Security Services Agents Can Reveal Your Private Information

Security Services Agents Can Reveal Your Private Information

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The FBI has recently released a request for a five-year contract to develop a mobile biometric identification software solution for Android devices. The orgainzation already uses an advanced system called Quick Capture Platform (QCP) which allows agents to collect and store fingerprints during internal and international investigations. The software allows capturing biographic and biometric data on cellular phones, storing it and transferring it to the relevant department. It was created in 2007 to be used by FBI rescue teams during operations outside the United States, and since then a need was recognized for a quick collection of data in hostile environments, even inside the U.S.

We all tend to think the government offices are the safest place, both in the physical and the virtual space. However, the recent computer attack in the government office in charge of personnel files, in which 21.5 million social security numbers and biometric information of 1.1 million employees were stolen, raises significant questions. Is it still possible to make sure that sensitive biometric information which security services store are protected from being stolen?

Furthermore, using cellular smartphones to store this sensitive data multiplies the risk of it being exposed, such as with a loss of a device during operation, or a device being stolen. A trained hacker could find a breach in the device itself, making sensitive information ending up in the wrong hands.

The use of this technology in cellular phones expresses a new and complicated relationship between identity and mobility and creates a constant need to redefine the global communication system. The danger of cyber attacks is likely to grow and evolve in time, and as more sensitive information passes through the internet, the more it will require a batter security.

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