Posted on 05/27/2004 7:26:24 PM PDT by blam
U.S. Expands Data Gleaning in Terror Hunt
Friday May 28, 2004 2:46 AM
By ADAM ASHTON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Government agencies are using or planning nearly 200 computer projects that identify terrorists, analyze scientific information and detect fraud, a congressional survey said.
Most of the programs, 122 out of 199, can access private documents such as student loan applications, bank account numbers and credit card information, said the report by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
More than 50 of these projects relied on private databases for information while 77 collected data from other federal agencies.
The report cited programs that use private information to identify terrorists or U.S. citizens connected to terrorism activities, including the Defense Intelligence Agency's Verity K2 Enterprise. Another, the Homeland Security Department's Analyst Notebook 12, ``correlates events and people to specific information,'' the report said.
Others programs identify criminal patterns, such as the Education Department's Title IV Identity Theft Initiative which focuses on identity theft in student loans.
Sixty-five of the projects are used to improve service and performance. The Veterans' Administration's Veterans Integrated Service Network analyzes patient visits, pharmacy records and laboratory tests to provide health care management with better information.
Government watchdogs raised concerns about the report's findings, saying that the government may be tramping on people's right to privacy.
``We need to find out right away whether these programs are indeed threatening or whether their use of information is benign,'' said Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union technology and liberty program.
James Dempsey, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the report showed the government needs to provide new privacy safeguards.
Govt isn't Big Brother, govt is just a *customer* of Big Brother.
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