Federal Daily - July 8, 2008
State Dept. I.G. Recommends Tighter Control of Passport Database
A recent State Department Inspector General (IG) audit of the department’s passport record system
revealed security loopholes and unauthorized viewing of personal information, the IG said. According
to the IG, the abuse occurred without much effort—and the department needs to tighten controls
on access to its passport record system. The IG launched the probe after reports surfaced in March
of State Department employees and contractors accessing the passport files of presidential candidates
Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama. The system—the Passport Information Electronic
Records System (PIERS), in use since 1999—holds records on more than 120 million Americans. The
records contain a wide array of personal information, including the applicant’s name, gender,
social security number, date and place of birth, and passport number. Despite the sensitivity of such
records, PIERS lacks robust controls to secure it against abuse, the report noted. Auditors reviewed
the files of 150 well-known passport holders. Their results found that agency personnel accessed over
85 percent of the sample records a total of 4,148 times—a volume suggesting unauthorized access
of the records, the report said. The IG “found many control weaknesses—including a general
lack of policies, procedures, guidance and training—relating to the prevention and detection
of unauthorized access to passport and applicant information,” the report said. The report called
for 22 specific recommended actions—but most were redacted.
www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/07/106518.htm.
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AFGE Urges DOJ to Beef Up Security at Federal Prisons
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Council of Prison Locals (CPL) called
on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to beef up security at the nation’s understaffed and overcrowded
federal penitentiaries. AFGE made the urgent request for improvements last week in the wake of the
June 20 stabbing death of a prison guard by inmates at a federal institution in California. AFGE asked
DOJ to release emergency funding to hire more guards and take other steps to tighten security, including
issuing to all guards “stab-proof” vests and increasing staffing at high security housing
units for all shifts. AFGE also called for an overhaul of the surveillance camera system to allow guards
in a facility control center to randomly observe prison inmates, in order to better detect indications
of possible violent activities. The unions also asked for better equipment for the guards—such
as non-lethal weaponry like batons, pepper spray and TASER guns. “We need more staff to get the
job done; it’s as simple as that,” said CPL President Bryan Lowry. “A decrease in
staffing levels makes our prisons and communities less safe.” To see more, go to:
www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=868.
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Groundbreaking Held for New National Military Medical Center
President Bush was among dignitaries attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Walter Reed
National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. “At this new center, wounds will be healed,
medical knowledge will be advanced,” President Bush said. “This is a big deal—the
breaking ground of a new joint medical facility for the men and women of our Armed Forces.” The
new facility—projected to open in 2011 at a cost of $970 million, and add or improve 2.5 million
square feet of hospital space—will be formed around a consolidation of the existing Bethesda
Naval Hospital and the old Walter Reed Army Medical Center, whose historic Washington, DC buildings
will close. Most services will be transferred to the combined campus. “Our warriors are our
country’s most important resource and when they return injured or ill from war, we must care
for them without fail,” said Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England. “This new
joint facility will provide America’s heroes and their families the most advanced medical care
in the world.” For more, go to: www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12039
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