SPYING: Sites Like Travelocity Turning Over Full Credit Card Numbers, IP Addresses Of Users To Feds.
The 76 new pages of data, covering 2005 through 2013, show that CBP retains massive amounts of data on us when we travel internationally. My own PNRs include not just every mailing address, e-mail, and phone number I’ve ever used; some of them also contain:
The IP address that I used to buy the ticket
My credit card number (in full)
The language I used
Notes on my phone calls to airlines, even for something as minor as a seat changeThe breadth of long-term data retention illustrates yet another way that the federal government enforces its post-September 11 “collect it all” mentality.
They’re really good at spying on us. But they can’t even stop a terrorist when the Russians warn us in advance and they send people to do an interview. Plus:
“Why isn’t the government complying with even the most basic cybersecurity standards?” Cate said. “Storing and transmitting credit card numbers without encryption has been found by the Federal Trade Commission to be so obviously dangerous as to be ‘unfair’ to the public. Why do transportation security officials not comply with even these most basic standards?”
Because they don’t have to. And nobody will lose his/her job over this, unless I miss my guess.