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Airport Monitoring of Travellers via Blackberry
glhturbo writes "According to this article in Mass. High Tech, Massachusetts State Police stationed at Logan Airport will soon have access (via Blackberry handhelds) to "7 billion records" containing information on "nearly 98 percent of the U.S. population, including, for example, a person's prior residence and with whom he or she lived, criminal information, court filings, vehicles owned, and even restricted government data." The database is from a Massachusetts company, LocatePlus, started by a former policeman who was "on the waiting list for the FBI". Seems like a good tool, but major potential for abuse, and hopefully no false identifications."
Sounds like a great idea, but I'm just waiting for one to get "lost" and then end up in the hands of some jackass that shouldn't have it.
Imagine what kind of damage could you do with access to that information.
I can't believe how often something that was a press release turned news story actually makes the front page of /.
You said: One of the big objections to the creation of the Social Security System was that the SS# would serve as a universal identifier, making it easier to assemble dossiers of individuals from diverse public records. This almost killed the program - which was eventually passed on the promise (among others) that the nubmer would NEVER EVER EVER be used in that way. Actually, the prohibition from using an SSN as a "universal identifier" is only applicable to Government entities, not private companies. Even that prohibition has been loosened over time by policy changes. I don't like it any more than you do but the idea that it's somehow illegal for THEM to use your SSN as an ID # is false.