[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 150 (Friday, August 5, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45408-45409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15488]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary


Public Workshop: Privacy and Technology: Government Use of 
Commercial Data for Homeland Security

AGENCY: Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Notice announcing public workshop.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office will host a 
public workshop, ``Privacy and Technology: Government Use of Commercial 
Data for Homeland Security,'' to explore the policy, legal, and 
technology issues associated with the government's use of personally 
identifiable commercial data in protecting the homeland.

DATES: The workshop will be held on September 8, 2005, from 8 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m. and on September 9, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The Privacy and Technology Workshop will be held in the 
auditorium at the DHS Offices at the GSA Regional Headquarters Building 
located at 7th and D Streets, SW., Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Toby Milgrom Levin, Robyn Kaplan, 
Kenneth Mortensen, or Peter Sand at Privacy Workshop, Privacy Office, 
Department of Homeland Security, Arlington, VA 22202, by telephone 571-
227-3813, by facsimile 571-227-4171, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Workshop Goals

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Privacy Office is holding

[[Page 45409]]

a public workshop to explore the policy, legal, and technology issues 
surrounding the government's use of personally identifiable commercial 
data for homeland security. The program will include a broad range of 
experts and perspectives, including representatives from academia, 
business leaders, privacy advocates, legal experts, technologists, and 
policy leaders. In addition to the panel discussions, time will be 
allotted during the workshop for questions and comments from the 
audience that may be directed to each panel.

Reason for the Workshop

    The government's use of technology to access and analyze vast 
amounts of personally identifiable data collected by companies and data 
aggregators raises important privacy concerns. The DHS Privacy Office 
is holding this workshop to inform the Privacy Office, DHS, and the 
public about the policy, legal, and technology issues surrounding the 
government's access and use of such information for counterterrorism 
and how to protect privacy given the government's need for better data 
analysis.
    Commercially available personal information ranges from directory 
information, such as individual names, addresses, and telephone 
numbers, to records of retail purchases, including travel, insurance, 
and financial data, to public record information obtained from Federal, 
state, and local offices, including court documents, professional 
licenses, and property records.
    A number of reports have been issued urging that the government 
adopt standards for using such information for intelligence analysis, 
including the Department of Defense, Technology and Privacy Advisory 
Committee (TAPAC) Report and the two reports of the Markle Foundation's 
Task Force on National Security in the Information Age.\1\ This 
workshop is intended to provide a forum for considering such standards 
as well as for examining whether and how information technology and 
commercial data can help improve national security. Finally, the 
workshop will look at technologies to aid in data analysis and 
information management that are more privacy protective.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Technology and Privacy Advisory Commission, Safeguarding 
Privacy in the Fight Against Terrorism (2004) available at http://www.sainc.com/tapac/finalreport.htm; Markle Foundation, Task Force 
on National Security in the Information Age, Creating a Trusted 
Information Network for Homeland Security (2003); Markle Foundation, 
Task Force on National Security in the Information Age, Protecting 
American's Freedom in the Information Age (2002). The Markle reports 
are available at http://www.markle.org.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Workshop

    The program will begin with a discussion of how government agencies 
are using personally identifiable commercial data in homeland security. 
Among the questions that we may examine are: What types of personally 
identifiable commercial data are being used; what are the benefits of 
using such data; what commercial data is needed to help identify 
terrorists; can commercial data be used to reduce the incidence of 
false positives, and if so, what data is needed to do so; and how 
accurate is commercial data for such purposes.
    The second topic will address the privacy and legal issues raised 
by government use of commercial data. This panel will explore the 
adequacy of current laws, particularly the Privacy Act of 1974, to 
protect against government abuses when using commercial data. The panel 
will also examine the privacy implications of government's use of 
commercial data and whether there should be any limitations or 
protections. The panel may also discuss whether there are international 
laws and standards that can provide models for protecting privacy in 
this context.
    The third panel will focus on current and developing technologies 
to aid the government in analyzing data for homeland security. This 
panel will examine the technologies government agencies are using to 
access and process data and whether such uses raise privacy concerns. 
The panel may also discuss how to evaluate the quality of such 
technologies, the accuracy of the underlying data, and whether further 
research is needed before agencies invest in such technologies.
    The fourth panel will examine how technology can help protect 
individual privacy while enabling government agencies to analyze data. 
This panel will review privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) that 
enable data analysis without disclosing the identity of individuals by 
using de-identified or anonymized data. In addition, the technologists 
will discuss how matching, linking, and knowledge discovery can be done 
in a more privacy-sensitive manner.
    The final panel will build on the discussion of the previous panels 
to develop a recommended roadmap for DHS on building privacy 
protections into information programs that use commercial data. This 
closing panel will discuss options concerning privacy protective rules 
and standards DHS can adopt without waiting for changes in law. The 
panel may also consider how technology can be used as a governance tool 
to ensure that the agency's privacy polices are implemented.

Registration Information

    The workshop is open to the public and there is no fee for 
attendance. For general security purposes, all attendees will be 
required to show a valid form of photo identification, such as a 
driver's license, to enter the building.
    The Privacy Office will accept registration for this workshop. 
Registration is not necessary to attend, but is encouraged so that we 
may better plan this event. To register, please send an e-mail to the 
e-mail box for the workshop, [email protected], indicating your 
intent to attend. The Privacy Office will not retain your e-mail or e-
mail address. For additional information, including routine uses 
permitted by the Privacy Act, see the DHS Privacy Policy on the DHS Web 
site at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/privacy.jsp.
    The Privacy Office will post additional information about the 
workshop, including a detailed agenda, on the DHS Privacy Office Web 
site at http://www.dhs.gov/privacy prior to the event. A transcript of 
the workshop will be posted shortly after the workshop.

    Dated: July 25, 2005.
Nuala O'Connor Kelly,
Chief Privacy Officer Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 05-15488 Filed 8-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-10-P