When Governments Put Together Big Databases On People, They Get Abused
from the you-have-no-privacy dept
For years, the government has pushed repeatedly to build bigger and more comprehensive databases of information around citizens. There are certainly justifications that can be made for such databases -- so long as people weigh those justifications against the fact that the databases will absolutely be abused. We recently wrote about the case where a government employee used a Homeland Security computer system to track an ex-girlfriend. The latest story is that a corrupt customs agent was selling access to federal databases. While it's good that he was caught, he wasn't caught due to any protection mechanisms put in place, but because a drug dealer who had been paying the customs agent for access to the database, was stopped for a traffic violation, and the police officer noticed the business card for the customs agent. The police then followed up to try to figure out why the guy had the agent's card, leading to the story unfolding. Hopefully, since then, more stringent protections have been put in place, but it seems likely that there are still plenty of questionable uses of these sorts of databases.
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Filed Under: corruption, databases, privacy
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Re: no big whoop
We need to have intelligent, observant enforcement agents like the officer mentioned in the article. That is far more effective than some gigantic database tracking every aspect of everybody that everything must check for every transaction or transition.
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Get ready for an Orwellian future my friends; with idiots like this being prepared to back things that can be so easily abused and misused for the sake of being 'safe' I'm sure they'll drop their pants and bend over for marshal law.
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Boy, are you stupid.
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Alot like DRM
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And some will laugh...
But I think it's funny how Government has people duped into believing that basically over the last 100 years, it's a wonderful thing - here to protect us. When it was clear common knowledge for 9,900 years prior to that - that Government's always basically been an enemy of the people, and is to be kept in check.
It's like my daughter telling me, "Well, I won't lie now!"
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You can't ask the govt. to fight against threats while taking away their tools to do so.
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Plenty of countries get by just fine without the need to use those tools.
Most of the countries who have those tools are infamous for abusing them.
I would rather the country I live in be like the former countries rather than the latter.
I wish there was a way that we, as taxpayers, could have a say as to where our tax money goes. Let the neocons fund their own war, rather than taking out debt on America's shoulders.
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You can't ask the govt. to fight against threats while taking away their tools to do so.
Maybe it's going too far huh....?
But I propose.. That if they cannot 'lead' the country, take steps to keep us safe **AND** protect our liberties - maybe they aren't 'cut out' for the job they are doing? It seems other leaders over the years have done just that - why are our politicians incapable of that now? The 'take away law enforcement's tools' mantra is just another way of saying, 'Let us control you more and we'll keep you safer'. I'd rather keep my freedom and take my chances, actually. Give them enough control and external threats will no longer be the issue you need to worry about - Government will be. History has proven this TIME and again, over and over and over.
Yet - Government and Law Enforcement want us to think that *now* all of a sudden, they are here to protect us. How very nice.
I can cure a headache by cutting off the head too, but it's not the most intelligent or the only possible way to fix the issue is it?
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It's a poor atom blaster...
It's a pity that those advocating such databases don't grasp this fundamental point. After all, one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to gather intelligence on someone is (a) get someone else to do it and then (b) steal their work. This is much easier than going through all the tedious work required to gather data first-hand.
Keep in mind that the GAO has been handing out "F" grades in security to every branch of the federal government for years -- primarily because there is no lower grade. There is little doubt that adversaries are well aware of this -- it is, after all, common knowledge among even entry-level security practictioners -- and that if they haven't already taken advantage of it, they will soon.
So even if we put aside privacy and civil liberty issues for a moment, the situation that remains is one where stunningly incompetent federal/state/local IT guarantees that collected data will likely be more readily available to our adversaries than to government employees.
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As for the threats? Our leaders in the past did well? George Washington didn't have to content with the elimination of a major city in one fell swoop. Technology makes everything easier and more likely, including killing. Don't fear the man that has 100 nukes, fear the man who only wants one. Jack Nicholson was right, we want men on that fence, we need men on that fence. They would prefer you just say thank you.
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Re: What a bunch of whiney babys
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C'mon people
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Give me....
I guess if it's a choice between fighting threats or 'taking away their tools' I'd rather 'take away their tools'. Their tools encroach on my liberty, and I'd honestly rather have liberty than safety.
I guess the quote that comes to mind is: "Give me liberty or give me death."
Of course this doesn't mean I think the government should drop all efforts to protect us. But I think it can do a decent job with tools that don't compromise my freedoms.
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Hey, go with Ron Paul, of course, he would ban abortion.
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Re: Give me...
You're correct, Noah. These endless intrusions are simply a way to cover their incompetence -- their inability to perform their jobs at a baseline level while simultaneously respecting the rights of the people and the laws of the nation. Those who can't manage this simply aren't good enough and should be dismissed from service in favor of people of superior intelligence and ability.
(Those people do exist, and some of them have long distinguished themselves by exemplary public service. However, many of them have been brushed aside by a political culture that rewards loyalty, party, ideology, etc. only and that punishes disagreement.)
One thing that this discussion makes clear is that the prolonged use of fear-mongering tactics has been quite effective. It seems that any number of sheeple are quite wiling to wallow in their fear and surrender their rights without complaint.
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exactly...
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Re: exactly...
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V....is for?
everything starts with the poor, the sick, and the prisoners because nobody gives a F about them.
revolutions don't start by the people NOT having something... they start when the people get a TASTE of something, and then get it taken away from them.
the revolution is brewing my friends, I hope you join us!
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Of course, that does not prevent the government from purchasing access to databases housed by private companies, like ChoicePoint. Until that loophole is closed, government agencies can ask ChoicePoint to create a database made up of any collection of information they choose, and then just create a user account that allows them to access it at any time.
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A state trooper in NY can't even ask about illegal immigration status. Picture ID's to qualify for voting can't be used in some states.
Get a grip, we need better information, not less.
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Nice, you've made a claim.
Now *PROVE* your claim. (Oh wait, you are blowhard, no proof will be forthcomming.)
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