Feds: Homeland Security project didn't protect privacy

Anyone shocked by this?

Millions of people's data is floating around out there in data bases all over the world. Don't be surprised if there is someone using your name in Nigeria and you wind up on a no travel list..

[print version] Feds: Homeland Security project didn't protect privacy CNET News.com:

A Department of Homeland Security program that linked details on millions of air travelers with profiles drawn from commercial databases was plagued by 'privacy missteps' that misled the public, a new government report concludes.

The Transportation Security Agency, operating under the auspices of Homeland Security, had publicly pledged two years ago--in official notices describing the Secure Flight program--that it 'will not receive' or have access to dossiers on American travelers compiled by a Beltway contractor.

That promise turned out to be untrue, according to a report published Friday by DHS' privacy office. The commercial data 'made its way directly to TSA, contrary to the express statements in the fall privacy notices about the Secure Flight program,' the report says.

The report, and a second one critiquing a government database called Matrix, was released on the last business day before Christmas, a tactic that federal agencies and publicly traded companies sometimes use to avoid drawing attention to critical findings. Neither report appears on the DHS.gov or TSA.gov home pages, or even on the home page of the DHS privacy office, but rather was linked to from a subpage on the DHS privacy site.