Left to chance

Today, the Department of Homeland Security proposed to make permanent Global Entry, a program the agency says will “streamline the international arrivals and admission process at airports for trusted travelers through biometric identification.” Under the proposed system, pre-registered international travelers can bypass conventional security lines by scanning their passports and fingerprints at a kiosk, answering customs declaration questions, and then presenting a receipt to Customs officials. The DHS announcement follows the recent news that Clear, a Registered Traveler program, had entered bankruptcy, raising questions about the possible sale of the biometric database that was created. In 2005, EPIC testified before Congress that the absence of Privacy Act safeguards for Registered Traveler programs would jeopardize air traveler privacy and security. The agency is taking comments on the proposal. For more information, see EPIC Air Travel Privacy, EPIC Biometric Identifiers, EPIC Automated Targeting System, and EPIC Whole Body Imaging.

The often-spoofed, color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System may get an overhaul – moving from five colors to three in a bid to win the public trust.

The nation has been at Yellow, “an elevated significant risk of terrorist attacks” for three years. International and domestic flights have been at an Orange “high risk of terrorist attacks” for the same period.

A proposal by the Homeland Security Advisory Council, unveiled late Tuesday, recommends removing two of the five colors, with a standard state of affairs being a “guarded” Yellow. The Green “low risk of terrorist attacks” might get removed altogether, meaning stay prepared for your morning subway commute to turn deadly at any moment.

The Threat Level advisory system was set up in 2002 in the wake of the 2001 terror attacks and has changed 17 times — the last in 2006. It has never been lowered to Green “low risk of terrorist attacks” or the Blue “general risk of terrorist attacks.”

“There is currently indifference to the public Homeland Security Advisory System and, at worst, there is a disturbing lack of public confidence in the system,” the council wrote Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary.

The 19-member panel’s recommendations are not binding. Panel membership ranges from Miami Mayor Manny Diaz to Joe Shirley, president of the Navajo Nation. Some members supported scrapping the color-coded system.

But the group said the public should feel confident in a new three-color rating system because, “for reasons of public credibility,” the scale won’t be politicized and instead the government “should elevate the threat status only when compelled to do so in the interest of public safety and security.”

That statement comes two weeks after Tom Ridge, the former Homeland Security secretary, wrote in a new book, the Test of Our Times, that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former Attorney General John Ashcroft unsuccessfully lobbied him to raise the threat level days before the 2004 elections, in a bid to seal President George W. Bush’s re-election.

“Ashcroft strongly urged an increase in the threat level, and was supported by Rumsfeld,” Ridge writes. “There was absolutely no support for that position within our department. None. I wondered, ‘Is this about security or politics?’”

The new system, if approved by the agency, would consist solely of Yellow, Orange and Red.

Here are the new meanings:

Don’t forget to stock up on duct tape.

See Also:

• Color-Coded Threat Level System In New Colors for Spring!
• Homeland Security Threat Level Raised to Chicago Dog With …
• Congress to Tweak DHS Color-Warning System
• Air Force Cyber Command’s New Weapon: DMCA Notices
• Report: FBI Mishandles Terror Watch List
• Ready (To Wear) Homeland Security
• 860000 Name Long Terror Watch List Scrutinizes Americans Most …

Original article at Threat Level

The Obama administration has told Congress it supports renewing three provisions of the Patriot Act due to expire at year’s end, measures making it easier for the government to spy within the United States.

In a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department said the administration might consider “modifications” to the act in order to protect civil liberties.

“The administration is willing to consider such ideas, provided that they do not undermine the effectiveness of these important authorities,” Ronald Weich, assistant attorney general, wrote to Leahy, (.pdf) whose committee is expected to consider renewing the three expiring Patriot Act provisions next week. The government disclosed the letter Tuesday.

It should come as no surprise that President Barack Obama supports renewing the provisions, which were part of the Patriot Act approved six weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

As an Illinois senator in 2008, he voted to allow the warrantless monitoring of Americans’ electronic communications if they are communicating overseas with somebody the government believes is linked to terrorism. That legislative package, which President George W. Bush signed, also immunized the nation’s telecommunication companies from lawsuits charging them with being complicit with the Bush administration’s warrantless, wiretapping program. That program was also adopted in the wake of Sept. 11.

These are the three provisions due to expire:

*A secret court, known as the FISA court, may grant “roving wiretaps” without the government identifying the target. Generally, the authorities must assert that the target is an agent of a foreign power and/or a suspected terrorist. The government said Tuesday that 22 such warrants — which allow the monitoring of any communication device — have been granted annually.

*The FISA court may grant warrants for “business records,” from banking to library to medical records. Generally, the government must assert that the records are relevant to foreign intelligence gathering and/or a terrorism investigation. The government said Tuesday that 220 of these warrants had been granted between 2004 and 2007. It said 2004 was the first year those powers were used.

*A so-called “lone wolf” provision, enacted in 2004, allows FISA court warrants for the electronic monitoring of an individual even without showing that the person is an agent of a foreign power or a suspected terrorist. The government said Tuesday it has never invoked that provision, but said it wants to keep the authority to do so.

“The basic idea behind the authority was to cover situations in which information linking the target of an investigation to an international group was absent or insufficient, although the target’s engagement in ‘international terrorism’ was sufficiently established,” Weich wrote.

The American Civil Liberties opposes renewing all three provisions, especially the lone wolf measure.

Michelle Richardson, the ACLU’s legislative counsel, said in a telephone interview, “The justification for FISA and these lower standards and letting it operate in secret was all about terrorist groups and foreign governments, that they posed a unique threat other than the normal criminal element. This lone wolf provision undercuts that justification.”

The committee hearing is set for 10 a.m. Sept. 23 and will be webcast live.

See Also:

• FBI Use of Patriot Act Authority Increased Dramatically in 2008 …
• Bloggers, TV, Go Nuts Over Misleading ‘Patriot Act’ Arrest Claim …
• FBI Tried to Cover Patriot Act Abuses With Flawed, Retroactive …
• FBI Targets Internet Archive With Secret ‘National Security Letter …
• Judge Orders FBI to Turn Over Thousands of Patriot Act Abuse …
• FBI Misuses, Underreports Patriot Act Power: Audit
• Court Strikes Down Key Patriot Act Power Again

Original article at Threat Level

CDT told a congressional panel today that providing the public with direct, online access to complex government programs, such as TARP, would strengthen oversight. Media, watchdog groups, researchers and citizens could then better analyze the data for a wide variety of purposes. CDT asked the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee to ensure that legislation explicitly require that TARP resources be made available to the public on the Web. CDT also noted that more sophisticated data–such as location and mapping data–are being collected today by government agencies; however, aging federal privacy law needs to be updated to ensure these new types of information are protected as well.Original article at Center for Democracy and Technology

• When the Internet helped foster nationwide protests in Iran, EFF published a new international edition of our Surveillance Self-Defense guide, explaining how dissidents could avoid government eavesdropping and censorship.
• Google’s new Book Search service will track everything you read, creating a dossier that’s ripe for abusive government demands. EFF rallied authors, publishers, and users together to insist that Google tell the government: “Come back with a warrant.”
• Did you know that your cell phone tells people where you are? EFF published a paper outlining new risks to your location privacy and advising technologists on how to fix them.
• Advertisers are finding new and sneaky ways to track your every move online and to create profiles of your personal interests. EFF is pushing Congress to stop them.

No other organization does as much to protect your freedom and privacy in the technological world. Please donate now to support EFF!


Original article at EFF.org

Wannabe Code Monkey sends along an article from the Patriot Ledger about an effort in Massachusetts to pass a “Right to Repair” bill. “Since the advent of congressionally mandated computers in vehicles more than 15 years ago (for emissions), cars have evolved into complex machines that are no longer just mechanical. Computers now monitor and control most systems in the car from brakes to tire pressure and all the electronics and engine fluids… [and] car manufacturers continue to hold back on some of the information that your mechanic needs in order to properly repair your car and reset your codes and warning lights… Massachusetts is now poised to solve this problem and car-driving consumers should pay attention this fall when the Massachusetts Legislature takes up landmark legislation that would force manufacturers to respect the right of consumers to access their own repair information. The legislation, known as Right to Repair, is seen by car manufacturers as a threat to the lucrative service business in their dealerships and they are massing their lobbyists on Beacon Hill in an effort to defeat it.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.