The latest in FBI surveilance gadgets

The document was obtained from the FBI via a FOIA request from the Federation of American Scientists. A couple of interesting things. Microsoft is implementing a new tech platform called Greenfield, "...The sensors include an accelerometer, a compass, and a barometric pressure sensor to measure altitude. Using data collected from these, Greenfield will evidently be able to track a user’s footsteps and even count the floors the user traveled by stairs or elevator. The app will store the data so the user can retrace his footsteps to find a misplaced auto in a car park or transmit it to someone else to help an injured wilderness hiker, for example, lead rescuers to his precise location.

The information could also, however, be subpoenaed by law enforcement agents to track the movements of a suspect. “This kind of data is terrific for convicting people and terrific at exonerating people,” according to a news story the FBI document quotes."

So it doesn't have to have a cellular/GPS connection to fairly precisely track your movements. I find the 'injured wilderness hiker' line to be kind of thin: if they're hiking in the wilderness, there's not much of a chance that there will be a cellular connection.

My favorite bit was: "In a show of irony, the document holds an uncharitable view of another cutting edge technology: an Apple patent for a “killswitch” that uses voice and facial recognition to shutdown an iPhone or its data if the device detects that the person using it is not the rightful owner. The FBI calls Apple’s concept “Big Brother-ish”."

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/07/fbi-gadgets/