Security breach at the Pentagon

George Jenkins blogs in detail about a huge security breach at the Pentagon last year.

It makes you wonder: if data at the Pentagon, of all places, can't be kept secure, then how can anyone reasonably expect that information held in databases for the Real ID national identity card, or at the Fusion Centers, will be any less vulnerable?

Press Release: Ellsberg, Maddow to headline ACLU of Mass. Membership Conference

Amid 2008 election season, gathering will focus on "Reclaiming Our Civil Liberties," Saturday at Bentley College

BOSTON -- More than 300 people from Cape Cod to the Berkshires plan to attend the first annual membership conference of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, this Saturday, January 26, 2008, at Bentley College in Waltham. The conference theme is "Reclaiming Our Civil Liberties."

WHAT: ACLU Membership Conference: Reclaiming Our Civil Liberties
WHERE: Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts, Lindsay Hall, 1st Floor
WHEN: January 26, 2008, 12–6 pm

Speakers include Daniel Ellsberg, the writer, activist, and former U.S. military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers in 1971, and Rachel Maddow, the Air America host and frequent commentator on networks such as MSNBC, CNN, and LOGO. Ellsberg will speak on "2008 and Beyond: What will it take to end the abuse of power?" Maddow's speech is entitled "Don't Wait for November '08!"

The conference also features ten workshops:

• Moving Beyond the War on Drugs
  
• Confronting the Surveillance Society: Real ID, NSA Spying, Warrantless Wiretapping, and Fusion Centers
  
• Torture, Rendition and Guantánamo
  
• Next Steps for LGBT Rights
  
• Freedom of Speech and Association in the Post 9/11 World
  
• Racial, Ethnic & Religious Profiling in the Post 9/11 World
  
• Ensuring Reproductive Freedom
  
• Which Way Forward for the Immigrant Rights Movement?
  
• Blogging for Civil Liberties
  
• Building and Sustaining Strong Student Groups
  

"Many of us concerned about the abuses of power we've seen in our country in recent years are focused on the 2008 elections. That's important, but for our conference this year, we've chosen to focus on specific issues and what individual people can do about them," said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "The erosion of our civil liberties has been so severe that it is unlikely that the next president and Congress alone will be able to undo the damage. We need the sustained involvement of concerned, committed citizens, and that is what the ACLU is working to develop."

Press Release: ACLU of Massachusetts Raises Concern About Latest Demonstration of Personal Data Vulnerability

Reported hacking of MassHealth web site illustrates problems with Fusion Center, Real ID

BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts today voiced concern over reported hacking of the state's MassHealth website. On Wednesday, a hacker reportedly infiltrated the site and put up an unauthorized message.

"Though in this case there seems to be no evidence that personal information has been compromised, the hacking of an important state website is yet another illustration of a serious problem," said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts.

"We know that databases of personal information are a fact of modern life, but a long string of security breaches -- notably the TJX breach, as well as examples in both the private and public sector of missing laptops and storage media with thousands of people's personal information -- shows the extreme care that must be taken with personal data," said Rose.

The ACLU of Massachusetts remains highly concerned about security at the Commonwealth Fusion Center -- a massive government data-collection and sharing center in Maynard, Massachusetts -- as well as security for the proposed Real ID national identity card, which would create vast new databases of personal information, including Social Security numbers.

The Fusion Center, established by Governor Romney in 2005, has access to personal information about Massachusetts residents from both public and private sources, yet is subject to no regulation or oversight. Real ID has been criticized as a civil liberties nightmare that violates fundamental privacy rights, and as prohibitively expensive and unwieldy.

“These databases are treasure troves for identity thieves, they are vulnerable to misuse, and to date we have no reason to believe that appropriate safeguards exist or will be put into place," said Rose.

For more information about the Fusion Center, see:
http://www.aclum.org/news/ACLUM_12_12_07_Fusion_Centers.pdf

For more information about Real ID, see:
http://www.realnightmare.org/

Press Release: ACLU of Massachusetts Calls on Gov. Patrick to Reject Real ID Act

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts calls on Governor Deval Patrick to protect American values and reject the federal Real ID Act – a law that would create the first internal passport system in American history and endanger the privacy rights of all Massachusetts residents.

The Department of Homeland Security today issued its final regulations for the implementation of the Real ID Act, which Congress passed in May 2005 with no debate.

Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said the regulations don’t fix the problems with the REAL ID and urged Governor Patrick to stand firmly against implementing the national identity card scheme in Massachusetts.

“REAL ID is a threat to Americans’ privacy and is guaranteed to be a budget-buster for the state,” said Rose. “The new regulations do not fix the substantial threats this law poses to the privacy, freedoms and pocketbooks of Massachusetts residents. Governor Patrick must stand up for American values, protect our privacy and reject the Real ID Act once and for all.”

The Real ID Act attempts to set federal standards for the issuance and appearance of state driver’s licenses and identification cards, but it goes much further. Driver’s licenses and ID cards would have to meet these standards to be accepted for “official purposes” by federal agencies, which would include boarding a commercial aircraft, entering federal facilities such as federal courthouses, and any other purposes the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security determines are necessary.

The law places no limits on whether in the future the government would require REAL ID for other uses. In time, Real IDs could be required to vote, collect a Social Security check, open a bank account, go to a Red Sox game, or access Medicaid. The private sector could begin mandating a Real ID to perform countless commercial and financial activities, such as renting a DVD or buying car insurance. Real ID cards would become a necessity, making them de facto national IDs.

If implemented, the Real ID Act could establish an enormous electronic infrastructure that government and law enforcement officials – or whoever else hacks in – could use to track Americans’ activities and movements. This vast network of interlinking databases would contain enormous amounts of Americans’ personal information – such as Social Security numbers, photos and copies of birth certificates – and would be accessible to federal and RMV employees across the 50 states and U.S. territories. In time, information captured could be used by the government and corporations to develop detailed profiles of people’s daily activities.

To date, seventeen states have rejected Real ID outright. Seven states passed binding legislation to stop Real ID (Georgia, Maine, New Hampshire, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington), and 10 additional states have passed resolutions registering their dissent (Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, North Dakota, Nebraska, Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Hawaii and Missouri).

“Executive Office of Public Safety Secretary Kevin Burke and Registry of Motor Vehicles Registrar Anne L. Collins warned in testimony before a state legislative committee last June about high cost, impracticality, and hassles for RMV consumers in Massachusetts stemming from REAL ID,” said Rose. “Registrar Collins testified that ‘We’re looking at a hundred million dollars in year one for Massachusetts.’”

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley also has spoken out against the REAL ID Act.

“Massachusetts should decline to participate in this unfunded federal mandate and we certainly should not even begin to budget for implementing Real ID in Massachusetts,” Rose added.

To learn more about the Real ID Act or read about its history, visit http://www.realnightmare.org

To find out what you can do in Massachusetts, visit: http://www.aclum.org/issues/realid/say_no_to_real_id.pdf

News: New Rules for Driver's Licenses Unveiled

WCVB-TV in Boston ran this story about Real ID today, and cited the ACLU.

Real IDentity theft

Whenever we talk about Real ID, the coming U.S. internal passport, we talk about the ways in which Real ID raises the risk of identity theft. Real ID will require the creation of massive new government databases of personal information, including Social Security numbers. Serious security breaches could compromise the data of pretty much everyone in the country.

To find out more about identity theft itself, check out the Massachusetts-based blog I've Been Mugged, named for the initials of its creator's former employer. IBM lost and exposed George Jenkins' personal information, and inspired him to start blogging about the issue.

Oops

Tech blog "The Boy Genius Report" reports that Home Depot has lost a laptop in Massachusetts containing personal information, including Social Security numbers, for 10,000 of its employees.

Meanwhile, the Providence Journal reports that two Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles employees have been arrested for allegedly falsifying ID cards for drug dealers.

I don't mean to take advantage of unfortunate and problematic situations, but all of this helps make our point that the coming Real ID internal passport could be a nationwide bonanza for identity thieves when there is a security breach -- and that terrorists might still be able to get fake IDs, if they even need them.

Blog: 450,000 Social Security numbers on the loose

This is why we think collecting EVVeryone's information for the Real ID national identity card is a bad idea...

Press Release: ACLU Constitution Day Tonight Features National Speakers, Release of Congressional Civil Liberties Scorecard

BOSTON - Today, the ACLU presents its Constitution Day program, "Standing Up To The PATRIOT Act, Rolling Back Real ID: How Can We Reclaim Our Civil Liberties?" The event will take place in the Rabb Lecture Hall of the Boston Public Library, Copley Square, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The event features three nationally known speakers:

* Barbara Bailey, Director of the Wellesley-Turner Memorial Library in Connecticut, who is one of only four people in the country who can talk about being served with a National Security Letter -- out of more than 200,000 who have been permanently gagged after getting a National Security Letter from the FBI;

* Mike German, a former Special Agent with the FBI, who infiltrated domestic right-wing terror groups and later blew the whistle on the FBI's counter-terrorism operations;

* Tim Sparapani, national ACLU Legislative Counsel, who focuses on protecting privacy and opposing abuses of government power.

In addition, the event will feature a preview clip from a not-yet-released Robert Greenwald Executive Productions film on Government Spying.

The ACLU is also releasing a Congressional Scorecard, a detailed look at how members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation have voted on 11 key "Abuse of Power" issues in the Senate and 10 in the House. The Scorecard includes a lifetime score from the ACLU on civil liberties issues, and highlights the bills that members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation have been leaders on, by sponsoring or co-sponsoring important legislation.

The Scorecard includes a lifetime score from the ACLU on civil liberties issues, and highlights the legislation that members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation have been leaders on, as sponsors or co-sponsors.

Constitution Day celebrates the rights established by the U.S. Constitution, adopted on September 17, 1787.

Editorial: A real bad ID law

Following up on a previous editorial in March, the Boston Globe on Sunday ran another strong piece against the Real ID national identity card.

State Sen. Moore's "Tea Party"

Bravo to Massachusetts state Senator Richard Moore. The Boston Globe reported yesterday that he symbolically dumped the Real ID Act into Boston Harbor as part of a new Boston Tea Party.

We're making our own plans to "dump Real ID." Stay tuned...

News: Tiny tags have big impact on business, society

The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune published this story on RFID, the tracking technology planned for use in the coming Real ID national identity card. The story quotes Barry Steinhardt, director of the national ACLU's Technology and Liberty Program. Steinhardt says:

“We’re really on the verge of creating a surveillance society in America, where every movement, every action — some would even claim, our very thoughts — will be tracked, monitored, recorded and correlated.”

Are Passports Becoming National IDs?

As I was waiting in line at the CVS in Porter Square, I saw the following alarming sign:

It seemed to me that the pharmaceutical giant is trying to cash in on the Department of Homeland Security’s new passport requirements. Since January, “U.S. citizens and citizens of Canada, Mexico and Bermuda traveling by air between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda [have been] required to present a valid passport to enter (or re-enter) the U.S.”

Not surprisingly, this new policy has resulted in a “flood of passport applications” and “long delays”. In response to this holdup, the government agreed to allow citizens who have completed passport applications, but have not received passports, to travel to certain countries until September 30. But do Americans need passports for trips within the United States? Nope—and according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the majority of flights are domestic, not international. Of course, this flight data refutes the notion that “most travel” requires a passport.

Nevertheless, these new requirements may be baby steps in the federal government’s move toward a national ID card. Under the Real ID Act, which is scheduled to take effect next year, states must adopt stringent new requirements for their state licenses and other IDs. The new IDs would be used to “track and control individuals’ movements and activities,” would result in costly administrative burdens for state motor vehicle departments, and would be ineffective against terrorism, among other problems.

If a state refused to change its identification laws to comply with the Act, the state’s IDs would not be accepted for domestic flights; its residents would need to obtain passports or remain on the ground. In other words, the Act is a backdoor way for the government to create a national database of all plane travelers. The ACLU has warned that the record system developed for these IDs:

will inevitably, over time, become the repository for more and more data on individuals, and will be drawn on for an ever-wider set of purposes. Its standardized machine-readable interface will drive its integration into an ever-growing network of identity checks and access control points – each of which will create new data trails that will in turn be linked to that central database or its private-sector shadow equivalent.

Seventeen states have already refused to adopt the Real ID Act’s provisions. Massachusetts should join them in their stand against this expensive and unwarranted law. Even better, the U.S. Congress should repeal the Act to avoid the dangers noted above and another flood of passport applications.

Big Brother isn’t watching every move you make—yet.

Op-Ed: Real ID: Real Nightmare

In advance of an expected US Senate vote this week on Real ID, an op-ed by Carol Rose, ACLUM's Executive Director, appears in today's Patriot Ledger.

Day of Action

Many of us are participating in the Day of Action down here in DC, or ACLUM's events in Boston and Worcester. We'll be letting you know how it goes!

Blog: Globe blasts 'Real ID' internal passport

Lively discussion of Real ID at Blue Mass Group after anti-Real ID editorial appeared in the Globe on March 20, 2007.

Editorial: Real ID, unrealistic law

The Boston Globe says plans for the coming national identity card should be scrapped, and mentions the ACLU's opposition: Real ID, unrealistic law.

News: New Hampshire considers rejecting Real ID

The Boston Globe reports New Hampshire could become one of the next states to reject the deeply flawed Real ID national identity card.

Press Release: ACLU of Massachusetts Calls for Rejection of Real ID

BOSTON – The ACLU of Massachusetts today called for Massachusetts to join the growing number of states considering rejection of the flawed “Real ID” national identity card program.

Under the Real ID Act passed by Congress in 2005 as part of a military appropriations bill, state drivers licenses will not be acceptable for federal ID purposes, such as getting on an airplane or entering a federal courthouse, unless the state complies with federal requirements. A bill pending before the Massachusetts legislature would block implementation of the federal statute in the Commonwealth.

“Real ID’s creation of a centralized database of personal information on virtually every American is a potential treasure-trove for identity thieves and a serious threat to civil liberties,” said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “We call upon the Massachusetts legislature and Governor Patrick to stand firm against this unfunded federal mandate.

“This plan threatens to create a society in which ‘Your papers, please’ becomes a method of control that we typically associate with the former East German Stasi or South Africa under apartheid,” added Rose. “Real ID is a real nightmare.”

Draft regulations for the federal legislation were released yesterday by the Dept. of Homeland Security, offering an extension until the end of 2009 for states to comply with the creation of the national ID card—but failing to address serious privacy and civil liberties concerns and still imposing billions in costs on states.

“The draft regulations do not allay our concern because the plan still makes personal data extraordinarily vulnerable to misuse and identity theft, yet does little to create real security,” said Rose.

The Real ID legislation requires states to completely rework their systems for issuing drivers licenses at significant cost, and mandates that anyone seeking a drivers license produce documents such as birth certificates to apply for, or renew, their ID card, and to have those documents verified by state vital records offices.

“This is a budget-buster for Massachusetts that, if implemented, will cost taxpayers millions of dollars,” said Rose. “Worse yet, it will create a tremendous headache for anyone who wants a drivers license because it effectively creates an internal federal pass system controlled and regulated by civil servants at the local RMV offices.”

Moreover, Real ID will do little to prevent identity theft or terrorism, as proponents claim. “Victims of identity theft may be doubly victimized by REAL ID requirements because they will be unable to readily obtain replacement drivers licenses if the required paperwork is stolen or lost,” said Rose.

Across the country, state legislatures are mobilizing to stop Real ID. In Massachusetts, Senator Richard Moore has introduced a bill to block Real ID from being implemented. Last January, Maine became the first state to reject participation in the Real ID Act. Proposals against Real ID have also passed one chamber in eight state legislatures, and similar bills refusing to implement REAL ID have been introduced in at least a dozen others.

“Congress should pursue proposals like the Akaka-Sununu bill or the Allen bill to restore privacy protections,” said Rose. “And every person in Massachusetts should call upon their state legislator to support Senator Moore’s bill to stop REAL ID from being implemented in Massachusetts.”

More information on Real ID is available from the national ACLU at www.realnightmare.org.