July 8, 2004 - E-Pass McLean

A Balancing Act - Security vs. Privacy

The aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center is proof of the high vulnerability of America’s infrastructure to terrorist attacks and the massive consequences that can follow such an attack.  While the terrorists were able to utilize deficiencies in America’s overall approach to security, similar vulnerabilities exist in many of the infrastructures vital to the economy, the personal security of its citizens and, indeed, the very survival of the nation.

By intentionally targeting citizens in New York and Washington, the terrorists signaled that their war against the United States would no longer be confined to overseas targets involving embassies and servicemen as were aboard the USS Cole.  Terrorists now have a new goal: they would take their war to our shores by killing as many citizens as possible by any means available.  Their goal is no less than to destroy America.  The age of terrorism brought a new form of warfare that put all Americans on notice of our own vulnerability.

Striking at the very heart of the American homeland, it was a new form of total war in the age of terrorism, and it put all Americans on notice that the United States is vulnerable and that new means are urgently needed to strengthen the security of the homeland. 

While all Americans are concerned with maintaining national security, the actions taken by our governmental, private, and public organizations must also be mindful of concerns for preserving civil liberties and privacy rights that all Americans cherish. 

No doubt, securing the United States against terrorist attacks is a difficult yet critical task. However, privacy, civil liberty and fairness concerns built into any information gathering and sharing technology must earn the trust and be consistent with the values of the public.

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution reads in part; “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated .…”

The challenge then is to provide the security Americans want and deserve without sacrificing the liberties that are the foundation of our democracy.

By any measure, the task of implementing greater security while maintaining privacy rights is a balancing act that will require the utmost skill in implementing.

Dozens of words and acronyms, some perhaps new to most of the public, have been coined since 9-11.  They represent organizations, programs and technologies all with the objective of increasing security: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT Program), chip cards, biometric identifiers such as iris and thumb scans, Terrorist Information Awareness (TIA), National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS), etc.  Essential to the effective operation of all these and many more organizations and programs is confidence in a form of identification that provides the best assurance that an individual is who he says he is.

It is here that e-pass technology is most effective, providing secure identity without sacrificing privacy.