automatic declassification of documents

It will be an interesting new year, can't wait to see what is actually released.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/washington/21declassify.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

December 21, 2006
U.S. to Declassify Secrets at Age 25
By SCOTT SHANE
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 — It will be a Cinderella moment for the band of researchers who study the hidden history of American government.
At midnight on Dec. 31, hundreds of millions of pages of secret documents will be instantly declassified, including many F.B.I. cold war files on investigations of people suspected of being Communist sympathizers. After years of extensions sought by federal agencies behaving like college students facing a term paper, the end of 2006 means the government’s first automatic declassification of records.

a life-like test of security measures

Military, agencies to phish their workers
http://www.fcw.com/article97147-12-18-06-Web&newsletter=yes

Data Mining Trade-offs

Whether data mining will catch terrorists or not will depend on the level of civil liberties citizens are ready to give up. An open discussion about that balance is important, but not happening.

Expert: Data-mining won't catch the terrorists, will hurt privacy

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Expert_Data_mining_wont_catch_terrorists_1213.html
Noting that the 9/11 terrorists "were hiding in plain sight," a report released this week by the Washington, DC-based Cato Institute concludes that the practice of data-mining will not help investigators discover terrorists and severely infringes on civil liberties.

Why DMV's shouldn't store ID info

Storing the minimum data necessary to accomplish a task is a wise reccomendation:

http://www.cdt.org/privacy/030131motorvehicle.shtml
Tracking Security at State Motor Vehicle Offices
Select Bribery and Burglary Cases
Fixing the issuing process of driver's licenses is a complex and difficult undertaking, but must be the top priority. In particular: bribery and physical security lapses are rampant in the DMVs; the basic documents used to make decisions about individuals applying for licenses and ID cards are rife with inconsistencies and fraud; the laws in each state are not harmonized, leading to weak states that have been targets of fraud; and many states lack adequate security to protect the machinery that issues cards and collects personal information. Work has begun in this area. The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators has several task groups to address various aspects of these concerns. However, Congress should study the policy implications of reforms in each area; act quickly based on the new information; and then, continue oversight to ensure that the enacted reforms are successful. Fraud and physical security need to be the top priority in driver's license security since it has posed the greatest threat and will continue to undermine all other security reforms at the DMV.

Real ID and Privacy

With increased storage of Identity information, comes increased risk to individual privacy, both from security breaches and from using information for reasons other than the original purpose. The FIPS (Fair Information Practices) of the 1973 HEW report, that was the basis of the Privacy Act of 1974. Real ID is an example of this risk:

http://www.fcw.com/article96547-10-23-06-Web
State governments must resist the urge to use data needed to verify the identity of driver’s license applicants for other purposes, a privacy expert told attendees at an information technology conference.

Google Mars - not policy, but cool

http://www.fcw.com/article97149-12-18-06-Web&newsletter=yes
Google Mars, anyone?
BY Brian Robinson
Published on Dec. 18, 2006
The NASA Ames Research Center and Google have signed an agreement that will soon take Google Earth to the moon and Mars.Google Earth lets anyone a computer, Web browser and Internet connection pan to anywhere on Earth and, through the use of high-resolution satellite photographs, zoom in on most locations on the planet. The Space Act Agreement signed by Ames and Google officials will allow people to virtually fly over the surfaces of the moon and Mars.

Department of Defense Massive database

Computerworld article talks about the DOD storage capacity. See earlier post about MATRIX as one possible user of this service.

DOD rolls out massive storage network with 17,000 ports
The storage-area network is helping the DOD deploy storage capacity as a service
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9003754

virginia to track sex offenders virtually

A good idea! Implementation should be interesting.

http://www.fcw.com/article97082-12-12-06-Web=yes

Va. to track sex offender e-mail addresses, IM names
BY Dibya Sarkar
Published on Dec. 12, 2006

Virginia’s attorney general said Dec. 11 that he will propose new legislation requiring convicted sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses and instant messaging screen names with the state’s sex offender registry.

health records broker

Data brokers are one way for individuals to pool resources to have a strong advocate to act on their behalf. One possibility for balancing corporate interests with individual privacy rights.

http://govhealthit.com/article97018-12-06-06-Web=yes
Board recommends health record banks

BY Brian RobinsonPublished on Dec. 6, 2006 Related Links
An advisory board that has been investigating the best way to implement an electronic medical record (EMR) program for Washington state has published its final recommendations that will establish competitive health record banks.

health care policy in the next session

http://govhealthit.com/article97103-12-14-06-Web&newsletter=yes

Look for health care IT policy to be a hot item in the next session. Hopefully the balance between privacy and standards is considered over the long term.

MATRIX - data mining? Or just mining data.

Interesting post about MATRIX - claiming it wasn't data mining, but that data mining has no agreed upon definition.

http://www.fcw.com/article97135-12-18-06-Web&printLayout

Published on Dec. 18, 2006 The Homeland Security Department's controversial Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange program (MATRIX) did not engage in data mining, according to an annual report from the department's Privacy Office.