A thought about the NSA dragnet.

By now you probably heard about how the NSA's dragnet involving Verizon did not include personal information about owners, but that's a little misleading.  The data included IMEI and phone numbers, both of which can be used to figure out a host of information about you.

IMEI

A unique number for each and every wireless device using cellular technology, it enables all carriers to brick your phone if you report it stolen.  You can find your IMEI by either entering *#06# into your phone dialer, or checking under the battery.  Aside from being a unique identifier, it also tells someone what make and model your phone is.  All of this can help a lot if you're trying to send a targeted virus to someone that would allow you to control a phone or listen in on conversations.  It also allows you to track someone even if they change their phone number.

Phone numbers

If someone knows your phone number, then they can backward trace your phone number online to see where your phone number is located, or they can perform a paid search to find out who's associated with that phone number.  Or you can use a social engineering hack to get a carrier's customer rep to tell you who's using that phone number.  It allows you to track someone who keeps the same phone number when they switch phones.

Combined, these two identifiers allow anyone to find you and track you.  The question you have to ask yourself is, how much trust you trust your government, given that these actions are done behind the closed doors of the FISA court and the NSA.

Such powers and secrecy will eventually lead us down the road to another Watergate, and it may trigger the constitutionalization of privacy.