Pic info: In 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 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.
Advances in Data Storage Have Implications for Civil Liberties - NYTimes.com
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