April 29, 2005

DHS chief floats idea of collecting private citizens' information

By Siobhan Gorman, National Journal
Call it Total Information Awareness, homeland-style.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff this week floated an idea
to start a nonprofit group that would collect information on private
citizens, flag suspicious activity, and send names of suspicious
people to his department.

The idea, which Chertoff tossed out at an April 27 meeting with
security-industry officials, is reminiscent of the Defense
Department's now-dead Total Information Awareness program that sought
to sift though heaps of foreign intelligence information to root out
potential terrorist activity.

According to one techie who attended the April 27 meeting, Chertoff
told the group, "Maybe we can create a nonprofit and track people's
activities, and an algorithm could red-flag individuals. Then, the
nonprofit could give us the names."

(snip)

Full article at GovExec.com ...
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0405/042905nj1.htm


Cheers, Steve...

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