Airport Monitoring of Travellers via Blackberry 268
glhturbo writes "According to this article in Mass. High Tech, Massachusetts State Police stationed at Logan Airport will soon have access (via Blackberry handhelds) to "7 billion records" containing information on "nearly 98 percent of the U.S. population, including, for example, a person's prior residence and with whom he or she lived, criminal information, court filings, vehicles owned, and even restricted government data." The database is from a Massachusetts company, LocatePlus, started by a former policeman who was "on the waiting list for the FBI". Seems like a good tool, but major potential for abuse, and hopefully no false identifications."
Now... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Now... (Score:4, Funny)
Stalking hot babes!
What if the devices are stolen (Score:5, Interesting)
How long before it is used to break in? (Score:3)
Re:How long before it is used to break in? (Score:3, Insightful)
What makes you think the password won't be written on the back cover of the Blackberry?
Seems to me this becomes more likely if "strong" passwords that rotate often are used.
Accessing Ex-Girlfriends (Score:4, Funny)
I'm sure a lot of folks have accessed MY ex-girlfriend. In fact, that is why we broke up.
Re:What if the devices are stolen (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:What if the devices are stolen (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What if the devices are stolen (Score:3, Informative)
Re:What if the devices are stolen (Score:2)
One can hope that authentication is required everyone so often. No authentication is crackable, but enough will deter most perpetrators. Also, if they don't have the ability to disable a single unit...they're retarded.
NOT an issue - Re:What if the devices are stolen (Score:2, Interesting)
Is it wireless? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Is it wireless? (Score:5, Insightful)
There are relatively easy ways to help prevent this sort of abuse, too. Will they be implemented? Let's hope so.
A Blackberry is not exactly the device I would be using to try to get the records of every person in the system, of course.
-Erwos
Re:Is it wireless? (Score:2, Insightful)
>>other "personal information awareness"
>>technology in that respect. I mean, there's
>>always the problem that someone who's not
>>supposed to have access gains it (say, by
>>password).
The problem that here we're talking wireless which means a passive attack until the encryption is broken, you may not be able to detect an intrusion until it has already occured.
Did you the article a while back about an airport security guard lea
Well, you wouldn't use the blackberry.... (Score:2)
Re:Is it wireless? (Score:2)
RIM liability (Score:2)
Look out, Research In Motion! Lawsuits off the starboard bow!
Re:Is it wireless? (Score:5, Informative)
B: Since this company charges by the query, too many queries from a device will likely cause that device quickly be deauthorized by whomever's paying the bill.
sounds like what /. does (Score:2, Interesting)
Unless those queries are fractions of a penny, wouldn't it be cheaper in the long term for the state to setup some type of non-profit or holding company and just buy out LocatePlus? Ha! i just RTFA and they said "between $1 and $7 per click. At what point does HomeL
Ah! But they DON'T charge by the query... (Score:4, Interesting)
From their site:
"Introducing LP-Police Unlimited Flat Rate
LP-Police's unlimited low monthly rate of only $74.99 is unmatched by any other database available today! This database is restricted to use by Government and Law Enforcement only. LP-Police is an extensive database that includes searchable and cross-referenced public information on approximately 98% of the United States adult population. Subscribers to LP-Police are given unlimited access to the following searches: Telephone/Mobile/Cellular information, Address Information, Motor Vehicle Registration, Online Criminal and Sexual Offender information, Corporations and UCC and Real Estate Property."
Have a good day!
Tomas
Dossiers (Score:5, Insightful)
The fact that info is public record does NOT mean that it's OK to assemble it with OTHER information that is ALSO public record and make the result - or even the original public records - available at electronic speed.
One of the big objections to the creation of the Social Security System was that the SS# would serve as a universal identifier, making it easier to assemble dossiers of individuals from diverse public records. This almost killed the program - which was eventually passed on the promise (among others) that the nubmer would NEVER EVER EVER be used in that way.
Remember that this was before WWII, which means before computers and even xerography. ("copying" was, at best, thermofax, blueprint, or photography.) AND in the midst of the "Great Depression", with its starving masses of people (including the elderly) who had just gone bankrupt and lost their homes, farms, and businesses in a pre "welfare" system environment.
Can you IMAGINE how concerned they were to consider blocking the creation of the SS system JUST to prevent the hand-construction and misuse of manual dossiers composed of public information?
The US classified information rules DO classify the JUXTIPOSITION of certain publicly available unclassified information - whenever this juxtaposition hints at something that IS sensitive. This happens in nuclear physics, radio, and several other fields. Why should individuals be any less protected from combining public information in a way that stips more of their privacy than the individual records standing alone?
= = = =
Databases run in their private time by policemen or retired policemen were, back in the '70s, a dodge to get around new laws banning ilicit governmental record keeping. These laws were passed after the government's investigative agencies at all levels (FBI, Military Intelligence, State/County/City police) went 'WAY out of bounds on domestic surveilance and so-called "dirty tricks" against people suspected of participating in the civil rights and anti(vietnam)war movement. (See COINTELPRO for an example.)
They were SUPPOSED to destroy the ill-gotten info. But instead some of them absconded with it and set up for-profit companies to maintain it and sell access back to the very police departments that weren't supposed to have it. This let the departments continue to use it and CLAIM that they didn't have it.
So this one is run by a former policeman, eh? Any bets on whether it's a modern continuation of one of those ilicit databases?
= = = =
Dylan said you had to pay to keep from going through these things twice. Well we DID pay and we're STILL going through them again! B-(
B: Since this company charges by the query, too many queries from a device will likely cause that device quickly be deauthorized by whomever's paying the bill.
Aren't we talking about the Federal Government's Homeland Security boondoggle department? Somehow I doubt that breaking the US budget is an issue.
Re:Is it wireless? (Score:2)
Re:Is it wireless? (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, this is one I can speak intelligently to. The device is BUILT from the ground up to be secure. I work for a large US bank. We implemented the BES, or blackberry enterprise server, approx. eight months ago. We now have 500 of these devices deployed. They are triple-des encrypted back to the bes in our data center, they are wipable OTA, they
A little scary (Score:5, Interesting)
And I also wonder about the false positive rate. Extensive databases might just show up how connected we are. Just like studies that show that a huge number of us are related to the Queen of England through some tenuous tie, if we dug deep enough I bet we could find links between millions of average Joes and people who are terrorists. Insignificant links, but how does the database know that? It comes down to the judgement of the officer, and his training. And any security system that shows a false positive rate is weakened by that. False negatives are much less damaging to security.
I get a picture in my head from the movie "A Beautiful Mind" where John Nash is in his shed, putting pictures and strings on the wall, showing all the relationships between them. Except, these relationships are going to be in a database, and will be taken seriously just because a computer said so.
Re:A little scary (Score:3, Informative)
Remember, 1/2,500 of us is a terrorist... (Score:5, Interesting)
Yet I bet that their "120,000" number is about as good as my own analysis above- sounds very precise, but not at all accurate... But since those HTQ people are now defined- and who wants to waste data- they're going to show up in the gov't databases. And then their roommates and co-workers are going to get flagged as medium TQ people. And then their roommates get to be medium-low TQ people. And so on and so on... If you're lucky you'll only be a LLML TQ, but no one gets to be 100% free of the taint.
Even though that original 120k number doesn't pass the sniff test. Sure, ".04%" seems like a small number, but that equals one in 2500 people. Is 1/2500 people in the US a terrorist? That'd be 1 terrorist per 10 airplane flights, or several terrorists per major sporting event, or 400 terrorists in Silicon Valley (plus the 30 laid off who've moved back home). Unless they're all fantastically incompetent, the US should have several terror events per day.
[Pause to answer knock on door....]
Oh, never mind, we are crawling with terrorists, like the Peace Fresno anti-war group [azcentral.com] with their monthly streetside protest. Forgot that civil disobedience is now terrorism [aclu.org]. Unless its lawful civil disobedience [rgj.com], of course. I'm just going to go back to my Orrin Hatch CD now.
too much (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:too much (Score:2)
Too late. I'm afraid Bush and Reichsminister Ashcroft (and Big Blunkett) are already intent on taking it. Taking your privacy, that is.
Just to be fair.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Mod up (Score:5, Insightful)
Like, I won't arrest you if you pay me 10k.... Or I won't tell your wife you've been living in an apartment in Florida with an unmarried woman...
The potential for abuse is just enormous.
However, this kind of capability is not going to go away. What we need is a structure in place that will ensure that no abuses take place. It's a cliche, but we need a monitor of the monitors...
Here's another one (but appropriate): who will monitor the monitors of the monitors?
Re:Mod up (Score:3, Funny)
Get it right. She's married too. And it's a house not an apartment.
Re:Just to be fair.... (Score:3, Informative)
You can, but you have to pay for it. Go to the the database supplier's webpage [locateplus.com] and click the Privacy Policy at the bottom. I'm also including the opt-out information which I find disturbing. You will see:
Re:Just to be fair.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Why not?
"You are neither trained or vetted in any way to handle such information."
And those who use it are? In theory yes, but as the data comes from a private company, how do I know they are?
"You are not bound by any contracts or oaths to up hold the law or protect peoples privacy other than your own."
If this is public info, used by the government, well then, why can't I have access to it? It can't be privacy, otherwise how can this data be sold/used
Terrorists? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Terrorists? (Score:3, Insightful)
Where this technology comes in is that a cop can instantly test a person's claimed identity against the public records that idendity should have created... if things aren't matching up, this co
Security? (Score:3, Interesting)
Those Blackberries Will Be Worth A Bundle... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Those Blackberries Will Be Worth A Bundle... (Score:2)
Strong encryption? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Strong encryption? (Score:2)
Re:Strong encryption? (Score:2, Informative)
Not to sound like a marketing drone, but more on the BlackBerry security model can be found at http://www.blackberry.net/solutions/government/se
What year is it? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What year is it? (Score:3, Insightful)
what about political activity (Score:5, Interesting)
"seems like a good tool" (Score:5, Insightful)
fucking evil".
That's why I stopped flying.
It's not false identifications I worry about... (Score:4, Insightful)
The question is, do they need instant, portable, unrestricted access to such a tool? And the answer is, no, they do not.
This is the equivalent of giving everyone who needs to use your computer access to the root account.
Re:It's not false identifications I worry about... (Score:2)
Man, this is mightily worrisome.
Re:It's not false identifications I worry about... (Score:2)
Secure? (Score:4, Interesting)
With all of that data being sent to these things, it could be a treasure trove for identity theft if you could just set up a monitoring/logging device in the airport.
Nothing New... (Score:2)
GroupShares Inc. [groupshares.com] - A Free Online Trading Community
And meanwhile... (Score:5, Interesting)
Read Marcus Ranum's book, the "Myth of Homeland Security." Yay, we paid for a bunch of blackberries that will get lost or stolen and some tech firm pocketed good change with a fat ass Oracle project. Yay.
You, the passenger, aren't one damn bit safer. Tell yourself that while you watch the truck load the pretzels and soda pop out the window while the guys are looking in your toiletry bag at your toothbrush and blackberrying to see if you ever lived in Hoboken, NJ.
Lastly, you know why the terrorists picked Logan to board? As CNN and others reported in the weeks that followed 9/11 - Logan's security was known to be the worst on the eastern seaboard.
Re:And meanwhile... (Score:2)
Re:I respond with.. (Score:3, Funny)
"Greetings, Citizen! I am Troubleshooter PET-R-GUN. The Computer wishes to address the needs of all Citizens!"
(pause)
*BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM*
(pause to admire smoking boot)
"Any other Citizens wishing to request either liberty or death are directed to contact the nearest Troubleshooter, who will be happy to assist the Computer in seeing to it that their needs are met! Trust the Computer! The Computer is your Friend!"
When I was a GOV Drone... (Score:5, Interesting)
I also worked in the insurance industry. We also had the screen actors guild account - for everywhere but CA. My coworkers and me would look up movie stars and gawk at their personal info - most of it just said something like "Joe Berstein talent, NY,NY" or something like that - but the point is ---WE WERE SNOOPING.
I have no excuse nor reason - we were star struck.
My Point Personal information will be abused somehow!
Mod Parent Up! (Score:2)
Re:Mod Parent Up! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Mod Parent Up! (Score:2, Insightful)
Had it for a while (Score:3, Insightful)
Wonderful (Score:2)
No mention of what kind of security they're using for this. Wouldn't it just suck if any random hacker could crack into this wireless network and...use your imagination, mine's burned out.
What kind of security are Blackberries capable of? I hope it's not a telnet affair...Nearly 98 Percent! (Score:5, Funny)
Oh that's nothing... (Score:5, Interesting)
Don't forget folks, it's not only the Republicans who are itching to strip your rights away. Massachusetts is about as Democratic as you can get and they're in on it too.
-S
Misnomer (Score:2)
-psy
Blackberries are Delicious... (Score:2, Funny)
Blackberries serve as data relays; although they can store a fair number of emails or other text based information, information about over two hudunred million people is a bit out of the question for these little gadgets, so for that reason, as well as security concerns, they likely retrieve data on a subjecct and then discard it after a while.
They will al
Already needs an upgrade. (Score:5, Insightful)
When I can find out Bill G's home address, Dick Cheney's driver's licence number, George's arrest record, and Ken Lay's bank balance - then I'll say it's fair.
Anyone who says this is not ripe for abuse is a shareholder.
Re: (Score:2)
98%? (Score:3, Interesting)
This is great. As long as the terrorist population in the USA is more than 2%, some of them are guaranteed to be caught. If 4% of the population are terrorists, and they all pass through that airport, half of them will be caught! Your tax dollars at work...
Um... (Score:2)
Terrorist prevention or just for finding criminals (Score:2, Interesting)
Nice to hear so much being spent on a system which wouldn't have had any information on the 9/11 hijackers. And another thing which will get me earmarked for special treatment as a non-US citizen living here.
I read a book once.... (Score:2, Insightful)
"Hope is not a plan."
Big Brothah (Score:5, Interesting)
tell it to the judge (Score:3, Insightful)
The grid? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The grid? (Score:2)
Re:The grid? (Score:2)
Re:The grid? (Score:2)
Re:The grid? (Score:2)
DMCA? (Score:2)
I would have to conclude that you are just a TROLL, really.
Paul B.
Re:The grid? (Score:5, Insightful)
My mom can not vote anyway (she's Irish), so she tends to stay out of politics in general.
The fact is that over the last 4 years, our rights have gone out the window, that is a fact, I have a clue. Until recently, the government could hold you without charges, incommunicado, for however long they felt like. They still have the PATRIOT act at their disposal, they can tap your phone, net connection, and subpoena pretty much anything for no reason, and the subpoenaed party is not even allowed to tell you.
I am not far left, I am an independent, I just tend to think about things.
How many of the programs that many low-income families depend on to hold down jobs and contribute to society have been cut to support that tax cut? It feels like the 80s, when Reaganomics had Americans hating the poor. Just because I have a heart and care about people does not make me far left.
I doubt very seriously that everyone who voted on PATRIOT knew it would be abused in the way it has been.
I realise Mr. Bush has not appointed a justice, but they tend to side with the Republicans most of the time. They are an obsolete, monolithic institution, I would suggest term limits of less that "until you die". I could mention the Scalia-Cheney duck huntin trip that "wasn't a conflict of interest", but that would be too easy.
I too got a tax cut, and I am by no means rich, but I would rather ensure the fiscal future of our nation for our descendents than be able to make an extra payment on my debts now. Social security is doomed, we have a war to pay for, the deficit is sky high, were gaining "mcjobs", dollar is weak against the euro, and I get a little bit more money back? Thanks, but no thanks. Taxes are a necessary evil. At least most Democrats are "tax and spend", instead of "cut taxes, and spend pretty much the same, if not more, and think that companies will contribute to the economy instead of heading overseas to duck those taxes and take profits wherever they can".
Re:The grid? (Score:3, Insightful)
You notice there's no "opt out" on their site..... (Score:3, Informative)
At least some other database companies, such as lexis-nexis.com [lexis-nexis.com] will let you at least opt out. [lexisnexis.com]
I wonder how long before these private databases are mandated to respond to "opt out" requests.
Re:You notice there's no "opt out" on their site.. (Score:2)
I also wonder about the security of the blackberries, how easily can they be jammed/or at least intercepted and read.
More reasons for caution (Score:3, Interesting)
Open source vs. Closed personal information..... (Score:5, Interesting)
On Slashdot, it is commonly argued and agreed upon that "security thru obscurity" is a falacy and the best way to get yourself into trouble. Obscure facts and details are eventually discovered and exploited. It is better to have all source and algorithms out in the open, have everyone pick at it, find the holes and patch them.
Compare this to the commonly held belief in keeping all personal information "secret". If someone tries hard enough, they can pretty much discover any information about yourself. Private detectives, for example, specialize in "hacking" personal information (arrest record, who you are sleeping with). Would it not be better to "open source" your life and deal with the consequences? Your SSN and Credit Card numbers should be secured with something better than mere obscurity, for example. If you are cheating on your spouse you would assume you are going to be caught and be able to deal with the consequences. With everything out in the open we don't have to worry about blackmail and dirty tricks and you better know people's character and motivations. Kinda like looking inside a program's source and seeing the flaws.
Note, these are NOT my opinions, just things that went through my head at 10pm.
Brian Ellenberger
Interesting observation, but still... (Score:2)
The major difference is that what happens in your life really should matter only to you, your wife (if any, and she really cares) and maybe family and friends, and you can as well expect people to leave you alone. If you write a program which matters only to a handful of people it does not really ma
Think squad car access on bikes (Score:2)
And when the data is wrong? Worse than ID theft (Score:5, Insightful)
So, what if the data is wrong? I'd say the results would be worse than identity theft or a simple bad credit report.
With ID theft, bad data gets attached to you and affects your ability to find jobs, get loans, rent housing, etc. But, it only affects you (perhaps also a spouse). You can get your data and try to fix it. Takes 200 hours and never quite finishes, but you have rights and the credit agencies have duties.
With this system, bad data will affect you and your ability to travel. The government has admitted that it has no responsibility to fix bad data in government files. So, you'll have few to zero chances to fix it. And the best part is bad data about you will creep out to taint anyone you've associated with. If you look bad, then so do your old roommates. And your new business partners. And whoever you call regularly. So now grandma will get a free breast cancer screening whenever she flies (mmmmm. Wand searches).
From my favorite essay written by a precog on privacy post 9/11( the former Canadian privacy czar's excellent essay [privcom.gc.ca]), as I commented here [slashdot.org] in this thread on airlines gave away your privacy [slashdot.org] (and it definitely applies to those of us in the US, he's warning Canadians not to do what the US was doing already):
"[gives example of Canada wanting to collect data, US style]... This is unprecedented. The Government of Canada has absolutely no business creating a massive database of personal information about all law-abiding Canadians that is collected without our consent from third parties, not to provide us with any service but simply to have it available to use against us if it ever becomes expedient to do so. Compiling dossiers on the private activities of all law-abiding citizens is the sort of t
and college students, and the unemployed... (Score:3, Insightful)
College students might have their "permanent" (home) address for taxes, one or more local addresses per year for school (and voting
Been there, done that... (Score:4, Interesting)
1987 was before the public was aware of the Internet, so it wasn't as prevalent. But, using CompuServe's packet switching network, we had access to most of the nation's public records: auto, plane & boat registration; worker's comp records; driver's licenses; arrest records; court filings; etc.
We also had access to the "top half" of a credit report. The major credit bureaus make a fortune selling the non-credit related info they have: names, addresses, employment history, etc. Federal law *prohibited* most law enforcement agencies from directly accessing this data.
For three years *we* made a small fortune reselling this info to several police/sheriff departments.
This experience taught me three things:
1. Gather all that information and even if a bunch of it is out of date or invalid, you can put together a VERY accurate picture of someone's life.
2. Many LEOs were quite loose with information they were not supposed to access or share. By this I mean cops sitting in parking lots running every tag, DL and NCIC reports on every driver. I also received full information requests on cop girlfriends, ex-wives, etc.
They are also more than willing to discretely share things like DL photos, NCIC records, etc. with people who give them data.
Hell, at one time I found full info on an escaped murderer who had been hiding for 10 years. His wife once applied for a Sears credit card using his real SSN. THAT led to a California DL photo that confirmed it was him; auto tag in Nevada with an almost-current address; and a forwarding address from a gas company that owed him a refund - bingo.
$5,000 reward, certificate of appreciation from 3 law enforcement agencies, and the knowledge that 98% of all $100 bills in circulation have enough drug residue on them to hit a drug dog. So, while taking that stack of $100s to the bank, I had a personal contact in the US Marshall's Office if I got stopped.
Oh, yeah, #3. The most important.
How to hide in today's society if I really want to.
chill
I said it before... (Score:5, Insightful)
- These tools/extended rights will be abused.
- They won't help to prevent terrorist attacks.
How many terrorists are US citizens? Even if they previously they student visas, etc, terrorist groups just have to stay out of the US until right before the attack. There will be no records on them, and hence this does nothing to prevent them from pursuing their actions.But now there is this huge pool easily accessible information out there, just waiting to be used for other purposes.
Anyway, IMHO there will never be an attack like 9/11 again, because on 9/11 the terrorists relied on the will and hope of the passengers to stay alive. Now, if a plane is hijacked the passengers will have to assume that they will die, hence it will be impossible to control them (what would you threadten them with?) That's what happened to the 4th plane on 9/11 when people on the plane learned about the other attacks via cellphone.
Wow... (Score:2)
Not that the REAL story isn't as worrying.
Blackberry Use (Score:5, Interesting)
This will only cause harm to the law-abiding (Score:2)
Universal deployment not far off... (Score:4, Insightful)
Which brings us, again, to the question: "Is the universal and effective law enforcement desirable?" If, suddenly, there was a method for the police to promptly find and arrest everyone they needed, would it be a good thing to have (even if we ignore the potential abuse problems)?
Before you say: "Yes!" -- consider the fact, that the US' Founding Fathers were, most certainly, breaking the law(s) of the British Empire and committed treason...
From the Privacy Policy.... (Score:3, Insightful)
So...if you have a kid, that kid is screwed. Or even better, if you know the first name of the mother (of whomever's identity your trying to steal), you can then easily find HER maiden.
What a great system. No potential for abuse. Nope none. Because only law enforcement, private detectives and COMPANIES (not specified) can get access to this info.
-Ian
as scary as this is... (Score:5, Insightful)
If you want an example of how available these records are now, check out Adams County Records [adams.il.us]. I've used them before to see if charges had been filed on friends, etc. So it's not hard to get, especially in the "digital" age.
What is scary is the fact that our society ( and our judicial branch in particular - which should be motivated by an evolving sense of ethics and morality, which, well, DOESN'T SEEM TO BE FUCKING EVOLVING to cope with our changing world ) doesn't seem to be able to prevent these abuses. Because a private citizen ( or a government agency, for that matter, but they have a lot of liabilities under the law that private citizens don't, that limit their abuses ) compiling a database from public records ( which aren't always accurate ) and then selling it to government agencies ( which is now probably excused for their mistakes due to the fact they were using "someone else's system" ) is most definitely an abuse. It's the basest whoring of public information that I can possibly think of.
Which beggars another question : if we were as intelligent and moral as we suppose, why haven't we done the following :
1) rather than releasing records freely, release them under a public license, similar to the GPL. Since they would have to be copyrighted to be released under a license, why not copyright each citizen's information to that person, and their relatives owning their copyright when they die? Yeah, it sounds sick in a way - you're copyrighted, dude ! - but it would prevent commercial and governmental abuses like this. Your information is copyrighted to yourself, freely available under the Citizen's General Public License or some such shit, and any sentencing, divorce, etc., is an addendum to the copyrighted work - namely YOU. And you have to authorize any use of your records which involves commercial profit.
2) Made laws disallowing the use of public records for direct commercial gain.
3) Passed laws that required private and public agencies furnishing public or private information to other agencies to be be directly culpable for all misuse, negative repurcussions, etc., that result from any inaccurate or outdated information that they provide. This one rings home with me particularly strongly tonight, since I just found out that 2 medical bills that I paid over a year ago still show up on my credit as unpaid debts. There's no accountability there, even though I've badgered these bastards before to update their records.
Yeah, making laws doesn't always solve a problem, but making the right ones will. Stop telling people who they can fuck, how they can get high, stop giving money to religious "charities", stop supporting people that are unwilling to work but still willing to reproduce, legislating the RIAA's paranoid crusade about whether I can copy a fucking DVD or not, and start making some laws that pull that metaphorical boot off of our face. Because I only see it getting worse. And this is the really goddamn scary part kids :
I see it getting a whole worse before it gets any better.
Squeaky Clean Terrorists (Score:3, Insightful)
I mean, none of the 911 terrorists were being investigated and all had current papers to be here legally.
The best description of how dangerous these are.. (Score:3, Insightful)
See here [aclu.org].
The Census Bureu's Take on it is:
See here [census.gov].
The problem that I see with these things is that the database is maintained by cross-linking private data of likely dubious validity so we have know way of knowing if the false positives/negatives are even within reasonable bounds. Remember what heppened in florida when many african-american voters were mistakenly "scrubbed" from the rolls and denied their rights to vote? What guarantee do we have that "bad data" (as the peole in florida assert) or deliberate falsification (as others have charged) will prevent otherwise innocent people from flying.
But, more importantly, the article makes no mention of controls, not only ensuring that a connected device is not stolen but that the data will not be misused by some guards who are seeking to stop all muslims. The potential for abuse in both forming the databases and in using them is frightening. Suppose the number of african-american men, or chinese people, or muslims who are stopped at the gates goies up even a little, who will be keeping an eye on that and keeping the airport honest? The Airport itself?
Lest we forget, the reason that the FBI doesn't have a database on 98% of Americans including past locations, etc is that, up until now [slashdot.org], being innocent of a crime meant that you were entitled to some measure of privacy, and, that the goal was to curb abuses of police power not aid and abet them.
sigh (Score:3, Insightful)
a) that the information is accurate;
b) that we can examine our information for accuracy and there is a way to correct it;
c) that there are stringent laws governing the use of this information;
d) that there are workable procedures for reporting abuse and taking legal remedies against abuse.
The above will not make us completely safe of course. But they are necessary steps in the right direction in this world of dense information flows.
Re:Who's controlling who? (Score:2)
Re:Who's controlling who? (Score:2)
Hence it is no accident that choices are limited, and the political agendas are aligned along the major "fault-lines" of the population.
(I wouldn't say that the US is too democratic, though. The current system has advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that the elections lea