Feds Abused Privacy by Storing Body Scan

[jedi]

but.. but... I though they (feds) said that the images are not stored that they are deleted right away?

SOURCE: Feds Abused Privacy by Storing Body Scan

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The U.S. Marshals Service has admitted to storing body scans of Orlando citizens visiting the federal courthouse.

ZoomAre federal agencies storing images of those scanned by millimeter wave systems or X-ray backscatter devices? Apparently that may be the case even though said federal agencies have insisted that images resulting in body scans are discarded as soon as they are viewed. One agency--the U.S. Marshals Service--has stepped forward, admitting to hording tens of thousands of images recorded at a security checkpoint in a Florida courthouse.

Body scanning devices have been a sore spot for privacy advocates for some time, especially where children are concerned. Typically millimeter wave systems capture fuzzy images but still get the job done, illustrating possible concealed weapons. An X-ray backscatter machine is a bit more thorough, penetrating layers of clothing to render anatomical details best left private.


The privacy debate regarding the use of body scanners was set ablaze two weeks ago when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the Transportation Security Administration's body scanning program would soon incorporate nearly every airport across the nation. This provoked a lawsuit by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), requesting that a federal judge grant an immediate halt on the TSA's scanner rollout.


Tuesday afternoon EPIC received a statement from the Marshals Service relating to a separate lawsuit. The document, written by William Bordley, an associate general counsel with the Marshals Service, admitted that "approximately 35,314 images...have been stored on the Brijot Gen2 machine" located in the Orlando, Florida federal courthouse. Again, these images were supposedly "discarded."


"TSA is not being straightforward with the public about the capabilities of these devices," EPIC executive director Marc Rotenberg told CNET. "This is the Department of Homeland Security subjecting every U.S. traveler to an intrusive search that can be recorded without any suspicion--I think it's outrageous."


EPIC's lawsuit argues that the body scanners violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits "unreasonable" searches. The TSA disagrees, saying that use the machines is perfectly constitutional. Guess we'll see what the judge thinks when both cases are presented.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Feds storing body scan images

If you give government information, any information, it will be misused.

Everyday, in every way, our government gets up and figures out new ways to lie to us. It is beyond disgusting.

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Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images | Privacy Inc. - CNET News

Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images

by Declan McCullagh

TSA's X-ray backscatter scanning with "privacy filter"
(Credit: TSA.gov)
For the last few years, federal agencies have defended body scanning by insisting that all images will be discarded as soon as they're viewed. The Transportation Security Administration claimed last summer, for instance, that "scanned images cannot be stored or recorded."
Now it turns out that some police agencies are storing the controversial images after all. The U.S. Marshals Service admitted this week that it had surreptitiously saved tens of thousands of images recorded with a millimeter wave system at the security checkpoint of a single Florida courthouse.
This follows an earlier disclosure (PDF) by the TSA that it requires all airport body scanners it purchases to be able to store and transmit images for "testing, training, and evaluation purposes." The agency says, however, that those capabilities are not normally activated when the devices are installed at airports.
Body scanners penetrate clothing to provide a highly detailed image so accurate that critics have likened it to a virtual strip search. Technologies vary, with millimeter wave systems capturing fuzzier images, and backscatter X-ray machines able to show precise anatomical detail. The U.S. government likes the idea because body scanners can detect concealed weapons better than traditional magnetometers.
This privacy debate, which has been simmering since the days of the Bush administration, came to a boil two weeks ago when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that scanners would soon appear at virtually every major airport. The updated list includes airports in New York City, Dallas, Washington, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, and Philadelphia.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to grant an immediate injunction pulling the plug on TSA's body scanning program. In a separate lawsuit, EPIC obtained a letter (PDF) from the Marshals Service, part of the Justice Department, and released it on Tuesday afternoon.
These "devices are designed and deployed in a way that allows the images to be routinely stored and recorded, which is exactly what the Marshals Service is doing," EPIC executive director Marc Rotenberg told CNET. "We think it's significant."
William Bordley, an associate general counsel with the Marshals Service, acknowledged in the letter that "approximately 35,314 images...have been stored on the Brijot Gen2 machine" used in the Orlando, Fla. federal courthouse. In addition, Bordley wrote, a Millivision machine was tested in the Washington, D.C. federal courthouse but it was sent back to the manufacturer, which now apparently possesses the image database.
The Gen 2 machine, manufactured by Brijot of Lake Mary, Fla., uses a millimeter wave radiometer and accompanying video camera to store up to 40,000 images and records. Brijot boasts that it can even be operated remotely: "The Gen 2 detection engine capability eliminates the need for constant user observation and local operation for effective monitoring. Using our APIs, instantly connect to your units from a remote location via the Brijot Client interface."

TSA's millimeter wave body scan
(Credit: TSA.gov)
This trickle of disclosures about the true capabilities of body scanners--and how they're being used in practice--is probably what alarms privacy advocates more than anything else.
A 70-page document (PDF) showing the TSA's procurement specifications, classified as "sensitive security information," says that in some modes the scanner must "allow exporting of image data in real time" and provide a mechanism for "high-speed transfer of image data" over the network. (It also says that image filters will "protect the identity, modesty, and privacy of the passenger.")
"TSA is not being straightforward with the public about the capabilities of these devices," Rotenberg said. "This is the Department of Homeland Security subjecting every U.S. traveler to an intrusive search that can be recorded without any suspicion--I think it's outrageous." EPIC's lawsuit says that the TSA should have announced formal regulations, and argues that the body scanners violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits "unreasonable" searches.
TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz told CNET on Wednesday that the agency's scanners are delivered to airports with the image recording functions turned off. "We're not recording them," she said. "I'm reiterating that to the public. We are not ever activating those capabilities at the airport."
The TSA maintains that body scanning is perfectly constitutional: "The program is designed to respect individual sensibilities regarding privacy, modesty and personal autonomy to the maximum extent possible, while still performing its crucial function of protecting all members of the public from potentially catastrophic events

 

[Protest]

There was another instance (but I can't remember where the story is) where a movie or music star was scanned in a body scanner and the image was then printed out and passed around the TSA employees. Again, I don't care who you are, those images should not be saved, but instantly deleted.

 

[jeremy]

When was the last time the Government done something that was good for the People?!

 

[Blackhawk2001]

It all goes back to Ben Franklin's "...you have a Republic...If you can keep it"

 

[jedi]

Sorry Kirk I beat you to this one by 4 mins see here:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...feds_abused_privacy_by_storing_body_scan.html

MODs can you either merge the two or lock one of them please.

IBTL BTW

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Slow on the trigger.

 

[shawkpilot]

Wow, high school educated power trip junkies are abusing their position. I am truely shocked. You are no safer now than you were 10 years ago. Now you just have to go through the hassle of long lines, slow service, and being treated like a felon everytime you need to conduct business or take the family on vacation. Give every pax a gun when the board the flight and see how many hijackings occur. It would be a lot simpler.

 

[4sarge]

There was another instance (but I can't remember where the story is) where a movie or music star was scanned in a body scanner and the image was then printed out and passed around the TSA employees. Again, I don't care who you are, those images should not be saved, but instantly deleted.

Those Images should never be taken

 

[E5RANGER375]

oh, another lie by the govt. how suprising

 

[Naptown]

I bet there are some pretty incriminating databases that someone will someday lose their job over...

 

[Doug]

Remember when they first started using these machines and assured everybody that they had NO STORAGE CAPABILITY and COULD NOT STORE IMAGES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES?
Does the government ever tell the truth?

 

[navarre1095]

Maybe they're just keeping the scans of hot chicks.

 

[Protest]

Those Images should never be taken

Fully agreed. But then, I fly once every 5-10 years, so I don't have to deal with it.

 

[Gabriel]

I have a lot to hide under my clothing.

 

[jedi]

Maybe they're just keeping the scans of hot chicks.

ur discriminating against those that like the same sex u know.

 

[misconfig]

*FAP FAP FAP*

 

[E5RANGER375]

I bet there are some pretty incriminating databases that someone will someday lose their job over...

yeah, its always a little guy who loses his job for something the big fish mandated. s*** rolls down hill, never up

 

[Pami]

merged

 

[jbombelli]

I also remember hearing seatbelt violations would NEVER be used as the primary reason to pull someone over.

The government, no matter which branch, is rarely if ever truthful.