Visit DHS Privacy Web Site -- Please
By Bob Brewin | Thursday, October 11, 2007 | 09:48 AM
By Bob Brewin | Thursday, October 11, 2007 | 09:48 AM
That’s just one of the messages delivered yesterday by Hugo Teufel III, chief privacy officer of the Department of Homeland Security, at a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) conference in Washington.
Teufel said the privacy Web site, shows the agency is as serious about protecting privacy as it is about protecting borders. But Teufel wishes more people would visit the site; he said it may be one of the least visited federal Web sites out there.
Tuefel, who has the only privacy gig in any federal agency or department mandated by law, turns out to be a passionate advocate for privacy. DHS, Tuefel said, needs to ensure it protects privacy and civil liberties so it can succeed in its mission in combating terrorism. Teufel says this includes transparency, data minimization and accountability to make sure projects such as those that would use RFID for personal identification (like the planned Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative), don’t erode civil liberties through technology assessments such as last year’s paper on the use of RFID for human technology verification.
Teufel says he is well aware that the United States was founded by “people with a profound distrust of the government” and strives to insure that DHS policies and practices do not cause distrust today.
I admire his strong stance and position, but have to contrast it with DHS efforts to ram through the Real ID Act, which requires high-tech driver's licenses meet federal standards and which is opposed by an increasing number of states. This summer DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff told the National Conference of State Legislatures that residents of states who do not comply with the REAL ID Act by May 2008 will need to show their passports for all "federal purposes,” including, presumably, entering any federal building including local post offices.
Somehow, the thought of having to produce a passport to buy a stamp at the post office in my hometown of Las Vegas, N.M., (if New Mexico does not adopt Real ID driver's licenses) does not make me feel more secure, or that DHS really cares about privacy or that top DHS management understands citizens still have a deep distrust of government.
Comments
The problem I see with national Id/REAL ID is two-fold.
1. If biometrics is used, are we not "booking" innocent people like criminals? And why should we not consider our "biometrics" to be OURS rather than the GOVERNMENT'S? Whose got the power?
2. It is not an ID Card standing alone. It is part of a powerful infrastructure: Card, Reading Machine, Internet, Software, and Codes attached to people. All of this reduces us to living in a software maze of Red Light/Green Light.
The infrastructure will be used to digitally manage more and more of our lives. I believe that one arbitrary rule/regulation will be piled on top of another. Politicians/bureaucrats just can't resist.
This is not freedom.
It's interesting DHS says their are concerned with protecting Americans and our privacy, but they continue to try to build very large databases of information about us and not follow their own rules about how to certify the security of the systems and ensure the system is not abusing privacy protections. Management continues to say 'trust us', but they ignore any and all attempts to bring to light serious concerns about our privacy and security. They are supposed to be the experts, but they are still learning their jobs, so they really should not be treating us like children.
James | Monday, October 15, 2007 | 02:04 PMThe real Id Act is just another way to invade privacy whether they want to admit it or not. And to not be able to Drive or go to the Post Office, what does that have to do with terrorism? My recommendation is to NOT accept the ID card in case this is the REAL thing the Bible is talking about..The prophecy foretold over 2000 years ago. To me it seems to be coming to pass..Be watchful.
Anonymous | Monday, October 15, 2007 | 12:40 AMDon't make me laugh! A DHS official who's "serious about protecting privacy" is like a butcher who's serious about protecting cows. If security is truly Hugo's beef,he's in the wrong bureaucracy. The entire DHS is dedicated to tracking and recording every last detail about ordinary Americans---whoops, I mean terrorists.
Bea | Friday, October 12, 2007 | 01:35 PMThis is another example of the slope toward having to produce internal travel permission documents at police checkpoints as you drive cross country on vacation to Wally World.
aqualad | Friday, October 12, 2007 | 09:51 AMAnd the beat goes on.
Great article Mr. Bob Brewin.
This would not be so bad if the system was secure. It's not.
This would not be a bad idea if it was for a good purpose. But it's not.
This would not be a bad idea if it was just about trust. But it's not.
Here is some nice cirular logic on how passports are NOT a real alternative to REAL ID. Assume: you don't have a passport (or need to renew it) but also don't want a REAL ID. I'll just get a passport, right? I'll go get one at my local friendly post-office.
1) You'll need a passport to enter a post office if you don't have a REAL ID. But you can only apply for a passport at the Post Office if they let you in, and (oops), they won't let you in first to get one.
2) Besides, getting a passport has got to be considered as a "federal purpose". So instead of a REAL ID I'll just get a passport, but (oops), I need to have a REAL ID to get an alternative to a REAL ID. Nice alternative.
3) I could always challenge this in court, as long as they (oops) let me into the federal courthouse. Assuming of course I can drive to it, because without the REAL ID or passport (which I can not get without the REAL ID) I can not fly.
4) I can't be employed without the REAL ID either, so I hope I have enough money for gas for the car trip to the federal courthouse I won't be allowed into.
Ron | Thursday, October 11, 2007 | 02:16 PMABOUT THIS BLOG
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