U.S. Has Outsourced Manufacturing of Electronic Passports...Gov't Profits and National Security Risk

This is pretty long so only part of it is posted here.  Read the rest by clicking here.

What won't they outsource?

Outsourced passports netting govt. profits, risking national security

March 26, 2008

By Bill Gertz - This is the first in a three-part series on the outsourcing of passports.

The United States has outsourced the manufacturing of its electronic passports to overseas companies — including one in Thailand that was victimized by Chinese espionage — raising concerns that cost savings are being put ahead of national security, an investigation by The Washington Times has found.

The Government Printing Office's decision to export the work has proved lucrative, allowing the agency to book more than $100 million in recent profits by charging the State Department more money for blank passports than it actually costs to make them, according to interviews with federal officials and documents obtained by The Times.

The profits have raised questions both inside the agency and in Congress because the law that created GPO as the federal government's official printer explicitly requires the agency to break even by charging only enough to recover its costs.

Lawmakers said they were alarmed by The Times' findings and plan to investigate why U.S. companies weren't used to produce the state-of-the-art passports, one of the crown jewels of American border security.

According to a link on the Michael Savage website the chip used in printing these passports was stolen by the Chinese?  This literally puts info out there for any or everyone who wants to steal information.

Thanks Concernedmom  You did very good on this one!

Just another shot in the foot of the Government Printing Office.   And the hits just keep on coming.

And now, part 2 of the story...

A passport to danger

THE WASHINGTON TIMES EDITORIAL
March 28, 2008

The annals of incompetent federal empire-building have a new entry: the Government Printing Office's e-Passport program. As a three-part series by Bill Gertz of The Washington Times shows, this little-known near-monopoly of U.S. government printing earned tidy "profits" by charging the State Department 85 percent over production costs of U.S. passports. In the meantime, it made a fine mess of passport security with the help of its friends at Foggy Bottom. (See today's front page for the last installment of "Outsourcing Passports.")

The pricing shell game is contrary to the spirit and possibly the letter of the laws that govern GPO operations. "Profit" is prohibited: This is taxpayer money, whether it is coming or going. Price-gaming distorts incentives and fuels empire-building. This, of course, is just what the GPO did under a guise of purported "private sector" management techniques. It enabled bonuses for budding agency entrepreneurs, funded a new production facility and yielded a $100 million bonanza over 16 months for which the GPO has not fully accounted.

But security, not management, is the heart of any story concerning the key identity document of the United States. Here, there were disastrous, almost incomprehensible failures. How many Americans realize that U.S. passports and their components travel a production process that spans the globe — from the Netherlands to Thailand and back to the United States — which is plagued with critical security gaps? How many realize that U.S. authorities purposely declined to manufacture the most critical U.S. identity document inside the United States for technical reasons, risking infiltration, theft and crisis outside U.S. borders? How many understand the danger in the event that blank passports or high-tech passport components are stolen or transferred to terrorists or spies?

Some of this has already happened. The new high-tech U.S. passports are fitted with wire Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) antennae at a factory in Ayutthana, Thailand. The assembler and patent-holder, Netherlands-based Smartrac Technology Ltd., "divulged in an October 2007 court filing in The Hague that China had stolen its patented chip technology for e-passport chips." Another Communist Chinese espionage coup.

As if blind to the dangers of global transport of blank U.S. passports and passport components, federal officials have even mailed blank passports by unsecure FedEx delivery, as the investigation by The Washington Times revealed. Blank passports are a free ticket to entry into the United States. They must not fall into the hands of terrorists or foreign agents.

This is a tale of failed oversight and danger to national security. We urge Rep. John Dingell, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, ranking Republican Rep. Joe Barton of Texas and their colleagues to investigate the subject as vigorously as possible.

http://stoprealidcoalition.blogspot.com/

3/24/08

 L-1 Identity Solutions Inc (ID.N), formerly known as Viisage, is acquiring Digimarc Corp (DMRC.O). The union is contended to create a literal monopoly over United States Drivers License production, U.S. Passports, Welfare IDs and more. The two companies together produce nearly all of the Drivers Licenses in the United States. This will be the largest single private holder of Drivers License information, including photographs (and soon Real ID).

I spoke with Mark Lerner, the Biometrics and Real ID expert, this morning to get his comments. He stated "I began calling and speaking with my contacts in Washington D.C. early this morning shortly after the news came out. I reiterated my concerns that I had provided them evidence showing that Viisage (now L-1) can't be trusted." Mr. Lerner has serious evidence of wrong doing which he had turned over to government authorities; who have yet to prosecute anyone. And now, if this is allowed to happen, L-1 Identity Solutions will be the monopolistic provider of all ID in America, certainly within the Drivers License arena; going with this turf will be the collection, processing, and probable retention of all information, photos, and biometrics of nearly every U.S. driver.

Besides the obvious monopoly that is being formed. One might question why one company got to where it is today. An interesting perspective is yielded by recognizing some of the operatives within the L-1 organization. On it's Board of Directors sit the following:

George Tenet, former Director CIA

Admiral Loy, former Head Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Deputy Undersecretary Transportation Security Administration (TSA )

John Lawler, former U.S. House of Representatives, Chief of the Office of Finance

B.G. (Buddy) Beck, member of the Army Technology Science Board, a Federal advisory committee which advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Army, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Assistant Secretary of the Army and major Army commanders on scientific and technological matters of concern to the Army.

Milton E. Cooper, former Chairperson for the Secretary of the Army's National Science Center Advisory Board, Chairman, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA); Chairman; Member of the board of directors of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA); and National Defense Industrial Association and the USO.

Robert S. Gelbard, former President Clinton's Special Representative for the Balkans, Ambassador to Indonesia, Ambassador to Bolivia, and Assistant Secretary of State. U.S. Government's representative to the Paris Club and as President George H.W. Bush's personal representative to the 1992 San Antonio Summit. Implementing numerous post-conflict strategies in Central Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia, U.S. policy towards Southern Africa to affect fundamental societal change. Director of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, State Highway Patrol; the State Transport Police Division including the Size and Weight Enforcement Division; the Criminal Justice Academy and Training Division; the Highway Safety Office; the Division of Motor Vehicles which includes the Driver Licensing Division; Vehicle Registration; Vehicle Titling; Licensing and Vehicle Enforcement; the Bureau of Protective Services; and the Office of Justice Programs.

This comes as no surprise to me. Awhile back I posted on one of the threads - can't remember which - that our printing is planned to be outsourced by the end of 2008. This leaves all our paperwork subject to scrutiny by foreign nations - and I guess we know which ones I mean. Bank records are already being processed in Asia. I will try to find this article and post it here.

It's a sad commentary on life in America when we cannot take care of anything for ourselves - even our vital records. The opinion of the American citizen currently held by the government and the corporate world is that we are lowlier than the low and unworthy of the least bit of consideration or respect.

The following was posted on the thread "Outsourcing our Independence".

I guess I was a little slow with keeping up on world affairs. I guess my problem was my inherent trust in the leaders of my country and honesty in corporate America. I naively expected fair treatment and consideration.

For instance, I just found out that much of this country's banking has been outsourced to the Asian continent. The report is from 2003. The claim is to cut costs to make up the shortfalls and losses they had because of such scandals as Enron. The report below is incomplete because of its length, but can be accessed at www.crn.com/it-channel/1882-1786 - or just google bank outsourcing and you will find many such sites.

Bank Outsourcing

Almost within days of each other, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America, among the largest banks in the world, inked multiyear outsourcing deals valued at an estimated $5 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively. JPM Chase is in the process of transitioning its data center to its new outsourcing partner,IBM (NYSE: IBM) Global Services (IGS), while Bank of America is turning over its network operations to EDS (NYSE:EDS).