EPIC.org Total Information Awareness (TIA) News

epic.org ^ | 11/25/02 | epic.org staff

[winner45]

Total Information Awareness (TIA)

Introduction | News | Resources

Latest News

• Total Cost of TIA: $245 Million in FY 2001-2003. Contrary to a statement of a Defense Department spokesperson that the TIA budget is $10 million, DARPA documents show that it is $245 million for fiscal years 2001-2003. The TIA system, in fact, consists of several related programs unaccounted for by the official. The budget states that: "The primary goal of TIA is the assured transition of a system-level prototype that integrates technology and components developed in other DARPA programs including Genoa, Genoa-II, TIDES, Genisys, EELD, WAE, HID, and Bio-Surveillance." (p. 273). (Nov. 25)
  
  
• Rep. Armey: Homeland Security Bill Does not Authorize TIA. Communications Daily reports that Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) said that the Homeland Security Bill "…does not authorize, fund or move into the department anything like it (Total Information Awareness)." He further stated that the use of data mining tools in the bill are "…intended solely to authorize the use of advanced techniques to sift through existing intelligence data, not to open a new method of intruding lawful, everyday transactions of American citizens." (Nov. 25)
  
  
• Sen. Grassley Calls for Inspector General to Review TIA. The Boston Globe reports that Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has instructed the Inspector General of the Defense Department to review the TIA system. In a letter to the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, Grassley wrote "I am at a loss to understand why DoD resources are being spent on research for domestic law enforcement." (Nov. 22)
  
  
• DARPA Ends Consideration of eDNA Project. The New York Times reports that DARPA considered but decided not to pursue a plan to uniquely identify Web users through tying their communications to biometric identifiers. The eDNA proposal read: "We envisage that all network and client resources will maintain traces of user eDNA so that the user can be uniquely identified as having visited a Web site, having started a process or having sent a packet." (Nov. 22)
  
  
• EPIC Requests DARPA Documents on TIA. EPIC filed an expedited FOIA request today seeking DARPA records on what modifications TIA might make to any existing legal, statutory and regulatory frameworks concerning governmental access to and use of transactional and other records about individuals. The request also sought records concerning the potential privacy and civil liberties implications of the activities proposed for the TIA project. (Nov. 21)
  
  
• Sen. Feinstein Calls for Legislation to Protect Against TIA. The San Jose Mercury News reports that Senator Feinstein (D-CA) plans to introduce legislation to ensure that the Total Information Awareness project does not infringe on the privacy rights of Americans. "This is a panoply, which isn't carefully conscribed and controlled, for a George Orwell America,'' Feinstein told the Mercury News. "And I don't think the American people are ready for that by a long shot." (Nov. 20)
  
  
• Senator Lieberman Limits Homeland Security Department Development of TIA. Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) inserted an explanatory paragraph into the Congressional Record with passage of the Homeland Security Act that limits the new Department of Homeland Security from adopting or replicating TIA. The statement reads: "Nothing in this legislation should be construed as requiring or encouraging HSARPA (Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency) to adopt or replicate any specific programs within DARPA, such as the Total Information Awareness Program, or as conferring HSARPA with any additional authority to overcome privacy laws when developing technologies for information-collection." Cong. Rec. S11412 (2002). (Nov. 19)
  
  
• Sen. Nelson Questions TIA System. Senator Nelson (D-FL) issued a statement on TIA announcing that he would scrutinize the system. He said, "I have a serious concern about whether this type of program, called Total Information Awareness, can be used responsibly...I intend to advocate that Congress and the Senate Armed Services Committee vigorously oversee this program to ensure there is no abuse of law-abiding individuals' privacy." Cong. Rec. S11250 (2002). (Nov. 18)
  
  
• Groups Urge Senate to Stop Total Information Awareness. In an open letter over 30 civil liberties groups urged Senators Thomas Daschle (D-SD) and Trent Lott (R-MS) to amend the Homeland Security Act to stop further development of the Total Information Awareness (TIA) program. (Nov. 18)
  
  
• Leading Newspapers Blast Defense Dept. Surveillance Project. Newspapers across the country are opposing the Department of Defense's Total Information Awareness (TIA) project. The New York Times said today that "Congress should shut down the program pending a thorough investigation." Earlier the Washington Post wrote "the defense secretary should appoint an outside committee to oversee it before it proceeds." For more information, see EPIC's TIA Page. (Nov. 18)
  
  
• New Total Information Awareness Details. EPIC has obtained the system description (PDF, 4.5 MB) for the Total Information Awareness (TIA) Program. The document describes an elaborate system of human identification and surveillance. EPIC is pursuing a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Defense to obtain further information about the TIA Program. (Nov. 15)
  
  
• Poindexter's History Includes Attempt to Centralize Computer Control at NSA. As National Security Adviser, Admiral Poindexter was involved with a controversial Reagan administration initiative in 1984 known as National Security Decision Directive, NSDD 145. NSDD-145 gave the National Security Agency (NSA) control over security for all government computer systems containing "sensitive but unclassified" information. This was followed by a second directive issued by Poindexter that extended military authority over all computer and communications security for the federal government and private industry. The Computer Security Act, passed by Congress in 1987, reestablished authority for computer security policy at the National Institute for Standards & Technology. For more information see EPIC's Computer Security Act page.

Introduction

The Total Information Awareness project is part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Information Awareness Office. The office is headed by Admiral (retired) John Poindexter who is responsible for conceiving the project. TIA purports to capture the "information signature" of people so that the government can track potential terrorists and criminals involved in "low-intensity/low-density" forms of warfare and crime. The goal is to track individuals through collecting as much information about them as possible and using computer algorithms and human analysis to detect potential activity.

The project calls for the development of "revolutionary technology for ultra-large all-source information repositories," which would contain information from multiple sources to create a "virtual, centralized, grand database." This database would be populated by transaction data contained in current databases such as financial records, medical records, communication records, and travel records as well as new sources of information. Also fed into the database would be intelligence data.

A key component of the TIA project is to develop data-mining or knowledge discovery tools that will sort through the massive amounts of information to find patterns and associations. TIA will also develop search tools such as Project Genoa, which Admiral Poindexter's former employer Syntek Technologies, assisted in developing. TIA aims to fund the development of more such tools and data-mining technology to help analysts understand and even "preempt" future action.

A further crucial component is the development of biometric technology to enable the identification and tracking of individuals. DARPA has already funded its "Human ID at a Distance" program, which aims to positively identify people from a distance through technologies such as face recognition or gait recognition. A nationwide identification system would be of great assistance to such a project by providing an easy means to track individuals across multiple information sources.

DARPA's Broad Agency Announcement 02-08 soliciting proposals from industry states that the initial plan is for a five year research project into these various technologies. The interim goal is to build "leave-behind prototypes with a limited number of proof-of-concept demonstrations in extremely high risk, high payoff areas." The FBI and the Transportation Security Administration are also working on data-mining projects that will fuse commercial databases, public databases, and intelligence data and had meetings with TIA developers.

• TIA System Description (PDF, 4.5 MB).
• Poindexter's August 2002 Speech.
• Booz Allen Hamilton defense contract, $62 million awarded for research into Total Information Awareness project.
• Pentagon Briefing Transcript on Surveillance System. November 20, 2002.
• DARPA Technology briefings. August 2002 (see under "Information Awareness Office").

DARPA FY03 budget. For TIA budget details see sections on PE 0602301E, Project ST-28 and PE 0603760E, Project CCC-01, and PE 0602301E, Project ST-11.

News Items

• ACLU Action Alert on Total Information Awareness.
• Really 'Big Brother': Given its potential to invade the privacy of everyone, the Total Information Awareness program should be shut down before it starts, St. Petersburg Times Editorial, November 24, 2002.
• If You're Not Paranoid, You Oughta' Be Salt Lake Tribune, November 24, 2002.
• In the Name of Security, New York Times, November 23, 2002.
• FBI's Increased Powers Under Spotlight. Financial Times, November 21, 2002.
• Pentagon Defends Anti-Terror Project. Associated Press, November 21, 2002.
• Fighting Terror By Terrifying U.S. Citizens. San Francisco Chronicle, November 20, 2002.
• Total Information Unawareness. Government Executive, November 20, 2002.
• Massive Database Dragnet Explored. San Jose Mercury News, November 20, 2002.
• No Orwellian Scheme Behind DARPA's Total Information Awareness System. Heritage Foundation WebMemo, November 20, 2002.
• A Snooper's Dream. New York Times, Editorial, November 18, 2002.
• 'Big Brother' looming larger. Arizona Republic, November 18, 2002.
• Big Brother Goes to Washington. Newsweek, November 18, 2002.
• Electronic snoops will make us open books. St. Petersburg Times, November 17, 2002.
• Security and privacy. The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), November 16, 2002.
• Don't let homeland defense damage citizens' rights. Houston Chronicle, November 15, 2002.
• What price security?.The Plain Dealer, November 15, 2002.
• A government without brakes?. Press & Sun-Bulletin (NY), November 15, 2002.
• Orwell's nightmare. Times-Picayune (New Orleans), November 15, 2002.
• Homeland bill a supersnoop's dream. Washington Times, November 15, 2002.
• Total Information Awareness. Washington Post, Editorial, November 15, 2002.
• Domestic Snooping; Bedrock Values Matter Even In These Dangerous Times. Charlotte Observer, November 15, 2002.
• You Are A Suspect. William Safire, New York Times, November 14, 2002.
• U.S. Hopes to Check Computers Globally. Washington Post, November 12, 2002.
• Pentagon Plans a Computer System That Would Peek at Personal Data of Americans. New York Times, November 9, 2002.
• Terrorist-tracking tools. National Journal, September 10, 2002.
• Data mining aims at national security. Federal Computer Week, March 4, 2002.

Related EPIC Resources

• Profiling page
• National ID page
• Biometrics
• Air Travel Privacy

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EPIC Privacy Page | EPIC Home Page

Last Updated: November 25, 2002
Page URL: http://www.epic.org/privacy/profiling/tia/default.html

[winner45]

Was 1984 a How To Book?

[APBaer]

Grassley wrote "I am at a loss to understand why DoD resources are being spent on research for domestic law enforcement."

Hey Grassley!
I am at a loss to understand how DoD could get $245 million without your knowing about it.

Did Arthur Andersen take over the Congress and GAO?

[dirtboy]

Glad to see Epic correcting some information here:

Rep. Armey: Homeland Security Bill Does not Authorize TIA. Communications Daily reports that Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) said that the Homeland Security Bill "…does not authorize, fund or move into the department anything like it (Total Information Awareness)." He further stated that the use of data mining tools in the bill are "…intended solely to authorize the use of advanced techniques to sift through existing intelligence data, not to open a new method of intruding lawful, everyday transactions of American citizens." (Nov. 25)

Emphasis mine. This is a potentially a good use for this agency.

Contrary to a statement of a Defense Department spokesperson that the TIA budget is $10 million, DARPA documents show that it is $245 million for fiscal years 2001-2003.

Yeah, $10 million is diddly for that kind of a project. But I have a suggestion. Spend that $10 million to send 50,000 investigators to a basic class on how to write SQL queries - because a simple one would have identified the DC snipers' Caprice as a lead in their database. A lot of this stuff isn't rocket science.

[PaxMacian]

Who needs a God when your Gov't is omniscient and omnipotent?

[PaxMacian]

and unknowable? as in a mystery.