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Fight Against Identity Theft Is Crucial to National Security and Fight Against Terrorism
July 11, 2007
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The Associated Press recently reported that according to a government report obtained Tuesday July 10, the FBI's search for terrorists includes searching records about Identity Theft. Such information, along with other information, is being mined, creating "a new database to assess the risk posed by people identified as potential or suspected terrorists." It should not be surprising that an integral part of the fight against terrorism should be the scrutiny and investigation of cases of Identity Theft. The second largest terrorist attack in U.S. history, the bombing of Alfred P. Murray Federal building in downtown Oklahoma City in 1995, which resulted in 168 deaths, was committed by Timothy McVeigh. Although at his time of arrest, Timothy McVeigh presented his real name, he had previously used an alias in preparation for committing his crime. He had rented the Van used in the explosion under the name of Robert Kling. Similarly, it was reported by the BBC and other media that the identities of some of the September 11 World Trade Center bombing, which occurred in New York City in 2001, resulting in about 2,646 U.S. casualties, were possibly stolen identities. The BBC reported on September 23, 2001 (For article, click here) that the identities of four of the suspects were in doubt. According to the BBC, FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged that the identity of several of the suicide hijackers was in doubt. According to a Wikipedia link to an LA Times story, one of the suspects was reported to have been a robbery victim in 1995, where his passport and other official documents were stolen. |
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The use of fake identities, stolen identities and aliases for the purpose of committing a crime, whether a terrorist attack or not, is a practise which is centuries old. It is certainly logical that a criminal would want to hide his true identity in order to guarantee the success of his/her crime, and avoid capture and punishment. When such crime threatens the security of a Nation, fighting Identity Theft becomes a matter of National Security.
Preserving Privacy Rights while fighting Identity Theft and guarding against terrorism is a very difficult task to achieve, yet theoretically possible. A successful strategy for preserving National Security and guarding against a terrorist attack is by definition a strategy of pre-emption. Pre-emption is almost entirely dependent on Intelligence Gathering. Intelligence Gathering, whether we like it or not, is logically dependent on Data Mining. Data Mining does not necessarily have to entail a loss of Privacy Rights, as long as Data Mining is not discriminatory by nature, nor is the data obtained, or used, illegally. Many individuals have doubts as to whether such delicate balancing act can be achieved. Unfortunately, their concerns may be well founded in a practical world. Theoretically optimal solutions are often rendered useless in a practical world prone to abuse.
Regardless of methodology, it is obviously an established fact that in order to achieve an effective National Security strategy, Identity Theft has to be taken extremely seriously and must be eradicated. Otherwise, how would it be possible to track and arrest criminals prior to committing a crime, if they can easily assume multiple new identities? Furthermore, individuals need to assure themselves that their identities have not been stolen by a criminal who may commit a terrorist act, or possibly threaten National Security. Individuals need to keep their sensitive data safe, must engage in active Credit Monitoring, and must seriously consider locking down access to their Credit Report. |
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