A federal database containing personal information on every person in America who gets a job or files an unemployment claim may be used to track sex offenders, according to a report released this week.
Archives: August 2006
Protection for national security whistleblowers still needed
Posted: August 30, 2006 6:47 pm
A coalition of national security whistleblowers says that Congress is finally set to pass important protections for whistleblowers who report internal threats to national security, but that the Department of Justice wants the desperately needed protections dropped.
Homeland Security RFID security lacking
Posted: August 27, 2006 6:16 pm
The Department of Homeland Security has security problems with its Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems which could allow unauthorized access to sensitive data, according to a new Inspector General’s report.
Through these security lapses, someone could potentially swipe an unused RFID chip, program it into DHS’s own database, and have a legitimate-seeming border crossing document.
Stupid Security Awards 2006
Posted: August 26, 2006 5:44 pm
We’ve all seen how stupid security has gotten. And most of us have had to go through some intrusive, outrageous procedures in the name of security. So why aren’t we secure? Security expert Bruce Schneier calls it “security theater,” feel-good measures which give the appearance of doing something, but are ineffective at best, and tyrannical at worst.
Now Privacy International is looking for the world’s dumbest “security” measures.
Don’t drop your iPod in the airplane toilet
Posted: August 26, 2006 5:53 am
When it comes to airline security, in this day and age, you can never be too stupid.
In the wake of news that authorities in the United Kingdom had disrupted a terrorist plot August 10 to blow up airliners, numerous security incidents — and complete non-incidents — have been reported in the weeks since, seven just on Friday. In most cases, officials seem to have overreacted to nonexistent threats.
Federal air marshal dress code relaxed
Posted: August 25, 2006 8:31 pm
Federal air marshals will be allowed to use discretion in dressing for their duties on board aircraft, as well as be able to choose the hotel in which they stay, according to a policy change announced Thursday.
Up to 21,000 college students’ financial data seen by others
Posted: August 25, 2006 2:09 am
As many as 21,000 students who applied for federal student financial aid may have had their personal data compromised after an error with the U.S. Department of Education’s Financial Student Aid web site showed other users’ personal data to logged in users, the department said.
Insanity and government healthcare
Posted: August 25, 2006 1:30 am
Even as the American Medical Association continues their relentless assault against the medical market through restrictions on both provider and consumer, Canadians finally seem to be warming up to the idea that perhaps government doesn’t do things best.
Charges dropped, but six remain in Guantanamo Bay
Posted: August 24, 2006 4:04 am
Six men suspected of plotting to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia, were brought to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002. They remain imprisoned there even though the charges against them were dropped.
Homeland Security reductio ad absurdum
Posted: August 23, 2006 11:05 am
On occasion I receive notes from readers who say that I should check out something or other related to homeland security. While I don’t have the time to post every one of them, on occasion I get one that really needs to be addressed.
So it was that a reader pointed me to Howard Melamed, CEO of CellAntenna Corporation, who has proposed that governments prohibit mobile phone service in tunnels and jam signals at public events such as football games.
Bits of homeland stupidity
Posted: August 23, 2006 4:05 am
This short collection of news headlines from the past week bring together some of the dumb things I’ve seen and didn’t have time to explore more fully.
A few are updates to stories previously covered here.
Enjoy the stupidity, and remember, this post is for unofficial use only.
One year after Katrina, victims don’t trust government
Posted: August 22, 2006 6:38 am
The damage Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf Coast region was nothing like anyone had ever seen. And a year later, few say their lives are back to normal.
A recent poll conducted by Gallup and USA TODAY indicates that Katrina may well have done the most damage to the idea that government is here to help.
Dangerous banned liquids given to homeless
Posted: August 21, 2006 9:53 pm
What happens to your toothpaste, shampoo, lipstick, water, and everything else you throw away at the airport because of stupid new airport security theater rules which say that water bottle might be carrying liquid explosives?
In Eugene, Ore., some of those items are making their way to the area’s homeless.
Dispatches from the Drug War
Posted: August 21, 2006 1:39 am
Every year the War on Drugs sends over a million people to prison for non-violent crimes, wastes billions of dollars, and perpetuates the cycle of violence in our cities.
Why is it still going on? And what can be done about it?
Poor management undermines DHS terror research
Posted: August 20, 2006 5:19 pm
The Department of Homeland Security agency responsible for research and development of new technology to detect and prevent terrorist activity is on the chopping block due to poor leadership, poor money management and poor results, the Washington Post reported Sunday.
This just might be a good thing.
Increased trackability in higher education
Posted: August 20, 2006 2:49 pm
The purpose of the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education is to analyze higher education in four areas: access, affordability, quality and accountability. Change “accountability” to “trackability” and we might have a more accurate reflection of one of the main sources of controversy surrounding this document.
Immigration paperwork to be digitized in pork-barrel contract
Posted: August 19, 2006 4:32 pm
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is moving forward with a plan to digitize millions of immigration documents, making them easier to access by immigration and law enforcement officials, the agency said Friday.
Paulison: FEMA ready despite being understaffed
Posted: August 18, 2006 9:53 pm
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is ready for the 2006 hurricane season despite being at only 84 percent of its authorized staffing level, director R. David Paulison said Friday.
Department of Education poised for federal takeover of higher education
Posted: August 18, 2006 4:01 pm
Last week, the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education released a report on the future of higher education which details perceived problems in our higher education system and proposed solutions. But the recommendations threaten to damage postsecondary education much as No Child Left Behind damaged K-12.
British airports ill-prepared for possible attacks
Posted: August 17, 2006 9:33 pm
A series of blunders by airport security staff in the United Kingdom have raised concerns that, despite increased restrictions and checks on passengers and baggage, British airports are simply not prepared for a possible terrorist threat.
Judge rules NSA surveillance program illegal
Posted: August 17, 2006 4:38 pm
A federal court judge ruled Thursday that a National Security Agency surveillance program conducted since shortly after September 11, 2001, is unconstitutional.
15 government programs we don’t need
Posted: August 16, 2006 9:31 pm
The Government Printing Office on Wednesday published the 2006-2007 U.S. Government Manual, which “provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches” as well as “information on quasi-official agencies, international organizations in which the United States participates, and boards, commissions, and committees.”
It makes a great indicator as to how the federal government is growing out of control and desperately needs to be scaled back.
Abraham Cherrix and Social Services settle chemotherapy issue
Posted: August 16, 2006 4:46 pm
Abraham Cherrix’s family attorneys and social services reached an agreement today to forgo chemotherapy treatment, ending a legal battle which began when Abraham chose to treat his cancer with an alternative therapy.
Homeland Security censors government secrecy watchdog
Posted: August 15, 2006 8:24 pm
The Federation of American Scientists removed an unclassified report on anti-missile technology from its Web site after receiving a letter from the Department of Homeland Security warning of “further appropriate actions” if the report was not removed.
U.S. RFID passports now arriving
Posted: August 15, 2006 3:56 pm
The U.S. State Department announced Monday that the first passports containing radio frequency identification chips with their personal information and biometric data are now arriving in the hands of Americans, while privacy advocates have raised red flags about the security of the information on the chips.
Key opens many FEMA trailers
Posted: August 14, 2006 7:14 pm
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday that it would replace locks on request for residents of travel trailers issued to evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year after finding that the same key patterns were used for many trailers.
NSA surveillance lawsuits consolidated to San Francisco
Posted: August 14, 2006 5:23 pm
A U.S. court has sent seventeen lawsuits filed against telephone companies in various jurisdictions for allegedly breaking the law in assisting the government in domestic surveillance to San Francisco to join another lawsuit already in progress there.
TSA airport screening rules change again
Posted: August 13, 2006 5:50 pm
The Transportation Security Administration on Sunday announced changes to airline screening procedures and security restrictions which had been put into place Thursday in the wake of news of a foiled terrorist plot in the United Kingdom which had reportedly targeted U.S.-bound airliners.
U.S. will require passport from everyone to enter country
Posted: August 13, 2006 12:31 am
If you’re a U.S. citizen and haven’t obtained a passport yet, now would be a very good time to do so, even if you don’t have any immediate travel plans. Five months from now, new regulations proposed by the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department will require U.S. citizens returning by air or sea from certain countries to have a passport or other proof of identity and citizenship in order to re-enter the country.
IRS computer security really sucks
Posted: August 11, 2006 5:50 pm
Computer security at the Internal Revenue Service might be most appropriately described as Swiss cheese, according to a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report.
The report found that most IRS employees used e-mail inappropriately, putting the organization at risk of computer viruses and other malware, that out of 228 authorized e-mail servers, all that were examined contained security vulnerabilities, and that 4,913 additional unauthorized e-mail servers were found on the IRS internal networks.
How safe do you want to be?
Posted: August 11, 2006 1:06 am
Because of the reaction of the American people to heightened security at U.S. and other airports in response to the United Kingdom’s Thursday announcement that it had broken up a terrorist plot to blow up planes en route from the U.K. to the U.S., the Homeland Stupidity threat level has been raised to HIGH (orange).
Transportation laptop with 133,000 identities stolen
Posted: August 10, 2006 12:05 pm
A U.S. Department of Transportation laptop containing names, birthdates, addresses and Social Security numbers of about 133,000 Florida driver license, commercial driver license and pilot’s license holders was stolen from an employee’s car, the department said Wednesday.
UK terror plot disrupted; airport security heightened
Posted: August 10, 2006 11:13 am
British authorities said Thursday that they had disrupted a terror plot by British citizens of Pakistani origin with ties to al-Qaeda to blow up several airplanes while in flight from the United Kingdom to the U.S., arresting the “main players” in the scheme and raising security at airports.
National Implementation Plan may not solve intelligence failures
Posted: August 9, 2006 8:29 pm
In the so-called war on terror, the United States is preparing a new bureaucratic playbook to make it appear as though it’s doing something about its ongoing intelligence failures.
KidTrax: Tracking your children for the state
Posted: August 9, 2006 1:31 am
With current emphasis on tracking every aspect of American life, it is of little wonder that one of the hottest young businesses is nFocus, an Arizona-based software company specializing in developing and marketing tracking software to schools, community organizations and government agencies.
Children spend 87% of their time outside the classroom, clearly time that the state cannot so easily monitor or direct. KidTrax helps to fill this gap.
Formaldehyde in FEMA travel trailers making people sick
Posted: August 8, 2006 7:17 pm
Some travel trailers issued to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are emitting potentially dangerous levels of formaldehyde, an industrial chemical used in their manufacture which some residents say is making them sick.
NSA needs more electricity to spy on you
Posted: August 8, 2006 6:02 pm
The National Security Agency is running out of power at its Fort Meade, Md., complex, causing it to delay installation of new computer equipment and implement power conservation measures.
More CAFE malarchy
Posted: August 8, 2006 2:27 pm
Democrats and even more Republicans are banging the CAFE drum once again, to my intense consternation as both a conservationist and a libertarian. Not only will CAFE prevent the transition to sustainable and environmenally friendly fuels, but it also has resulted in an increase in the sale of SUVs and light trucks.
VA contractor computer with personal data stolen
Posted: August 7, 2006 9:13 pm
If you visited a Veterans Administration medical center in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, Pa., anytime within the last four years, a VA contractor has just lost your personal information. Again.
Poor security threatens transportation worker ID program
Posted: August 7, 2006 3:40 pm
Poor computer security threatens a Homeland Security program to issue national identification cards to airport, seaport and railway workers, according to a report released last week.
Two arrested in theft of VA laptop
Posted: August 6, 2006 2:32 am
Montgomery County, Md., police arrested two teenagers Friday night and charged them with stealing a laptop from a Department of Veterans Affairs employee’s home, which had become the largest personal data breach in U.S. government history. Authorities said that the theft, which highlighted poor computer security practices at the Department of Veterans Affairs, appeared to be random and unconnected to the data on the laptop.
Phone numbers stations mystery revealed at DEFCON
Posted: August 5, 2006 2:57 pm
Updated: November 24, 2006 3:15 pm
For three months, mysterious telephone numbers have been appearing on the Craigslist classified ad site which, when called, play recordings which sound much like shortwave numbers stations used by certain governments to communicate with intelligence agents in the field who are unreachable by other means. Now the secret behind these phone numbers stations has been revealed.
GOP blocks minimum wage with tax cuts
Posted: August 4, 2006 9:36 pm
Republican Senators were frustrated once more this week in their attempts to see levels of taxation reduced. GOP lawmakers had bundled the cuts with a proposed increase in the federal minimum wage in an attempt to engender Democrat support; however, the bill failed Thursday in a Senate vote. Despite this setback, GOP representatives have promised that the bill will be voted on once more in September.
Senate ratifies Europe cybercrime convention
Posted: August 4, 2006 3:07 pm
Thanks to a late-night vote in the Senate Thursday night, the U.S. can now spy on your Internet activity at the request of a foreign government — even if you are only doing things completely legal.
Your new e-passport can be cloned
Posted: August 3, 2006 1:23 pm
Updated: August 3, 2006 3:04 pm
The U.S. State Department is already issuing passports containing an electronic Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip containing data about the passport holder, and not only do the chips provide no national security benefit whatsoever, they are also easy to forge.
Educating for liberty in Jamaica
Posted: August 2, 2006 8:20 am
Updated: August 2, 2006 9:29 am
Early America boasted an educational system almost entirely supported by local communities without tax money. And they gave rise to one of the most literate societies of the time, with literacy rates perhaps higher than today. Consder the fact that the Federalist Papers, rarely read today even in universities, were written for and understood by the common man. Today, our focus seems to be minimum competency, measured through minimum competency testing for the purpose of establishing a competitive workforce.
Phone numbers station: 806-224-0272
Posted: August 1, 2006 2:57 pm
Updated: August 1, 2006 3:20 pm
Now even I’m thinking this is some sort of game, or challenge, or even an elaborate prank. But I said I would continue following these numbers stations until someone figured them out.
Last Tuesday, a message appeared on Lubbock Craigslist asking “For Mein Fraulein” to “Call me.” You probably know where this is leading by now.
Getting really ready: Don’t rely on Homeland Security
Posted: August 1, 2006 12:09 pm
Updated: August 1, 2006 6:32 pm
Are you ready for the next natural disaster or terrorist attack?
If you’re relying on the Department of Homeland Security’s Web site, or think the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be able to help you, then you aren’t ready.
Carnival of Liberty LVI
Posted: August 1, 2006 10:20 am
Welcome to the 56th Carnival of Liberty, celebrating the principles of Life, Liberty and Property, a weekly whirlwind tour of the blogosphere’s best writings on these principles.
