Five Government Databases You Probably Don’t Know About, but Should
Five Government Databases You Probably Don’t Know About, but Should
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5 'n Dime
May 24, 2016
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You’ve probably heard about the No Fly List and the Terrorist Screening Database. With all of the hullabaloo about the NSA eavesdropping on this or that, you may even suspect the government is keeping detailed tabs on you in some massive secret database like Big Brother. Not so much. The government actually does have databases with plenty of personal information…
The big secret is: They’re not all that secret.
The Privacy Act of 1974 requires that almost all government databases (except the super secret ones) must have a System Of Records Notice (a SORN).
The data itself is protected, but the actual existence of these databases isn’t hidden from us at all — they’re publicly available for all of us to know about.
We’ll show you: here is the list of all the databases that the Department of Homeland Security uses.
You can actually learn a lot about the information held in these databases through the SORNs — but let’s be honest, they’re incredibly boring and full of legal mumbo jumbo. That said, you’ve got a right to know what’s out there, right?
So we here at 5 ‘n Dime decided to do you a solid, have a few cups of coffee, and summarize just a few for you to get you started:
1. DHS/ALL-005: Department of Homeland Security Redress and Response Records System
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Sounds boring right? It’s actually pretty interesting, and not particularly scary. According to the SORN, this database holds all of the records for the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP). The TRIP (see what they did there?) is basically a way for travelers to ask to get off the No Fly List, or to submit related questions or complaints about issues with travel screening. The TRIP is a voluntary customer service program (meaning the personal information in it is actually submitted by the individual) and only collects the information necessary to address misidentification and to authenticate an inquiry, so that DHS can follow up. The records in this database are only kept for up to seven years.
2. DHS/USVISIT-004: DHS Automated Identification System (IDENT)
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Now that’s a title that just makes you want to say, “Huh?!” This one is kind of cool, though— IDENT is the biometric database for DHS. If your biometrics (digital fingerprints, photographs, iris scans, facial images) have been collected by DHS, they are likely housed here. That information is linked to biographical information, and helps to identify known or suspected terrorists, or people using aliases or fraudulent identities. Are you in this database? If you’re a bad guy, probably yes. But you may also be in this database if you’ve applied for Global Entry, for example (which really isn’t such a bad thing since no one can easily steal your identity and get away with it).
3. DHS/OPS-004: Publicly Available Social Media Monitoring and Situational Awareness Initiative System of Records
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Omigerd, the government is monitoring your Facingbook and Tweeters? Well, yes, and no. In this database, DHS collects publicly available information from online forums, blogs, public websites, and message boards. Why? The initiative is designed to “provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture for the entire Federal Government, and for the state, local, and tribal governments.” In other words, DHS is paying attention to what’s happening in the world. To be clear, this doesn’t necessarily mean you, personally, are identified in the data collected. In fact, personal information is only included when the identity of an individual is specifically relevant, such as situations involving potential life or death circumstances; private or government officials/spokespersons who make public statements: journalists using social media in real time to keep the public informed; victims of homeland security-related incidents; or terrorists, drug cartel leaders, or homeland security-related criminals.
4. DHS/TSA 019: Secure Flight Records
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Ever wonder how some lucky travelers randomly get selected to go through the TSA Precheck line, even when they haven’t signed up for it? Enter Secure Flight. Secure Flight is a matching program that checks a traveler’s information against trusted travelers lists and watchlists to determine if you are a low or high-risk passenger, and whether you are eligible for expedited, standard, or enhanced screening. It also checks against the No Fly and CDC lists to prevent certain travelers from boarding at all.
5. DHS/USSS-004: Protection Information System
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Kinda sounds like the database that would hold all the information on Presidents, right? So this is actually a collection of databases. If you go to the White House for a tour, you may be in one of these databases. If you work at a site the President goes to, you may be in one of these databases. If you climb over the White House fence or have a gun near the White House, you are definitely in one of these databases.
So there you have it, five totally not-so-secret collections of information and what they’re for. Questions? Comments? Did you do a little exploring on your own and find something interesting? Please share!
UPDATE:
Since this article was published, 5 ‘n Dime has taken an even deeper dive into SORNs, and in particular the Privacy Act and the issue of exemptions (focusing on the FBI’s NGI database). Sound interesting, or just curious? Check it out here:
[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)]Privacy Act Exemptions (You Really Need to Know This)[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.68)][REDACTED][/COLOR]medium.com
https://medium.com/homeland-security...d-b1c4882dff69
