DHS Deploys Biometrics Program; CD Piracy Guard Found Porous; DOJ Questions FBI Agents About Conduct

DHS Deploys Biometrics Program

The Department of Homeland Security has jump-started an aggressive biometric deployment program to help fill gaps in the U.S. border security perimeter, according to a story in ComputerWorld. The story reports that at ports of entry around the U.S., biometric software will enable border-crossing agents to read the encoded data on any of the more than 13 million permanent-resident and border-crossing cards issued by the U.S. government, authenticate the biometric data stored on the cards and alert DHS inspectors to the presence of possible counterfeit cards.

CD Piracy Guard Found PorousA Princeton University student has found he can defeat a highly touted computer program to prevent music piracy with the stroke of a single key: “Shift,” according to a story in the Mercury News. The story reports that a music industry spokesman admitted the restrictions could be bypassed by a determined consumer, but he likened the software, made by SunnComm Technologies, to a “speed bump” that would deter ordinary consumers from casually making multiple illegal copies.DOJ Questions FBI Agents About ConductThe Justice Department is examining the conduct of F.B.I. agents in Phoenix for possible improprieties related to their use of front companies to gather intelligence on China, the Middle East and the activities of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, according to an article in the New York Times. The Times reports that the investigation is apparently examining whether F.B.I. agents in Phoenix enriched themselves through the front companies that the field office was using to gather intelligence.