Jet Blue Scandal

[DoctorYO]

haven't seen anyone post on this yet so enjoy...

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60502,00.html


My personal opinion is that caps 2 can be hacked/exploited just like anything else..  MIT proved this...

http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/6805/student-papers/spring02-papers/caps.htm

so the goverments so called system is nothing more than hooplaa on a we did our best syndrome if we have another 9/11...


The downside of this is that while crapping on civil liberties :

The 4th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

We arn't any safer... (MIT report..)

The important part of the 4th amendment is the part about papers.. note papers and data are effectively the same thing...  Hence in my opinion..  and many others sifting thru data with no reason/or warrant  is a clear violation..



The real kicker to this story is who contracted the initial study...  US army? what the hell does the army need civilians Social Security numbers...  Your guess is as good as mine...

Most likely the same reason they are still holding my dna.. Even though im no longer in service with them...

Army may get sued on this on.. anyone who has ever served recently knows the privacy act of 1974.


http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/privstat.htm

Section B is the non approved uses:

Note Definition 8  section B (ii)  " matches performed to support any research or statistical project, the specific data of which may not be used to make decisions concerning the rights, benefits, or privileges of specific
individuals"


(in this case the privilege to enjoy using the airlines...)

Flying is not a right, I would suggest its a privilege like driving a car...


Disclosure:

Note there is a whole bunch of valid reasons to disclose information, I read them all... I personally didn't find any of those reasons that would suggest mishandling civilian Social security numbers...  (who knows maybe I missed it please correct me if I did)  (I did see exemptions for CIA etc.. )  Army, I didn't see your exemption..

Either way Constitution and the 4th amendment is well above any privacy act anyway so any argument is really IMO moot.... just some extra info to prove something is amuck....

In conclusion....


Jet Blue most likely will have a class action brought against it for fraud.. (violating its own privacy policy)

Us Army ? who knows  they most likely will blame the company they contracted and use the scapegoat clause...


Welcome to the new USA (Old usa just like old europe is out....)

Papers Commrade?


My 2 cents


DoctorYo


PS (Im pro america just friendly service announcement to all free thinking americans who enjoy their freedoms..)

(kindly leave the flamethrower on the range...)

[john9001]

i'm not sure i see your point, my name, address, and phone number are in the phone book and the govt already has my SS number, ( they gave it to me).

[fd ski]

i just want to know how much funding that Touch Concepts place got to do some statistics and ****ty level power point presentation....

[gofaster]

They're holding your DNA so Forensics can identify your body after the assassination.  Have you checked your lamps for bugs recently?  What secrets do you know that the government doesn't want to get out?

[DoctorYO]

Gofaster you can do better than wanabee character assassination by trying to imply im saying conspiracy..  its not conspiracy its more like stupidity...

If you have no problem with your information being peddled around by your goverment most likely companies profiting off such information then I ask you why such laws are there in the first place?

A simpleton like yourself most likely cannot construe the reason..  But anyone with alittle wisdom will say in the past  someone abused such information and congress has placed safegaurds to deter those who may misuse your information..

when those safeguards are being trampled on and people like me who know how such information could be used (indentity theft for starters, fastest growing crime in america) get pissed off...

Maybe I expect too much from the weak minded (you)

Gofaster please continue to graze...


Oh if its not such a big deal kindly post all your info to include:

bank statements

Telphone numbers

Social security numbers

Frequent flyer number

to the BBS here..

No one will misuse it (for legal purposes thats satire)

You don't even post what city your in on your bio, why not?

becuase your actions speak louder than  your words...









DoctorYo

[gofaster]

bank statements
Not required by airlines, not provided to airlines.

Telphone numbers
Already publicly available.

Social security numbers
Government already has mine.

Frequent flyer number
Don't have one.


Ok, there ya go.

[gofaster]

I figured I'd better post the story before the URL is erased.

JetBlue Gave Passenger Info to Contractor
2 hours, 4 minutes ago  
 

By BRAD FOSS, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK - Violating its own privacy policy, JetBlue Airways gave 5 million passenger itineraries to a Defense Department contractor that used the information as part of a study seeking ways to identify "high risk" airline customers.


The study, produced by Torch Concepts of Huntsville, Ala., was titled "Homeland Security: Airline Passenger Risk Assessment" and was intended to be a proof-of-concept analysis for a project on military base security.


"This was a mistake on our part," JetBlue chief executive David Neeleman said in an apologetic e-mail sent to angry customers.


Neeleman insisted the data JetBlue provided was not shared with any government agency and that Torch has since destroyed the passenger records. New York-based JetBlue said it has taken steps so the situation will not happen again.


Details of the study and JetBlue's involvement were reported Thursday by Wired.com, which credited privacy activist Bill Scannell for bringing attention to the issue on his Web site, Don't Spy On.Us.


Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, said that by violating its privacy policy, JetBlue could be sued for "deceptive trade practices."


Rotenberg said his organization was contemplating filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.


JetBlue "really should have known better," said Richard M. Smith, an Internet security and privacy consultant based in Cambridge, Mass. Smith said the content of the study raises serious questions about whether it was really aimed at military base security.


"It's basically a prototype for CAPPS II," Smith said, referring to the nationwide computer system being developed by the Transportation Security Administration. The Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, ordered by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks, will check such things as credit reports and consumer transactions and compare passenger names with those on government watch lists.


The TSA, the federal agency in charge of airline and airport security, said Friday it was not involved in the study.


Torch contacted the TSA last summer for airline industry contacts and the agency complied with the request, but "that was the extent of our involvement," TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said.


The Torch study analyzed the records JetBlue provided in September 2002, as well as other demographic data collected about the passengers, including Social Security numbers and information about their finances and families.


The apparent goal of the study, which was presented at a technology conference in February, was to determine the usefulness of combining passengers' travel and personal information in order to create a profiling system that would make air travel more safe.


One conclusion of the study was that "data elements have been identified which best distinguish normal JetBlue passengers from past terrorists."


Neeleman's e-mail said Torch "developed this information into a presentation, without JetBlue's knowledge, for a Department of Homeland Security symposium" and that he was "deeply dismayed to learn of it."


Neeleman said JetBlue provided passengers' names, addresses and phone numbers to Torch after an "exceptional request from the Department of Defense  to assist their contractor, Torch Concepts, with a project regarding military base security."


Torch referred calls to its attorney, Richard Marsden, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

If I read this right, JetBlue just gave them names, addresses, and telephone numbers.  The Soc Sec numbers would probably have come from the government, and then with that piece of info its fairly simply to run a credit report on just about anybody.

[gofaster]

Originally posted by DoctorYO

You don't even post what city your in on your bio, why not?

Almost forgot that part:

I live in Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater/Lutz/Brandon.  Yeah, that's right.  Five cities, two counties.  Since I move around, its easier to just say "Florida".