Quantcast

Privacy Expert Joins Homeland Security Office

Officer will examine the potential problems of cybersecurity plans.

Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service

  • 0 Yes
  • 0 No

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has appointed former DoubleClick executive Nuala O'Conner Kelly as its new privacy officer, in charge of making sure that the technologies used by the department do not erode citizens' privacy.

The appointment was announced Wednesday by Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, following some speculation by privacy advocates as to when the required post would be filled.

The Homeland Security Department was created last year in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has been armed with a wide variety of technologies aimed at detecting and preventing terrorist activities.

According to Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the appointment of a privacy officer is required by law, and some privacy advocates were concerned that the post had not yet been filled.

Privacy Protections

The new department has already taken on initiatives seen as privacy threats by civil libertarians, such as passenger profiling systems and electronic surveillance powers under the Homeland Security Act.

The role of a privacy officer is to assure that the technologies used by the department do not erode privacy protections.

O'Conner Kelly previously held the post of privacy officer at the U.S. Department of Commerce and was vice president of data protection and chief privacy officer at online marketing company DoubleClick.

Rotenberg said that his group believes O'Conner Kelly's first steps should be to address an expanded passenger profiling proposal, dubbed CAPPS II, ensure that the expanded electronic surveillance provisions in the Homeland Security Act have a sunset clause, and closely examine whether commercial sector databases should be accessed by the federal government.

  • Recommend this story?
  • 0 Yes
    0 No

Print 65% more pages than with refilled inks. Trust Original HP Inks. Hit Print Reliably.

Featured APC Accessories For Your System
10% Off Entire Cart at Online Store

  • APC Back-UPS ES Safeguards your equipment from damaging surges and spikes that travel along your utility & data lines.
  • APC SurgeArrest Performance Highest level of protection for your professional computers, electronics and connected devices, as well as provides surge protection.

People who read this also read:

  • 2007 Microsoft Office Suites Comparison This paper compares and contrasts four suites of the 2007 Microsoft Office system: Microsoft Office Standard 2007, Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007, Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 and Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007. This paper is intended to help organizations understand the applications and capabilities offered, and to identify the suite that best fits their needs.
  • Windows Vista Migration: The Business Proposition It's not so much a matter of "if" but "when" for most organizations regarding migration to Windows Vista. Laying the groundwork now for this migration can yield higher ROI than waiting until later. This Computerworld Technology Briefing explains it all.

PC World's Marketplace