DHS pushes global data sharing

Senior DHS officials speaking at a recent conference on biometrics and privacy policy outlined the ethical imperative for technical standards that would foster unrestricted biometric data sharing.

And while they say they recognize and agree with the need for privacy policy, threats of terrorism require governments and private companies to completely eliminate barriers to biometric data sharing.

Robert Mocny, acting program manager for the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, sketched the outline of a Global Security Envelope of internationally shared biometric data that would permanently link individuals with their personal data held by governments and corporations.

DHS’ assistant secretary for policy, Stewart Baker, condemned restrictions on information sharing that existed before the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

“Those rules that were in effect then [prevented the CIA and FBI from foiling the attacks],” Baker said. “We have systematically knocked down the ‘walls’ that prevented sharing of law enforcement and intelligence data. At that time [before the attacks] we were enthralled with creating limits on who would have access to data.”

Baker rejected the policy of separating data to preserve privacy.

He said recent negotiations with European officials over the exchange of airline passenger data had afforded him insight into the strict European privacy laws. DHS participants highlighted privacy concerns that designers of biometric information-sharing standards and systems should take into account.

Mocny sketched a federal plan to extend biometric data sharing to Asian and European governments and corporations, so as to create a Global Security Envelope of identity management.

“My question is, how is it ethical not to share?” Mocny asked. “It makes no sense for us to develop separate systems.”

Mocny cited the need for new biometric data-sharing systems to incorporate privacy controls.

The Global Security Envelope of biometric data sharing should begin slowly, but “information sharing is appropriate around the world,” Mocny said.

The department’s plans face skepticism from some domestic privacy advocates.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said, “I just don’t think that the Homeland Security Department has done enough to identify the privacy implications of these biometric technologies and policies.”

Rotenberg added, “The framers of the Privacy Act saw this day coming. It has become too easy for the administration to manipulate the public’s fears of terrorism to override privacy safeguards.”

More news on related topics: Authentication / Identity Management, Homeland Security, IT Management