George Orwell, here we come By Declan McCullagh January 6, 2003, 10:58 AM
PT <http://news.com.com/2010-1069-979276.html>

WASHINGTON--The biggest problem with criticism of Adm. John Poindexter's
massive spy proposal is not in the argument over the system being so darn
creepy.

Of course it's creepy. This new federal agency deliberately chose the motto
"knowledge is power," crafted a logo certain to inspire conspiracy
theories, and is itching to assemble a detailed computerized dossier on
every American. And that a figure such as Poindexter--disgraced in the
Iran-Contra scandal and with a database addiction dating back to at least
1987-- is running the show is a detail worthy of a Jonathan Swift satire.

No, the biggest problem with the criticism of the Total Information
Awareness system is that it's too shortsighted. It's focused on what the
Poindexters of the world can do with current database and information-
mining technology. That includes weaving together strands of data from
various sources--such as travel, credit card, bank, electronic toll and
driver's license databases--with the stated purpose of identifying
terrorists before they strike.

But what could Poindexter and the Bush administration devise in five or 10
years, if they had the money, the power and the will?

That's the real question, and therein lies the true threat. Even if all of
our current elected representatives, appointed officials and unappointed
bureaucrats are entirely trustworthy--and that's a pretty big
assumption--what could a corrupt FBI, Secret Service or Homeland Security
police force do with advanced technology by the end of the decade? What if
there was another terrorist attack that prompted Congress to delete
whatever remaining privacy laws shield Americans from surveillance?

For a hint at what the future might bring, it's worth reviewing some of the
projects already under way at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA), which is the parent agency for Poindexter's Information Awareness
Office. Combine that information with the technology trends toward smaller
sensors, cheaper hardware and ubiquitous wireless networks, and the
possibilities are immensely disquieting. We could face the emergence of
unblinking electronic eyes that record where we are and what we do,
whenever we interact.

Imagine a world where every street corner is dotted with disposable
microcameras, equipped with face-recognition software that identifies
pedestrians and constantly updates their individual files with
up-to-the-minute location information. (Wearing masks won't help: Many
states already have antimask laws, and the rest would follow suit if masks
became sufficiently popular.) The microcameras are linked through a network
modeled on existing 802.11 wireless technology. The wireless mesh also
includes cameras devoted to spotting and recording license plates and a
third type that identifies people by the way they walk.

It's not that far from reality. Poindexter's office has an entire project
area called Human ID at a Distance that's spending millions on researching
biometric technologies, including face recognition and "gait performance"
detection. Facecams already are in use in airports, city centers and
casinos. And license plate recognition, by comparison, is a snap.

Or how about locations out of the range of this fixed surveillance mesh? In
1998, DARPA began funding a project to create spybots that can fly day and
night and that use infrared and video sensors. These spybots, being
designed by Lockheed Martin and code-named MicroStar, will have a six-inch
wingspan, weigh only 86 grams and cost about $10,000--an affordable price
point for surveilling Americans from above.

And what of the spybots' larger cousins, capable of hovering higher and
seeing more for a longer duration? Last week The Washington Post reported
that the federal government may permit unmanned aircraft to fly above the
United States. "I believe that the potential applications for this
technology in the area of homeland defense are quite compelling," said Sen.
John Warner, R- Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, who
added that the drones could be used by domestic police agencies.

Location tracking GPS devices that record a vehicle's position and transmit
it to police are an exciting growth area for the eavesdrop establishment.
Jim Bell, an Internet essayist convicted of stalking federal agents, said
before his arrest that he was sure the federal agencies were tailing him
electronically. During Bell's trial, it emerged that he was right: The
police arm of the IRS was tracking him on their laptops with a legally
implanted GPS bug inside Bell's Nissan Maxima.

Last week, The Associated Press reported that an Oregon state task force
wants a law requiring all cars to sport GPS receivers and recorders. The
stated purpose: To measure how far you drive and calculate how much you owe
in road taxes. The Nov. 15, 2002 report from the task force envisions some
privacy protections--but those could be eliminated if homeland security
worries become more acute, possibly leaving all Oregonians tracked whenever
they're on the road.

Criminals already may be finding less desirable uses for GPS trackers. Last
week, the Smoking Gun Web archive of documents owned by Court TV posted a
criminal complaint against a 42-year-old Wisconsin man accused of stalking
an ex-girlfriend using a GPS bug hidden in her car.

"We continue to see problems with stalkers (using databases)," says Peter
Wayner, author of Translucent Databases. "I think there are many more
sleazeballs who will use this stuff than there are cops who will use it to
catch people. It's a lot easier to abuse this technology than to use it
successfully."

Then there's Applied Digital Systems (ADS) of Palm Beach, Fla., which
received FDA approval last fall for a microchip to be implanted in humans
for tracking and identification purposes. (Company spokesman Matthew
Cossolotto told me in June 2001 that ADS had no such plans. "We are not now
developing, nor do we have any plans to develop, anything other than an
external, wearable device," he said in an e-mail message.)

It's difficult to imagine a more ruthlessly effective way to track every
American. I doubt it's likely, but it's possible to imagine a future where
"getting chipped" starts as a way to speed your way through lines at ATMs
and airports--and ends up being mandatory.

There's some precedent. In October, police in one Colorado county started
pressuring businesses to require fingerprints when customers make purchases
with checks or credit cards. Police in Arlington, Texas, are asking
businesses to participate in a similar program.

Things get stranger still. The Electronic Privacy Information Center used
the Freedom of Information Act in August 2002 to obtain government
documents that talked about reading air travelers' minds and identifying
suspicious thoughts. The NASA briefing materials referred to "non-invasive
neuro-electric sensors" to be used in aviation security.

In a bizarre press release, NASA claimed it has not approved any research
in the area of "mind reading" and that "because of the sensitivity of such
research," the agency will seek independent review of future projects. Yikes.

There are some bright areas in this generally dismal outlook. Avi Rubin, an
associate professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University,
predicts growing interest in antisurveillance measures. "I expect there
will be a whole industry popping up in counter- surveillance--at least, I
hope," Rubin said. "Nowadays, it's not like someone drops a camera and
comes back and retrieves the data. You attack the transmission."

Short of fleeing to the wilderness or living our lives entirely online, our
only option is to fight the Poindexterization of modern life before it
becomes too late. Congress returns this week. Some of your congressional
representatives may soon be asked why there has never been even one hearing
investigating DARPA, Poindexter and his Total Information Awareness plans.

---

Declan McCullagh is the Washington correspondent for CNET News.com,
chronicling the ever-busier intersection between technology and politics.
Before that, he worked for several years as Washington bureau chief for
Wired News. He has also worked as a reporter for The Netly News, Time
magazine and HotWired.


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