Nathan Strout reports:
NOAA Fisheries wants to create a new national database to collect private and public information – including vehicle registrations, phone records, social media accounts, and more – to help its law-enforcement division conduct investigations.
The agency issued a notice in late June seeking contractors capable of building the new system. Companies currently have until 12 July to submit capability statements to NOAA Fisheries as they prepare an official solicitation.
The database would be a centralized, searchable repository of information from public and proprietary sources, including vehicle and watercraft registrations; phone records; utility hookup records; business data; court documents and criminal records; credit header information from the major credit reporting bureaus; social media accounts; and news articles.
Read more at SeafoodSource.
This seems obscene. What justifies creating yet another expensive database that will likely be inadequately secured and eventually hacked? NOAA does investigate and seek to protect marine resources, and that’s great, but other than watercraft registration, how is what they need any different than other already-available databases to law enforcement?
Can someone provide a real justification for this proposal?
h/t, Joe Cadillic