In class, while we were using the Bing search engine’s maps to do an aerial view and bird’s eye view, it made me curious to see how comprehensive these maps were of the Earth. What I decided to do was tosearch for on Google Maps, Al Asad Airbase, Al Anbar, Iraq. I had been deployed there for five months, so I know the base pretty well. What I found on Google Maps really surprised me. I expected that the largest military airbase in western Iraq would be covered or something, but it wasn’t. Not only could you find the location of the base, you could see, in very good detail, building, roads, and even parked helicopters! They briefed us before we got there that you could see the base using Google Maps, but that was before I had even been there, so a map of a place I didn’t know didn’t mean too much to me. Now though, it’s kind of scary. Using google maps, I could see exactly where I had slept, the building I worked in, the chow halls I ate in, and I could even see the exact roads where I used to run. One can only imagine how an attack to that base would be more effective with knowledge of the base and google maps. Google Maps says it uses outdated imagery for any areas deemed potential security threats, but let me tell you, what’s on google maps is VERY accurate.
That IS frightening when it comes to our armed services. Similarly, however, there is equivalent information available about virtually every building in the United States that can be "scoped" by potential terrorists from the comfort of their computer screen. One has to wonder if the browsing behaviors (using IP addresses) can be used to identify the locations of such threats. Although Google's disclaimer states that the info may be "out of date," the fact is some locations and features do not change often. So what is online now could be accurate enough for unwanted surveillance.
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