24601: First of all, it is not a black helicopter (parnoia) sort of thing. Secondly, they (hackers, be they govt or indiv.) don't need to look at your hard drive, because they have intercepted everything coming or going in your computer.
What would you call it if say, a private piece of confidential correspondence was hacked on its way to you and then put out on the Net for anyone to read.
Naturally, we usually think of govt's when we talk 'surveillance' but there are plenty of private actors too, PI's, Mafia hit men, and the like.
The Watergate burglars surveilled the place before they hit it--and they were operating on orders from the President (Nixon) himself.
Do you think if Flash Drives had been invented then, would the Watergate intruders have copied every drive they found? IMO, that definitely constitutes surveillance.
But, if you think surveillance of everything digital and electronic by the US govt is constrained by legal and Constitutional guidelines, let me sell you 51% of Disneyland for a truly great price--100 shares of Wave.
If you have read anything about the Snowden leaks, we (the US) were surveilling friends, enemies, and everyone else--me & you included. Emails, pages, text, faxes, phones, etc.
Why am I so paranoid about this? Because when I was working as a journalist, the govt always wanted access to my sources so they could punish them--not to correct any problems the sources revealed. That's why the whistle-blower statute was written.
Take apart the word 'surveillance.' Sur means 'over' in 19th century French, from 'veiller' means 'watch' from the Latin (vigilare "keep watch.") If you are being watched at all, for any reason by people you don't want to have your info, you are being surveilled.
You can still amend your original position.
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