Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, worries about hackers and viruses abound, yet little has been made of the Internet's physical security.
Experts are warning that the real technological challenge behind a national identification system isn't the flashy iris scanning, face recognizing or fingerprinting on the front end, its the database. The best biometric technology is of little use without a central database and those vast databases are notoriously mistake-prone, difficult to secure, open to abuse, and expensive to compile and operate.
Researchers at the University of California are developing a new breed of machines that will pack sensors, communications, and computing power into a dust-sized package. This 'Smart Dust' will be useful for monitoring weather conditions or spying.