Survey Finds U.S. Agencies Engaged in 'Data Mining'
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: May 27, 2004
WASHINGTON, May 26 - A survey of federal agencies has found more than 120 programs that collect and analyze large amounts of personal data on individuals to predict their behavior.
The survey, to be issued Thursday by the General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, found that the practice, known as data mining, was ubiquitous.
In canvassing federal agencies, the accounting office found that 52 were systematically sifting through computer databases. These agencies reported 199 data mining projects, of which 68 were planned and 131 were in operation. At least 122 of the 199 projects used identifying information like names, e-mail addresses, Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers.
The survey provides the first authoritative estimate of the extent of data mining by the government. It excludes most classified projects, so the actual numbers are likely to be much higher.
The Defense Department made greatest use of the technique, with 47 data mining projects to track everything from the academic performance of Navy midshipmen to the whereabouts of ship parts and suspected terrorists.
Hmmm. Since I've sent several bold letters to Senator Lindsay Graham and invited him to visit my web site, ya think they know about me? Ya think all the .gov and .mil domains that visit my site from time to time mean anything?
Nah...but if they want to learn, web logs are where they need to visit.
Bring 'em on.
Posted by Michael Miller at May 27, 2004 08:28 AMSince I've sent several bold letters to Senator Lindsay Graham and invited him to visit my web site, ya think they know about me?
I don't feel like digging out the exact quote, but one ofthe characters in one or the other of Robert Anton Wilson 's "Schrodinger's Cat" trilogy felt his phone was tapped. The narrative voice noted he was one of some 90% of the population that thought their phones were tapped and that it was just a coincidence that he was in the 75% that was correct in their belief.