''In terms of data collection, at the NSA, everything is possible,'' Bamford told about 100 U. students and faculty members. With little opposition so far, the agency has interpreted provisions of the U.S. Patriot Act and rulings by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to apply widely. ''Everybody in the country is a potential suspect,'' the author said, ''and therefore they can collect everybody's business records, and they've implied that to mean your telephone records.''