Survey finds data mining widespread among agencies

Eight months after Congress killed a controversial Pentagon program to comb through computer records to sniff out suspicious activity, agencies are operating or planning 199 similar efforts, according to a new General Accounting Office report.

Reuters reported that some experts are concerned that these programs, like the Pentagon's former Total Information Awareness program, threaten citizens' privacy. The New York Times reported that the GAO survey (GAO-04-548) determined that 52 agencies have been systematically sifting through computer databases.

Many of the agencies' 199 projects made use of identifying information such as names, e-mail addresses, Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers.

Most of the data-mining efforts were aimed at improving service or the performance of federal programs, GAO found. The Defense Department reported the largest number of such efforts. The Education Department reported the most efforts centered around detecting waste, fraud and abuse. NASA had the largest number of programs aimed at analyzing scientific and research information.

Of the federal efforts currently in operation, 54 involve mining data from the private sector, such as credit reports or credit card transactions. Another 77 involve examining information from other federal agencies -- including personal data such as student loan application information and bank account numbers.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, who requested the report, said, "The government collects and uses Americans' personal information and shares it with other agencies to an astonishing degree, raising serious privacy concerns."