
Department of Homeland Security Devices on SF Streets - vskarine
http://sfist.com/2016/01/27/trust_no_one.php
======
runjake
Spoiler: they are air sampling units.

Vendor page: [http://www.hi-q.net/products/continuous-duty-air-
samplers/ps...](http://www.hi-q.net/products/continuous-duty-air-samplers/psu-
series-outdoor-mobile-continuous-duty-samplers/default.html)

~~~
blakesterz
Big metal box in a very public place? I feel like I'm channeling Bruce Schnier
here but I'll say it anyways... If I was a bad guy and wanted to plant
something very bad in plain site, this is exactly how I'd do it. How long do
you think it would take the good guys to figure out it's evil? I'd think hours
at least. This is something like I'd expect to read in that Movie Plot contest
he runs every year.

~~~
Mo3
The three exclamation marks in "Do not unplug!!!" made me suspicious
immediately. I know this is kinda funny coming from a German but seriously,
the department of homeland security can't type properly? I would've called 911
on that box immediately.

~~~
fnordfnordfnord
OFFICIAL BUSINESS!!! NOT A BOMB!!!

~~~
gcb0
now i have to try that on my water bottle next time i fly.

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kazazes
These have been in New York City for years, but are labeled as EPA devices
here. You can always find them on the block of a police precinct (sometimes
right next to the front door) and in other major tourists spots (I've noticed
them in Times Square and Grand Central).

~~~
Kronopath
Definitely, I've seen them around NYC as well, including on subway platforms.
I've always wondered what they were.

~~~
reustle
There is always one parked in Union Sq station near where that cop on the
segway parks. Also labelled EPA.

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amitparikh
"The Super Bowl is designated a SEAR (Special Events Assessment Rating) level
1, an event that’s considered of national importance..." [1]

Ultimate authority over law enforcement coordination during such events goes
to the Department of Homeland Security.

[1] [http://abcnews.go.com/US/law-enforcement-high-alert-super-
bo...](http://abcnews.go.com/US/law-enforcement-high-alert-super-
bowl-50/story?id=36698694)

------
bgentry
I can see this street corner from my office window. The box is still there:
[https://cl.ly/3O271Q3r2n3w](https://cl.ly/3O271Q3r2n3w)

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remarkEon
I'm having a hard time looking at that box on the corner of a reasonably busy
intersection, ostensibly there as some kind of early warning device, and that
_sign_ that says "Do not unplug"...and thinking "so all I have to do to defeat
this is...unplug it?"

Seriously?

~~~
knorby
For a device meant to detect a something like a weaponized airborne agent over
an area, I'm guessing Homeland Security would more likely detect all monitors
being unplugged simultaneously than an actual airborne attack.

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unclebucknasty
If this is truly from DHS, then it is completely insane. For one, if it is for
some important security function that presumably merits three exclamation
points from DHS, then having it vulnerable to disablement by any casual
passerby is ridiculous at best. At a minimum, the sign should carry some legal
warning or threat of penalty.

Secondly, training people to think it normal that odd devices would randomly
appear in public places (with no advanced notice or explanation and amateur
signage) is a horrible idea. Coming from DHS, it's even worse.

------
ck2
When a president or VIP comes into town, they even remove usps blue mailboxes
(which are federal and a felony to tamper with in the first place). They also
weld sewer lids to their holes.

I feel everyone in the public deserves that kind of detailed attention to
security, there should not be any mysterious boxes left around to train people
to ignore mysterious boxes which may be bombs.

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andrewmlevy
DHS isn't trying to hide what they are, I saw a man wearing what looked like a
construction vest standing next to that exact unit. On the back it read
something like "Air Purity Inspector"

~~~
ethanbond
DHS isn't trying to hide a grocery cart sized steel box with "Property of DHS"
stamped on it?

Welp, I'm shocked.

But really, I get your point. Why is it that everyone is acting like this was
some shady move? I'm sure DHS is more than capable of installing whatever
without anyone knowing.

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leichtgewicht
I'd suggest to call an authority other than Homeland Security and tell them a
suspicious big box is standing there. Lets see how that plays out.

------
tn13
I think someone must be held accountable here. So the reporter actually made
good efforts to find out what it was and he could not.

This goes to show that tomorrow some bad guys would put some harmful machines
there with labels (Homeland Security Device, touching or unplugging will
attract charges, asking questions will lend you in jail) how are citizens
supposed to deal with it ?

------
frandroid
Unplug the box, you'll figure out quickly who owns it...

~~~
darkstar999
There was never a question of who owns it.

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cornchips
One can only hope this isn't a modern day version of bio-warfare games/tests.
See:
[http://www.rense.com/general15/ofmicrobesandmock.htm](http://www.rense.com/general15/ofmicrobesandmock.htm)

------
kriro
This seems like the typical device that would instantly make its way from the
streets of (typically) NYC to the home (or remote place not related to home at
all) of a security hobbyist in ca. 1990s NYC. Said hobbyist would probably
think that this is a phreaking awesome gift from the state.

Or someone would call the number and watch the device to see what happens.

At the very least a couple of these devices would get unplugged.

I can't help but chuckle at the "don't unplug" sign...surely this is some sort
of social experiment to see how long it takes until n% are unplugged?

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yepnopemaybe
I see these around NYC relatively frequently. Sometimes I generally also see
gas canisters apparently slightly open in subways and street corners at the
same time I see the gas detectors.

I have always assumed that whoever is responsible for placing the devices is
releasing a benign (but distinct) gas and measuring it in several places
downwind.

By doing so, the DHS could use the data they gather to triangulate the source
of a chemical weapon, or to predict its most likely path of destruction for
quick aid and response.

~~~
deet
Are you referring to gas canisters other than the liquid nitrogen tanks that
litter the sidewalks to cool underground infrastructure?

~~~
MertsA
I'm not aware of any use of liquid nitrogen to keep general infrastructure
cool but it sounds like you're referring to the gas tanks that keep wiring
under a positive pressure to keep moisture out.

[http://gothamist.com/2008/01/31/nitrogen_tanks.php](http://gothamist.com/2008/01/31/nitrogen_tanks.php)

~~~
deet
I stand corrected! That use makes more sense, since sometimes they seem to
come and go transiently.

~~~
yepnopemaybe
I haven't looked to closely into it, but some of the canisters I have seen
have seemed to be slowly releasing gas into the air.

------
pmorici
Someone with a SDR should go out there and see what there is to see.

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xkcd-sucks
Looks like several thousand dollars worth of salvageable parts!

------
ddp
They're probably empty. It's mostly security theater to perpetuate the myth
that the police state will look after you.

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jrwoodruff
I've seen in these inside Cobo Hall during the North American International
Auto Show as well.

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EvanPlaice
They's trying to get an accurate measurement on the concentration of smug in
San Francisco.

[http://southpark.cc.com/clips/104282/smuggy-san-francisco-
to...](http://southpark.cc.com/clips/104282/smuggy-san-francisco-town)

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late2part
If you see something, say something! Call it in if it is suspicious to you!

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etiam
Followup on the bacterial weapons tests?
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9862410](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9862410)

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dsauss
I've seen them on platforms occasionally throughout the NYC subway system -
the first time maybe a year or two ago although I can't be sure when exactly.

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nuclearreactor
Discreet Oculus

------
free2rhyme214
I know a Matt Scully...lol no way does he work for the DHS

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j1o1h1n
Spoiler, it's a swibble, and the reason that the DHOS dosen't know about them
_now_ , is because they are from the future.

> SWIBBLE: some kind of device to control the 'politically correct behaviour'
> of citizens. It is "an artifically evolved telpathic metazoan." It's purpose
> was to stop war by ensuring that everyone maintained the same ideology, that
> everyone agreed. The last war was fought between those who wanted swibbles
> and those who didn't. When the main character asks the wrongly directed
> time-traveled repairman what happened to those who lost the war, the answer
> is wonderfully simple, "Why," the repairman said gently, "the swibbles got
> them.":Service Call, vol 4.

