encoded.
By noting in which case entropy is lower by (a) adding or (b) subtracting a sparse set of PRN data to/from the composite data, it can be determined whether the first bit of the auxiliary data is (a) a "0", or (b) a "1." (In real life applications, in the presence of various distorting phenomena, the composite signal may be sufficiently corrupted so that neither adding nor subtracting the sparse PRN data actually reduces entropy. Instead, both operations will increase entropy. In this case, the "correct" operation can be discerned by observing which operation increases the entropy less.)
The foregoing operations can then be conducted for the group of spaced samples of the composite data beginning with the second sample (i.e. 2, 482, 962, . . . ). The entropy of the resulting signals indicate whether the second bit of the auxiliary data signal is a "0" or a "1." Likewise with the following 478 groups of spaced samples in the composite signal, until all 480 bits of the code word have been discerned.
It will be appreciated that the foregoing approach is not sensitive to corruption mechanisms that alter the values of individual samples; instead, the process considers the entropy of spaced excerpts of the composite data, yielding a high degree of confidence in the results.
A second and probably more common decoding technique is based on correlation between the composite data signal and the PRN data. Such operations are facilitated in the present context since the auxiliary data whose encoded representation is sought, is known, at least in large part, a priori. (In one form of the invention, the auxiliary data is based on the authentication data exchanged at call set-up, which the cellular system has already received and logged; in another form (detailed below), the auxiliary data comprises a predetermined message.) Thus, the problem can be reduced to determining whether an expected signal is present or not (rather than looking for an entirely unknown signal). Moreover, data formatter 20 breaks the composite data into frames of known length. (In a known GSM implementation, voice data is sent in time slots which convey 114 data bits each.) By padding the auxiliary data as necessary, each repetition of the auxiliary data can be made to start, e.g., at the beginning of such a frame of data. This, too, simplifies the correlation determinations. since 113 of every 114 possible bit alignments can be ignored (facilitating decoding even if none of the auxiliary data is known a priori).
Classically speaking, the detection of the embedded auxiliary data fits nicely into the old art of detecting known signals in noise. Noise in this last statement can be interpreted very broadly, even to the point where the subscriber's voice can be considered noise, relative to the need to detect the underlying auxiliary data. One of many references to this older art is the book Kassam, Saleem A., "Signal Detection in Non-Guassian Noise," Springer-Verlag, 1988 (available at the Library of Congress by catalog number TK5102.5 .K357 1988).
In particular, section 1.2 "Basic Concepts of Hypothesis Testing" of Kassam's book lays out the basic concept of a binary hypothesis, assigning the value "1" to one hypothesis and the value "0" to the other hypothesis. The last paragraph of that section is also on point regarding the initial preferred embodiment of this invention, i.e., that the "0" hypothesis corresponds to "noise only" case, whereas the "1" corresponds to the presence of a signal in the observations. In the current preferred embodiment, the case of "noise-only" is effectively ignored, and that an identification process will either come up with our N-bit identification word or it will come up with "garbage."
The continued and inevitable engineering improvement in the detection of embedded code signals will undoubtedly borrow heavily from this generic field of known signal detection. A common and well-known technique in this field is the so-called "matched filter," which is incidentally discussed early in section 2 of the Kassam book. Many basic texts on signal processing include discussions on this method of signal detection. This is also known in some fields as correlation detection. Where, as here, the location of the auxiliary signal is known a priori (or more accurately, known to fall within one of a few discrete locations, as discussed above), then the matched filter can often be reduced to a simple vector dot product between a set of sparse PRN data, and mean-removed excerpts of the composite signal corresponding thereto. (Note that the PRN data need not be sparse and may arrive in contiguous bursts, such as in British patent publication 2,196,167 mentioned earlier wherein a given bit in a message has contiguous PRN values associated with it.) Such a process steps through all 480 sparse sets of PRN data and performs corresponding dot product operations. If the dot product is positive, the corresponding bit of the auxiliary data signal is a "1;" if the dot product is negative, the corresponding bit of the auxiliary data signal is a "0." If several alignments of the auxiliary data signal within the framed composite signal are possible, this procedure is repeated at each candidate alignment, and the one yielding the highest correlation is taken as true. (Once the correct alignment is determined for a single bit of the auxiliary data signal, the alignment of all the other bits can be determined therefrom. "Alignment," perhaps better known as "synchronization," can be achieved by primarily through the very same mechanisms which lock on and track the voice signal itself and allow for the basic functioning of the cellular unit).
One principle which did not seem to be explicitly present in the Kassam book and which was developed rudimentarily by the inventor involves the exploitation of the magnitudes of the statistical properties of the auxiliary data signal being sought relative to the magnitude of the statistical properties of the composite signal as a whole. In particular, the problematic case seems to be where the auxiliary data signals we are looking for are of much lower level than the noise and corruption present on a difference signal between the composite and digitized voice signals. FIG. 4 attempts to set the stage for the reasoning behind this approach. FIG. 4A contains a generic look at the differences in the histograms between a typical "problematic" difference signal, i.e., a difference signal which has a much higher overall energy than the auxiliary data that may or may not be within it. The term "mean-removed" simply means that the means of both the difference signal and the auxiliary data have been removed, a common operation prior to performing a normalized dot product. FIG. 4B then has a generally similar histogram plot of the derivatives of the two signals. From pure inspection it can be seen that a simple thresholding operation in the derivative transform domain, with a subsequent conversion back into the signal domain, will go a long way toward removing certain innate biases on the dot product "recognition algorithm" of a few paragraphs back. Thresholding here refers to the idea that if the absolute value of a difference signal derivative value exceeds some threshold, then it is replaced simply by that threshold value. The threshold value can be so chosen to contain most of the histogram of the embedded signal.
Another operation which can be of minor assistance in "alleviating" some of the bias effects in the dot product algorithm is the removal of the low order frequencies by, e.g., high pass filtering with a cutoff near the origin.Security Considerations
Security of the present invention depends, in large part, on security of the PRN data and/or security of the auxiliary data. In the following discussion, a few of many possible techniques for assuring the security of these data are discussed.
In a first embodiment, each telephone 10 is provided with a long noise key unique to the telephone. This key may be, e.g., a highly unique 10,000 bit string stored in ROM. (In most applications, keys substantially shorter than this may be used.)
The central office 14 has access to a secure disk 52 on which such key data for all authorized telephones are stored. (The disk may be remote from the office itself.)
Each time the telephone is used, fifty bits from this noise key are identified and used as the seed for a deterministic pseudo random number generator. The data generated by this PRN generator serve as the PRN data for that telephone call.
The fifty bit seed can be determined, e.g., by using a random number generator in the telephone to generate an offset address between 0 and 9,950 each time the telephone is used to place a call. The fifty bits in the noise key beginning at this offset address are used as the seed.
During call setup, this offset address is transmitted by the telephone, through the cell site 12, to the central office 14. There, a computer at the central office uses the offset address to index its copy of the noise key for that telephone. The central office thereby identifies the same 50 bit seed as was identified at the telephone. The central office 14 then relays these 50 bits to the cell site 12, where a deterministic noise generator like that in the telephone generates a PRN sequence corresponding to the 50 bit key and applies same to its decoder 38.
By the foregoing process, the same sequence of PRN data is generated both at the telephone and at the cell site. Accordingly, the auxiliary data encoded on the voice data by the telephone can be securely transmitted to, and accurately decoded by, the cell site. If this auxiliary data does not match the expected auxiliary data (e.g. data transmitted at call set-up), the call is flagged as fraudulent and appropriate remedial action is taken.
It will be recognized that an eavesdropper listening to radio transmission of call set-up information can intercept only the randomly generated offset address transmitted by the telephone to the cell site. This data, alone, is useless in pirating calls. Even if the hacker had access to the signals provided from the central office to the cell site, this data too is essentially useless: all that is provided is a 50 bit seed. Since this seed is different for nearly each call (repeating only 1 out of every 9,950 calls), it too is unavailing to the hacker.
In a related system, the entire 10,000 bit noise key can be used as a seed. An offset address randomly generated by the telephone during call set-up can be used to identify where, in the PRN data resulting from that seed, the PRN data to be used for that session is to begin. (Assuming 4800 voice samples per second, 4800 PRN data are required per second, or about 17 million PRN data per hour. Accordingly, the offset address in this variant embodiment will likely be far larger than the offset address described above.)
In this variant embodiment, the PRN data used for decoding is preferably generated at the central station from the 10,000 bit seed, and relayed to the cell site. (For security reasons, the 10,000 bit noise key should not leave the security of the central office.)
In variants of the foregoing systems, the offset address can be generated by the central station or at the cell site, and relayed to the telephone during call set-up, rather than vice versa.
In another embodiment, the telephone 10 may be provided with a list of one-time seeds, matching a list of seeds stored on the secure disk 52 at the central office. Each time the telephone is used to originate a new call, the next seed in the list is used. By this arrangement, no data needs to be exchanged relating to the seed; the telephone and the carrier each independently know which seed to use to generate the pseudo random data sequence for the current session.
In such an embodiment, the carrier can determine when the telephone has nearly exhausted its list of seeds, and can transmit a substitute list (e.g. as part of administrative data occasionally provided to the telephone). To enhance security, the carrier may require that the telephone be returned for manual reprogramming, to avoid radio transmission of this sensitive information. Alternatively, the substitute seed list can be encrypted for radio transmission using any of a variety of well known techniques.
In a second class of embodiments, security derives not from the security of the PRN data, but from security of the auxiliary message data encoded thereby. One such system relies on transmission of a randomly selected one of 256 possible messages.
In this embodiment, a ROM in the telephone stores 256 different messages (each message may be, e.g., 128 bits in length). When the telephone is operated to initiate a call, the telephone randomly generates a number between 1 and 256, which serves as an index to these stored messages. This index is transmitted to the cell site during call set-up, allowing the central station to identify the expected message from a matching database on secure disk 52 containing the same 256 messages. (Each telephone has a different collection of messages.) (Alternatively, the carrier may randomly select the index number during call set-up and transmit it to the telephone, identifying the message to be used during that session.) In a theoretically pure world where proposed attacks to a secure system are only mathematical in nature, much of these additional layers of security might seem superfluous. (The addition of these extra layers of security, such as differing the messages themselves, simply acknowledge that the designer of actual public-functioning secure systems will face certain implementation economics which might compromise the mathematical security of the core principals of this invention, and thus these auxiliary layers of security may afford new tools against the inevitable attacks on implementation).
Thereafter, all voice data transmitted by the telephone for the duration of that call is steganographically encoded with the indexed message. The cell site checks the data received from the telephone for the presence of the expected message. If the message is absent, or if a different message is decoded instead, the call is flagged as fraudulent and remedial action is taken.
In this second embodiment, the PRN data used for encoding and decoding can be as simple or complex as desired. A simple system may use the same PRN data for each call. Such data may be generated, e.g., by a deterministic PRN generator seeded with fixed data unique to the telephone and known also by the central station (e.g. a telephone identifier), or a universal noise sequence can be used (i.e. the same noise sequence can be used for all telephones). Or the pseudo random data can be generated by a deterministic PRN generator seeded with data that changes from call to call (e.g. based on data transmitted during call set-up identifying, e.g., the destination telephone number, etc.). Some embodiments may seed the pseudo random number generator with data from a preceding call (since this data is necessarily known to the telephone and the carrier, but is likely not known to pirates).
Naturally, elements from the foregoing two approaches can be combined in various ways, and supplemented by other features. The foregoing embodiments are exemplary only, and do not begin to catalog the myriad approaches which may be used. Generally speaking, any data which is necessarily known or knowable by both the telephone and the cell site/central station, can be used as the basis for either the auxiliary message data, or the PRN data by which it is encoded.
Since the preferred embodiments of the present invention each redundantly encodes the auxiliary data throughout the duration of the subscriber's digitized voice, the auxiliary data can be decoded from any brief sample of received audio. In the preferred forms of the invention, the carrier repeatedly checks the steganographically encoded auxiliary data (e.g. every 10 seconds, or at random intervals) to assure that it continues to have the expected attributes.
While the foregoing discussion has focused on steganographically encoding a transmission from a cellular telephone, it will be recognized that transmissions to a cellular telephone can be steganographically encoded as well. Such arrangements find applicability, e.g., in conveying administrative data (i.e. non-voice data) from the carrier to individual telephones. This administrative data can be used, for example, to reprogram parameters of targeted cellular telephones (or all cellular telephones) from a central location, to update seed lists (for systems employing the above-described on-time pad system), to apprise "roaming" cellular telephones of data unique to an unfamiliar local area, etc.
In some embodiments, the carrier may steganographically transmit to the cellular telephone a seed which the cellular phone is to use in its transmissions to the carrier during the remainder of that session.
While the foregoing discussion has focused on steganographic encoding of the baseband digitized voice data, artisans will recognize that intermediate frequency signals (whether analog or digital) can likewise be steganographically encoded in accordance with principles of the invention. An advantage of post-baseband encoding is that the bandwidth of these intermediate signals is relatively large compared with the baseband signal, allowing more auxiliary data to be encoded therein, or allowing a fixed amount of auxiliary data to be repeated more frequently during transmission. (If steganographic encoding of an intermediate signal is employed, care should be taken that the perturbations introduced by the encoding are not so large as to interfere with reliable transmission of the administrative data, taking into account any error correcting facilities supported by the packet format).
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the auxiliary data, itself, can be arranged in known ways to support error detecting, or error correcting capabilities by the decoder 38. The interested reader is referred, e.g., to Rorabaugh, Error Coding Cookbook, McGraw Hill, 1996, one of many readily available texts detailing such techniques.
While the preferred embodiment is illustrated in the context of a cellular system utilizing packetized data, other wireless systems do not employ such conveniently framed data. In systems in which framing is not available as an aid to synchronization, synchronization marking can be achieved within the composite data signal by techniques such as that detailed in applicant's prior applications. In one class of such techniques, the auxiliary data itself has characteristics facilitating its synchronization. In another class of techniques, the auxiliary data modulates one or more embedded carrier patterns which are designed to facilitate alignment and detection.
As noted earlier, the principles of the invention are not restricted to use with the particular forms of steganographic encoding detailed above. Indeed, any steganographic encoding technique previously known, or hereafter invented, can be used in the fashion detailed above to enhance the security or functionality of cellular (or other wireless, e.g. PCS) communications systems. Likewise, these principles are not restricted to wireless telephones; any wireless transmission may be provided with an "in-band" channel of this type.
It will be recognized that systems for implementing applicant's invention can comprises dedicated hardware circuit elements, but more commonly comprise suitably programmed microprocessors with associated RAM and ROM memory (e.g. one such system in each of the telephone 10, cell-site 12, and central office 14).Errata
Before concluding, it may be instructive to review some of the other fields where principles of applicant's technology (both in this application, and prior applications) can be employed.
One is document security for passports, visas, "green cards," etc. The photos on such documents can be processed to embed a subliminal data signal therein, serving to authenticate the document.
Related to the foregoing are objects (e.g. photos and ID cards) having biometric data embedded therein. One example of such biometric data is a fingerprint, allowing the authenticity of a person bearing such an ID to be checked.
Another application is smart business cards, wherein a business card is provided with a photograph having unobtrusive, machine-readable contact data embedded therein. (The same function can be achieved by changing the surface microtopology of the card to embed the data therein.)
Yet another promising application is in content regulation. Television signals, images on the internet, and other content sources (audio, image, video, etc.) can have data indicating their "appropriateness" (i.e. their rating for sex, violence, suitability for children, etc.) actually embedded in the content itself rather than externally associated therewith. Television receivers, web browsers, etc., can discern such appropriateness ratings (e.g. by use of universal code decoding) and can take appropriate action (e.g. not permitting viewing of an image or video, or play-back of an audio source).
Credit cards are also likely candidates for enhancement by use of steganographic marking, providing an invisible and covert data carrier to extend functionality and improve security.
The field of merchandise marking is generally well served by familiar bar codes and universal product codes. However, in certain applications, such bar codes are undesirable (e.g. for aesthetic considerations, or where security is a concern). In such applications, applicant's technology may be used to mark merchandise, either through in innocuous carrier (e.g. a photograph associated with the product), or by encoding the microtopology of the merchandise's surface, or a label thereon.
There are applications--too numerous to detail--in which steganography can advantageously be combined with encryption and/or digital signature technology to provide enhanced security.
Medical records appear to be an area in which authentication is important. Steganographic principles--applied either to film-based records or to the microtopology of documents--can be employed to provide some protection against tampering.
Many industries, e.g. automobile and airline, rely on tags to mark critical parts. Such tags, however, are easily removed, and can often be counterfeited. In applications wherein better security is desired, industrial parts can be steganographically marked to provide an inconspicuous identification/authentication tag.
In various of the applications reviewed above and in applicant's earlier applications, different messages can be steganographically conveyed by different regions of an image (e.g. different regions of an image can provide different internet URLs, or different regions of a photocollage can identify different photographers). Likewise with other media (e.g. sound).
Some software visionaries look to the data when data blobs will roam the datawaves an interact with other data blobs. In such era, it will be necessary that such blobs have robust and incorruptible ways to identify themselves. Steganographic techniques again hold much promise here.
Finally, message changing codes--recursive systems in which steganographically encoded messages actually change underlying steganographic code patterns--offer new levels of sophistication and security. Such message changing codes are particularly well suited to applications such as plastic cash cards where time-changing elements are important to enhance security.
Again, while applicant prefers the particular forms of steganographic encoding, the foregoing applications (and applications disclosed in applicant's prior applications) can be practiced with other steganographic marking techniques.
Having described and illustrated the principles of my invention with reference to various embodiments thereof, it should be apparent that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. Moreover, a variety of enhancements can be incorporated from the teachings of my prior applications.
Accordingly, I claim as my invention all such embodiments as come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereto.
1. In a method of detecting fraud in a wireless communications system, the system including a carrier facility and a plurality of wireless communications devices, each wireless communications device providing identification data to the carrier facility used by said facility in detecting fraudulent use of the device, the identification data comprising a plurality of symbols, each wireless device sending voice data corresponding to a user's voice to the carrier facility, an improvement comprising: altering the voice data to steganographically embed verification data therein, said verification data comprising a plurality of symbols; steganographically detecting said verification data from the voice data at the carrier facility, and using said detected verification data to confirm authorized use of the wireless device, wherein the user's voice data serves as the carrier of the verification data from the wireless device to the carrier facility.
2. The method of claim 1 in which the verification data and the identification data include a plurality of shared symbols in common, and the method includes checking the identification data and the verification data for correspondence between said shared symbols.
3. The method of claim 1 which includes modulating an intermediate carrier signal with data corresponding to the user's voice, and in which said altering alters said intermediate carrier signal to steganographically embed the verification data therein.
4. The method of claim 1 in which the voice data is an analog signal.
5. The method of claim 1 in which the voice data is a digital signal.
6. In a wireless personal communications transceiver, said transceiver including a microphone coupled to a transmitter and a receiver coupled to a speaker, the transceiver including means for transmitting a wireless signal modulated with a voice signal corresponding to a user's voice, an improvement comprising means for altering said voice signal to steganographically embed a multi-symbol auxiliary data string therein, wherein transmission of the wireless voice signal also conveys the auxiliary signal hidden therein.
7. The transceiver of claim 6 which includes altering the voice signal at baseband.
8. The transceiver of claim 6 which includes modulating an intermediate carrier signal to produce a voice signal at a frequency band above baseband, and altering the modulated signal to steganographically embed the multi-symbol auxiliary data string therein.
9. The transceiver of claim 6 in which the voice signal is a digital signal.
10. The transceiver of claim 6 in which the auxiliary data string comprises data used by a carrier facility to identify fraudulent use of the transceiver.
|March 18, 1997
|Cooperman et al.
|June 3, 1997
|November 11, 1997
|Moskowitz et al.
|January 20, 1998
|April 28, 1998
|Moskowitz et al.
|April 28, 1998
|May 5, 1998
|May 5, 1998
|June 16, 1998
|October 13, 1998
|November 24, 1998
|November 24, 1998
|December 15, 1998
Type: Grant
Filed: Oct 13, 1998
Date of Patent: May 16, 2000
Assignee: Digimarc Corporation (Lake Oswego, OR)
Inventor: Geoffrey B. Rhoads (West Linn, OR)
Primary Examiner: Salvatore Cangialosi
Application Number: 9/172,324
International Classification: H04L 900;


text: If you have Ross stores in your area, it may be worth your while to check out their toy sections. The until-just-recently online exclusive Plourr Ilo and Dlrr Nepp Comic Pack has been showing up at the clothing discounter for about $5.99-- a great price for 2 pilot figures! Good hunting.


text:
Photo: Jennifer Bratko Photography
As the recent Unveiled: Bridal Style Revealed event showed, the days of cookie-cutter wedding cakes are long gone. The only rule today is that it taste as good as it looks. Here are some delectable confections that range from traditional and pearly tiers to sugary caricature sculptures that are almost too gorgeous to cut. Almost.


text:
Mustad pritchel
Made out of air-hardened steel
A Mustad pritchel is manufactured out of high quality and air-hardened steel. It is used at lower temperatures (below 500˚C). Maintenance should be done by forging, not by grinding.
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- high quality, air-hardened steel
- precise and sharp finishing
- when maintaining this pritchel, it should always be forged and not grinded (danger of structural damage)
Stéphane Bréhin, farrier in France
By delivering detailed information, good quality, a high service level and by showing involvement for their horses, I have gained the respect of my clients
Age is no barrier when you love what you are doing
Carl O'Dwyer - Victorian, Australia FarrierRead story


text:
Mikulas Kopernik Observatory - Moon
Brno is Czech's second largest city. It's a place full of peaceful country folk who drink more wine than Bohemians, their Czech friends to the west. Brno hasn't been trampled by many tourists, so it has quite a different character than the capital city, especially from the eyes of a visitor.


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Eric Ruth Follows in Father's, Grandparents' Footsteps to Be Elected Grafton Township Supervisor, Poznanski Re-Elected Road Commissioner, Watson Snags Clerk Post
Following in his father Chuck's and his grandparents Millie and Howard Ruth's footsteps Eric Ruth won the Republican nomination for McHenry County's Grafton Township Supervisor in Tuesday's Primary Election. Ruth decisively defeated Joseph Holtorf. Incumbent Road Commissioner Tom Poznanski won … Continue reading


text:
Abilene Boots Women's Soft Textured Western Boots - Snip Toe
Item # 0457B5
- Abilene Boots Women's Soft Textured Western Boots - Snip Toe
- Item # 0457B5
$159.99 Original Price -$24.00 15% OFF
Additional Information
Features & Description
- Made of genuine leather upper with classic embroidery
- 11" shaft with pull straps and piped collar
- Snip toe profile
- Cushioned insole and leather lining
- Composite trimmed outsole with cement construction
- 1 1/2" western heel
- Single stitched welt
- Proudly made in the USA
Abilene Boots have been made in the USA since 1980. These Texas-born women's boots are made of genuine leather with vintage distressing and classic embroidery on both shaft and vamp. A cushioned insole delivers all-day comfort for the cowgirl on the go. Wear these vintage-inspired women's cowgirl boots with skinny jeans and a crochet top for the perfect Boho-meets-western look.


text:
IBM has created a free semantic e-mail search engine aimed at users of the company's Lotus Notes software and Microsoft Outlook.
The engine, called IBM OmniFind Personal Email Search (IOPES), allows users to search their mail based on concepts, such as dates and phone numbers, according to IBM. It also allows searchers to define their own concepts.
Once the software is installed, it indexes and analyzes the user's e-mail store. Searches are conducted through a browser interface that delivers results through a stripped-down, Google-like interface.
Users can enter simple keyword-based queries or ones using basic natural language constructions. For example, to find e-mails from a friend named Mark Smith, you could simply enter "from Mark Smith."
But to find only the e-mails Smith sent in a certain month, a query might be constructed as "Mark from January 2007." You could find his phone number by typing "Smith's phone number."
The results don't show a list of e-mail headers or display the messages in full. Instead, the software extracts the passage it believes contains the right answer, and highlights what it deems to be the specific information requested, such as a phone number.
Users can also search for attachments, with search results providing direct links to the documents in question.
E-mail is a good target for developing a semantic search engine because users frequently repeat certain phrasings and words and repeatedly exchange the same type of information. "There is a fairly large number of things that are so e-mail specific," said Shivakumar Vaithyanathan, the project's technical lead.
Researchers in a number of IBM labs worked on the project for the past year and a half, according to Vaithyanathan. The product has been quietly available on the company's alphaWorks site for a couple of months, but only now is IBM attempting to drive widespread adoption, according to a spokeswoman.
"To be able to solve all these problems in some meaningful way, we want some feedback," Vaithyanathan said.
IBM also released the tool internally to its employees and said it has received mostly positive responses.


text:
Blue Bell Creameries is working with police to find a woman who licked the inside of an ice cream tub and then put it back in the store's freezer.
The video, which was posted on social media, has been viewed more than 10 million times.
It's not known when or where the incident took place.
"We take this issue very seriously and are currently working with law enforcement, retail partners and social media platforms," Blue Bell said. "This type of incident will not be tolerated."
In a statement posted on the homepage of its website, Blue Bell says concerned customers should easily notice tampering because their lids are frozen tightly to the carton.
We want to thank our consumers for alerting us to the incident this past weekend of a video posted to social media showing a Blue Bell item being tampered with. We take this issue very seriously and are currently working with law enforcement, retail partners and social media platforms. This type of incident will not be tolerated.
Food safety is a top priority, and we work hard to provide a safe product and maintain the highest level of confidence from our consumers.
During production, our half gallons are flipped upside down and sent to a hardening room where the ice cream freezes to the lid creating a natural seal. The lids are frozen tightly to the carton. Any attempt at opening the product should be noticeable.
We will continue to monitor this situation.