FBI Combines Civil & Criminal Fingerprints into One Searchable Databas

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Member since 08 May 2013

gardener1Serial expat22 September 2015 01:02:11

675

September 18, 2015 |
With Little Fanfare, FBI Ramps Up Biometrics Programs (Yet Again)—Part 1

FBI Combines Civil and Criminal Fingerprints into One Fully Searchable Database

Being a job seeker isn’t a crime. But the FBI has made a big change in how it deals with fingerprints that might make it seem that way. For the first time, fingerprints and biographical information sent to the FBI for a background check will be stored and searched right along with fingerprints taken for criminal purposes.

The change, which the FBI revealed quietly in a February 2015 Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), means that if you ever have your fingerprints taken for licensing or for a background check, they will most likely end up living indefinitely in the FBI’s NGI database. They’ll be searched thousands of times a day by law enforcement agencies across the country—even if your prints didn’t match any criminal records when they were first submitted to the system.

This is the first time the FBI has allowed routine criminal searches of its civil fingerprint data. Although employers and certifying agencies have submitted prints to the FBI for decades, the FBI says it rarely retained these non-criminal prints. And even when it did retain prints in the past, they “were not readily accessible or searchable.” Now, not only will these prints—and the biographical data included with them—be available to any law enforcement agent who wants to look for them, they will be searched as a matter of course along with all prints collected for a clearly criminal purpose (like upon arrest or at time of booking).

This change will impact a broad swath of Americans. It’s not just prospective police officers or childcare workers who have to submit to fingerprint background checks. In Texas, for example, you’ll need to give the government your prints if you want to be an engineer, doctor, realtor, stockbroker, attorney, or even an architect. The California Department of Justice says it submits 1.2 million sets of civil prints to the FBI annually. And, since 1953, all jobs with the federal government have required a fingerprint check—not just for jobs requiring a security clearance, but even for part-time food service workers, student interns, designers, customer service representatives, and maintenance workers.

Read the rest here:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/09/l … ain-part-1

gardener1 Serial expat

Member since 08 May 2013

gardener1Serial expat24 September 2015 04:13:47

675

The hackers are winning.

5.6 million fingerprints stolen in U.S. personnel data hack: government

Wed Sep 23, 2015

Hackers who stole security clearance data on millions of Defense Department and other U.S. government employees got away with about 5.6 million fingerprint records, some 4.5 million more than initially reported, the government said on Wednesday.

The additional stolen fingerprint records were identified as part of an ongoing analysis of the data breach by the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Defense, OPM said in a statement. The data breach was discovered this spring and affected security clearance records dating back many years.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/ … =applenews

gardener1 Serial expat

Member since 08 May 2013

gardener1Serial expat24 September 2015 04:20:46

675

And speaking of hacking, you might enjoy this story as well from Mexico - An entire ATM company owned by hackers, Intacash, with at least 70 free standing ATM machines, including one in the airport.

Tracking a Bluetooth Skimmer Gang in Mexico
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/09/trac … in-mexico/

Tracking Bluetooth Skimmers in Mexico, Part II
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/09/trac … /#comments

Who’s Behind Bluetooth Skimming in Mexico?
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/09/whos … in-mexico/

mugtech ViP

Member since 08 September 2012

mugtechViP24 September 2015 10:57:48

4435

gardener1 wrote:
And speaking of hacking, you might enjoy this story as well from Mexico - An entire ATM company owned by hackers, Intacash, with at least 70 free standing ATM machines, including one in the airport.

Tracking a Bluetooth Skimmer Gang in Mexico
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/09/trac … in-mexico/

Tracking Bluetooth Skimmers in Mexico, Part II
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/09/trac … /#comments

Who’s Behind Bluetooth Skimming in Mexico?
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/09/whos … in-mexico/

Not like anyone needed another reason to avoid Mexico and/or ATMs.

gardener1 Serial expat

Member since 08 May 2013

gardener1Serial expat24 September 2015 11:21:52

675

^That's really part of my point.

If one moves to Ecuador and applies for a permanent residency visa, it can take months of documentation and paperwork before one is allowed the privilege of an actual bank account.

Meanwhile you have to live off of ATM withdrawals.

gardener1 Serial expat

Member since 08 May 2013

gardener1Serial expat24 September 2015 11:29:20

675

And Mugs if you didn't read those Mexico articles (they were kind of long) the hacker brains in charge of the operation weren't Mexican.

The very same people could do this anywhere.

mugtech ViP

Member since 08 September 2012

mugtechViP24 September 2015 11:33:51

4435

gardener1 wrote:
And Mugs if you didn't read those Mexico articles (they were kind of long) the hacker brains in charge of the operation weren't Mexican.

The very same people could do this anywhere.

I agree it could happen anywhere, but it is more likely in such a place.

GMC(SW) Serial expat

Member since 29 November 2013

GMC(SW)Serial expat27 November 2015 21:23:44

258

The U.S. Military began a biometric system of identification in the late 1990's.

They transitioned from the standard horizontal green I.D. card, to a vertical, white card with a chip in it. The same chip you see in credit and debit cards now. The green card is still in use for Retired members.

When I got mine I remember, fingerprints, blood test etc. There was even talk of a chip implant.... That would have been a deal breaker for me.

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