Hope you like TOTAL INFORMATION AWARENESS

[MrPopup]

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Traveling? Take Big Brother Along

NEW YORK -- It provoked protests from privacy advocates and high-flying executives. People boycotted and bad-mouthed it.

People from all corners hate the idea of the passenger-profiling system called Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening II program, better known as CAPPS II.

But CAPPS II is not travelers' biggest privacy threat, according to Edward Hasbrouck, a travel agent and author. CAPPS II is only one possible use -- and perhaps not the most invasive -- of the Transportation Security Administration's proposed Aviation Security Screening Records database.

Airline and government spokespeople have attempted to calm fears about CAPPS II, saying airlines will only provide the government with the limited data they already collect from passengers. But the information contained in airline databases isn't limited to a passenger's name, address and phone number, Hasbrouck said during a panel discussion at the 13th annual conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy here on Thursday.

He pointed out that travel industry databases contain a wealth of information, including but not limited to whom travelers have shared a room with, what movies they watched, what they ate, and even whether they are grumpy or easy to get along with.

The information CAPPS II would use as a starting point will be gleaned from the passenger name records, called PNRs, maintained by airlines, computerized reservations systems and travel agencies.

A PNR can provide very specific information about a traveler's habits. It can also show whether a person requested a king-size waterbed in the honeymoon suite on her last business trip or the single-occupancy super-saver room. PNRs can record the in-room movies a hotel guest ordered. They can list special meal requests, which may indicate a traveler's religious affiliation.

Few airlines or travel agencies host their own databases, Hasbrouck explained. Most store their PNRs in a virtual "partition" in the database of one of four computerized reservation systems: Sabre, Galileo and Worldspan in the United States, and Amadeus in Europe.

These reservation systems are used to move data between travel agencies, online booking services and reservation desks at car rental companies, hotels, cruise lines and airlines.

Regular travelers who book online or through an agency probably have personal profiles that include credit card data, emergency contacts, names and other information on family members or business associates who have traveled together before.

Every time a traveler makes a reservation, it generates a PNR. But PNRs are never deleted. Once created, they live on forever in one of the reservation databases.

The use of that information will, if the TSA has its way, be exempt from any privacy-protection legislation.

"The government loves data, the more the merrier -- but hates the responsibility involved in dealing with it properly," said Lara Flint, staff counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Hasbrouck said that while consumer protests may keep CAPPS II from being broadly implemented, he nonetheless worries about the databases that are being created for test runs.

"It's rare that you hear about a government deleting database information," Hasbrouck said. "If you build it, eventually someone, sometime, will use it."

Even testing systems like CAPPS II, though, could get airlines in trouble, according to Flint and Hasbrouck.

The European Union objects to CAPPS II because it infringes on EU privacy laws. If the government goes forward anyway, U.S. airlines could be banned from European and Canadian airports, Hasbrouck said.

But former American Civil Liberties Union chief Ira Glasser advised conference attendees not to beat the privacy dead horse too much when attempting to fight proposed data-mining and screening systems like the Aviation Security Screening Records database.

Glasser said civil liberties advocates should instead focus on pointing out proven problems in proposed surveillance systems. "You cannot go out and argue that privacy is important when everyone is afraid," he said. "But point out where the scams are, why these proposals will not make anything safer, and people will listen."

Hasbrouck, author of the Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace, has detailed information on ASSR on his website.

[fnet]

If you wanna get really scared I have some mailing lists you might want to subscribe too- although it's a little depressing to see it happening in full forensic detail.

[mrthumbs]

hey dude.. check my sig.. and monitor it CLOSELY.. (hint: to the right!!)..

Whaddayathink?

[Brujah]

"What are you worried about, unless you have something to hide ?" -- Anonymous republican sheep.

[MrPopup]

Originally posted by mrthumbs
hey dude.. check my sig.. and monitor it CLOSELY.. (hint: to the right!!)..

Whaddayathink?

Your effort actually has a negative effect now.

How can I NOT respect anyone that takes that much effort to get a burn across?