I am all for this system, except for HMS will screw it up somehow, They have screwed up everything else and been totally a government joke, why should they be confident in this? Bryant Petitt Cumming, GA Fan of Sercurity but not of HMS. Bryant Petitt Cumming, GA --- RWM <RWM@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > U.S. rates travelers for terror risk > > Without notifying the public, federal agents for the > past four years > have assigned millions of international travelers, > including those > traveling from Mexico and Canada, computer-generated > scores rating the > risk they pose of being terrorists or criminals. > > By Michael J. Sniffen, Associated Press Writer | > December 1, 2006 > > WASHINGTON --Without their knowledge, millions of > Americans and > foreigners crossing U.S. borders in the past four > years have been > assigned scores generated by U.S. government > computers rating the risk > that the travelers are terrorists or criminals. > > The travelers are not allowed to see or directly > challenge these risk > assessments, which the government intends to keep on > file for 40 years. > > The government calls the system critical to national > security following > the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Some privacy > advocates call it > one of the most intrusive and risky schemes yet > mounted in the name of > anti-terrorism efforts. > > Virtually every person entering and leaving the > United States by air, > sea or land is scored by the Homeland Security > Department's Automated > Targeting System, or ATS. The scores are based on > ATS' analysis of their > travel records and other data, including items such > as where they are > from, how they paid for tickets, their motor vehicle > records, past > one-way travel, seating preference and what kind of > meal they ordered. > > The use of the program on travelers was quietly > disclosed earlier this > month when the department put a notice detailing ATS > in the Federal > Register, a fine-print compendium of federal rules. > The few civil > liberties lawyers who had heard of ATS and even some > law enforcement > officers said they had thought it was only used to > screen cargo. > > The Homeland Security Department called the program > "one of the most > advanced targeting systems in the world" and said > the nation's ability > to spot criminals and other security threats "would > be critically > impaired without access to this data." > > But to David Sobel, a lawyer at the Electronic > Frontier Foundation, a > group devoted to civil liberties in cyberspace: > "It's probably the most > invasive system the government has yet deployed in > terms of the number > of people affected." > > Government officials could not say whether ATS has > apprehended any > terrorists. Based on all the information available > to them, federal > agents turn back about 45 foreign criminals a day at > U.S. borders, > according to Homeland Security's Customs and Border > Protection spokesman > Bill Anthony. He could not say how many were spotted > by ATS. > > "Homeland Security ought to focus on the simple > things it can do and > stop trying to build these overly complex > jury-rigged systems," said > Barry Steinhardt, an American Civil Liberties Union > lawyer, citing > problems the agency has had developing a > computerized screening system > for domestic air travelers. > > That data-mining project -- now known as Secure > Flight -- caused a furor > two years ago in Congress. Lawmakers barred its > implementation until it > can pass 10 tests for accuracy and privacy > protection. > > In comments to the government about ATS, Sobel said, > "Some individuals > will be denied the right to travel and many the > right to travel free of > unwarranted interference." > > Sobel said in the interview that the government > notice also raises the > possibility that faulty risk assessments could cost > innocent people jobs > in shipping or travel, government contracts, > licenses or other benefits. > > The government notice says some or all of the ATS > data about an > individual may be shared with state, local and > foreign governments for > use in hiring decisions and in granting licenses, > security clearances, > contracts or other benefits. In some cases, the data > may be shared with > courts, Congress and even private contractors. > > "Everybody else can see it, but you can't," Stephen > Yale-Loehr, an > immigration lawyer who teaches at Cornell Law > school, said in an interview. > > But Jayson P. Ahern, an assistant commissioner of > Customs and Border > Protection, said the ATS ratings simply allow agents > at the border to > pick out people not previously identified by law > enforcement as > potential terrorists or criminals and send them for > additional searches > and interviews. > > "It does not replace the judgments of officers" in > reaching a final > decision about a traveler, Ahern said in an > interview Thursday. > > This targeting system goes beyond traditional watch > lists, Ahern said. > Border agents compare arrival names with watch lists > separately from the > ATS analysis. > > In a privacy impact assessment posted on its Web > site this week, > Homeland Security said ATS is aimed at discovering > high-risk individuals > who "may not have been previously associated with a > law enforcement > action or otherwise be noted as a person of concern > to law enforcement." > > Ahern said ATS does this by applying rules derived > from the government's > knowledge of terrorists and criminals to the > passenger's travel records. > > Ahern declined to disclose any of the rules, but a > Homeland Security > document on data-mining gave this innocuous example > of a risk assessment > rule: "If an individual sponsors more than one > fiancee for immigration > at the same time, there is likelihood of immigration > fraud." > > Ahern said ATS was first used to rate the risk posed > by travelers in the > late 1990s, using personal information about them > voluntarily supplied > by air and cruise lines. > > A post-9/11 law vastly expanded the program, he > said. It required > airline and cruise companies to begin in 2002 > sending the government > electronic data in advance on all passengers and > crew bound into or out > of the country. All these names are put through ATS > analysis, Ahern > said. In addition, at land border crossings, agents > enter license plates > and the names of vehicle drivers and passengers, and > Amtrak voluntarily > supplies passenger data on its trains to and from > Canada, he said. > > In the Federal Register, the department exempted ATS > from many > provisions of the Privacy Act designed to protect > people from secret, > possibly inaccurate government dossiers. As a > result, it said travelers > cannot learn whether the system has assessed them. > Nor can they see the > records "for the purpose of contesting the content." > > Toby Levin, senior adviser in Homeland Security's > Privacy Office, noted > that the department pledged to review the exemptions > over the next 90 > days based on the public comment received. As of > Thursday, all 15 public > comments received opposed the system outright or > criticized its redress > procedures. > > The Homeland Security privacy impact statement added > that "an individual > might not be aware of the reason additional scrutiny > is taking place, > nor should he or she" because that might compromise > the ATS' methods. > > Nevertheless, Ahern said any traveler who objected > to additional > searches or interviews could ask to speak to a > supervisor to complain. > Homeland Security's privacy impact statement said > that if asked, border > agents would hand complaining passengers a one-page > document that > describes some, but not all, of the records that > agents check and refers > complaints to Custom and Border Protection's > Customer Satisfaction Unit. > > Homeland Security's statement said travelers can use > this office to > obtain corrections to the underlying data sources > that the risk > assessment is based on, but not to the risk > assessment itself. The risk > assessment changes automatically if the source data > changes, the > statement explained. > > "I don't buy that at all," said Jim Malmberg, > executive director of > American Consumer Credit Education Support Services, > a private credit > education group. Malmberg said it has been hard for > citizens, including > members of Congress and even infants, to stop being > misidentified as > terrorists because their names match those on > anti-terrorism watch > lists. He noted that while the government plans to > keep the risk > assessments for 40 years, it doesn't intend to keep > all the underlying > data they are based on for that long. > > Homeland Security, however, is nearing an > announcement of a new effort > to improve redress programs and the public's > awareness of them, > according to a department privacy official, who > requested anonymity > because the formal announcement has not been made. > > The department says that 87 million people a year > enter the country by > air and 309 million enter by land or sea. > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. http://new.mail.yahoo.com