Data Storage Could Expand Reach of Surveillance

IBM, via Associated Press; Daniel Acker/Bloomberg NewsIn 1956, the original IBM 350 disk storage unit, left, could store about 4.4 megabytes. Earlier this year, Victorinox released a 1 terabyte USB flash drive, right, that fits inside a Swiss Army Knife.

A closer look at big issues facing the country in the 2012 Election.

Economy, Planet, Security, World and Health.

A wave of worry about a software program called TrapWire, designed to detect terrorists casing possible targets, appears to be unjustified, as I wrote in Tuesday’s Times.

Based on stolen corporate e-mails posted by WikiLeaks, some reports hugely exaggerated the program’s sweep and capabilities; the New York Police Department, for instance, says that contrary to claims on the Web, it has never used TrapWire.

But the bogus flap over one particular surveillance product should not eclipse the very real issues lurking behind it. Government at every level is experimenting with sophisticated surveillance equipment whose capabilities are improving as rapidly as every other kind of electronic technology.

The Police Department itself, for example, just last week unveiled a new “domain ...” system, developed with Microsoft, that links 3,000 cameras, 2,600 radiation detectors and dozens of license plate readers in six locations and mounted on cars. If officers spot a suspicious package in range of a video camera, for example, they will be able to quickly track who put it there. If a terrorist suspect’s tag number is known, the network will scan passing cars to find it.

Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said that under its privacy policy, the department will discard images after 30 days unless the images are part of an active investigation. But certainly the technology to capture and store such data is no longer a limiting factor.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/advances-in-data-storage-have-implications-for-government-surveillance/?hp

Graycap23 said:

Data Storage Could Expand Reach of Surveillance

By SCOTT SHANE

IBM, via Associated Press; Daniel Acker/Bloomberg NewsIn 1956, the original IBM 350 disk storage unit, left, could store about 4.4 megabytes. Earlier this year, Victorinox released a 1 terabyte USB flash drive, right, that fits inside a Swiss Army Knife.

A closer look at big issues facing the country in the 2012 Election.

Economy, Planet, Security, World and Health.

A wave of worry about a software program called TrapWire, designed to detect terrorists casing possible targets, appears to be unjustified, as I wrote in Tuesday’s Times.

Based on stolen corporate e-mails posted by WikiLeaks, some reports hugely exaggerated the program’s sweep and capabilities; the New York Police Department, for instance, says that contrary to claims on the Web, it has never used TrapWire.

But the bogus flap over one particular surveillance product should not eclipse the very real issues lurking behind it. Government at every level is experimenting with sophisticated surveillance equipment whose capabilities are improving as rapidly as every other kind of electronic technology.

The Police Department itself, for example, just last week unveiled a new “domain ...” system, developed with Microsoft, that links 3,000 cameras, 2,600 radiation detectors and dozens of license plate readers in six locations and mounted on cars. If officers spot a suspicious package in range of a video camera, for example, they will be able to quickly track who put it there. If a terrorist suspect’s tag number is known, the network will scan passing cars to find it.

Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said that under its privacy policy, the department will discard images after 30 days unless the images are part of an active investigation. But certainly the technology to capture and store such data is no longer a limiting factor.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/advances-in-data-storage-have-implications-for-government-surveillance/?hp

whut about the face recognition program they have

that uses FACE BOOK to place you??? look that one up