Balancing Privacy and Security: Surveillance of Government Workers

Interesting article in the Washington Post today about the increased surveillance of government workers. In addition to tracking every keystroke of government scientists, including the use of personal email accounts, there is a growing trend of monitoring all government employee use of computers. From the article:

Although the FDA has said it acted out of concern that the scientists were improperly sharing trade secrets, the scientists have argued in a lawsuit that they were targeted because they were blowing the whistle on what they thought had been an unethical review process. 

At least two other agencies, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Maritime Commission, are under congressional scrutiny for seeking and using employee monitoring software that critics say is intrusive. 

Federal agencies generally decline to elaborate on their monitoring practices or what activity might trigger them to closely watch an employee’s communications. But officials defend the push for more aggressive surveillance, noting that the federal workforce is more mobile and wired than ever — and more vulnerable to leaking sensitive information by accident or design.