The Utah Data Center Covers More Than 1 Million Square Feet, And It Holds A Massive Amount Of Info
The Utah Data Center is a huge government facility in Bluffdale, Utah that stores personal emails, Internet searches, cell phone calls and other public data. Part of the National Security Agency, the massive data repository is reported to have the largest data storage capacity in the world.
Is Big Brother watching you? Every time you text, check email, make a call from your cell phone, or shop online, the data generated from that activity may be collected by the government and stored right here in Utah, in a massive data center.
The Utah Data Center is located at Camp Williams in Bluffdale. It cost $1.5 billion to build, and it was the first of its kind. The Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cyber-Security Initiative Data Center is one of four such centers in the country.
Governor Herbert stated in 2012 that the center would collect and store a yottabyte of data. The NSA states that the actual storage capacity of the center is classified, but acknowledges that it does contain a very vast amount of data, and that it was built with the capacity to keep expanding.
The facility includes large water storage tanks, cooling towers, and chiller plants. Some reports estimate that it requires 1.7 million gallons of water per day.
This stock photo does not depict the actual supercomputer used at the Utah Data Center.
According to the NSA, the data collected and stored here includes text messages, phone calls, website visits, Internet searches, emails, credit card information, travel information, legal documents, financial information, and health records.
Whether you're shopping for a toaster on Amazon, or booking a flight online to visit your grandmother in Cleveland, the NSA might have records of your online activity.
Most of the data that's collected and stored isn't of interest to the NSA (they don't care about your visit to Grandma). The NSA says that the purpose of collecting all this data is for surveillance and monitoring of suspicious activity and terrorism.
Throughout the years, there's been plenty of controversy surrounding the Utah Data Center and the NSA's mass surveillance of private data at this facility and others. What do you think?
You’ll find a lot more information about the Utah Data Center on the NSA’s website here.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about the Utah Data Center in the comments! What do you think about this surveillance and storage of the public’s digital data?
Address: 17800 Redwood Rd, Bluffdale, UT 84065, USA
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Writer, editor and researcher with a passion for exploring new places. Catherine loves local bookstores, independent films, and spending time with her family, including Gus the golden retriever, who is a very good boy.
