 |
|
NOVEMBER 5, 2001
COVER STORY
No Place to Hide |
| How new tools in the war against terrorism might affect
your privacy |
Surveillance
New technology makes it possible to keep a much closer eye on people in public
places. Cameras equipped with facial-recognition software can pick out known
criminals in a crowd at airports, stadiums, and public plazas. Cars and cell
phones equipped with location technology make it possible to track down people
to within about 10 feet. Meanwhile, sophisticated X-ray machines that can see
through people's clothes may be more widely deployed at airports, government
buildings, and even corporate lobbies. Many of these technologies have been
stymied by privacy concerns in recent years. But now that fighting terrorism
is the nation's No. 1 priority, their use is expected to increase.
Data-Mining
Terrorists leave electronic footprints. What they buy, where they go, and who
they talk to can all be recorded on credit-card, airline, and ISP computers.
By using sophisticated software to analyze these databases, law enforcers think
it may be possible to sniff out suspicious patterns of conduct--such as the
purchase of anthrax by somebody who has visited a crop-dusting Web site. But
while data-mining could be a potent tool, it also raises serious civil-rights
concerns. The same software that looks for crooks will also analyze the activities
of millions of Americans.
Electronic Eavesdropping
Passage is imminent for the Anti-Terrorism Act, which gives the government much
wider ability to eavesdrop on calls and e-mail. That won't affect most citizens.
But the FBI is also making greater use of the controversial "Carnivore" system,
which lets cops monitor what suspected criminals do on the Net. The problem
is, it also gives lawmakers tons of data about innocent people. Deployment of
Carnivore was largely stalled prior to September 11, but now the FBI is installing
it on some ISPs.
National Identification Cards
Americans traditionally don't like the idea of national ID cards, which reek
of authoritarianism. President Bush summarily dismissed the notion in September.
Still, recent polls show that U.S. citizens are rethinking their aversion to
carrying proof of citizenship. More than 100 other countries have ID cards,
including Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Finland, and Singapore. They come in many
varieties: They can be issued to everybody or just to certain groups. People
can be required to carry them everywhere or simply to present them before embarking
on activities such as driving a hazardous-materials truck. They can be "dumb,"
such as a Social Security card, or "smart," such as a credit card. A digital
version of an individual's fingerprint could be recorded onto a smart national
ID card as a means of verifying identity.
The Big Brother Scenario
Initially, these technologies would be deployed individually. But since they're
all built on digital technology, it is possible to combine them. Think of it
as surveillance convergence. National ID cards could be used to start a file
on citizens. Data from Carnivore, government computers, and credit-card networks
could be fed into that file. It could be linked to facial-recognition systems
to allow the FBI to arrest someone on its terrorist list after detecting that
the person bought potential bomb-making materials at a mall. Nobody is advocating
this system. But it is technically achievable, and that scares civil-rights
advocates.
