Privacy What Developers and IT Professionals Should Know

Smart Dust

Smart dust devices are basically small integrated circuits that sit on top of a battery. They are bidirectional communication devices smaller than 12mm³. As small as they are, researchers are working to get the size of these devices down to the size of a grain of sand. As Robert Heinlein wrote many years ago, “The only things privacy laws accomplish is to make cameras smaller.”^[18] The only protection from abuse by these types of devices is possible if everyone can detect them. Although this may sound radical, protecting yourself from gangsters and government is more important than any benefit that could be derived by law enforcement.

^[18] Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land, Ace Books, 1961

Smart dust can communicate at ...