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American Military News
3 days ago
- Business
- American Military News
Gov't agency purchased private passenger data from US airlines: Report
A new report claims that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has purchased passenger information from a data broker owned by multiple U.S. airlines. According to 404 Media, documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that the CBP's purchase of private airline passenger data was intended to help the agency identify persons of interest. The outlet noted that the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), which is owned by at least eight of the top U.S. airlines, sold the data to the CBP, which included the names, financial information, and flight itineraries of passengers. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told 404 Media, 'The big airlines—through a shady data broker that they own called ARC—are selling the government bulk access to Americans' sensitive information, revealing where they fly and the credit card they used.' 404 Media reported that the sale of passengers' private information is part of the Airlines Reporting Corporation's Travel Intelligence Program (TIP). According to a Statement of Work obtained by the outlet, federal officials claimed the CBP needed access to the program to 'support federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify persons of interest's U.S. domestic air travel ticketing information.' According to 404 Media, the CBP claimed that the data purchased from the Airlines Reporting Corporation is only used to locate individuals in investigations launched by the Office of Professional Responsibility. READ MORE: Major airline files for bankruptcy According to the documents obtained by 404 Media, the data obtained from the Travel Intelligence Program is expected to give the CBP 'visibility on a subject's or person of interest's domestic air travel ticketing information as well as tickets acquired through travel agencies in the U.S. and its territories.' 404 Media reported that the Airlines Reporting Corporation asked the CBP not to 'publicly identify vendor, or its employees, individually or collectively, as the source of the Reports unless the Customer is compelled to do so by a valid court order or subpoena and gives ARC immediate notice of same.' 'CBP is committed to protecting individuals' privacy during the execution of its mission to protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and enhance the nation's economic prosperity,' a CBP spokesperson told 404 Media. 'CBP follows a robust privacy policy as we protect the homeland through the air, land and maritime environments against illegal entry, illicit activity or other threats to national sovereignty and economic security.' Wyden told 404 Media that the Airlines Reporting Corporation has 'refused to answer oversight questions from Congress,' prompting the Oregon senator to contact various airlines regarding 'why they gave the green light to sell their customers' data to the government.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Major airlines may have been secretly selling your flight data to DHS, report claims
Americans' flight data may have been sold to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without their knowledge, internal CBP documents obtained by 404 Media suggest. A data broker, the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), owned by several of the top airlines in the U.S., including Delta, American Airlines, and United, reportedly gathered the flight records of U.S. travelers and sold access to CBP. Part of the contract was that CBP wasn't allowed to share where the data had originated from, the report says. The data included passengers' names, itineraries, and financial information, according to Wired. CBP is part of the Department of Homeland Security. The agency has stated that it requires the data to support state and local law enforcement in tracking individuals of interest. This comes after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outlined how it also bought the data. 'The big airlines—through a shady data broker that they own called ARC—are selling the government bulk access to Americans' sensitive information, revealing where they fly and the credit card they used,' Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden said in a statement. "ARC has refused to answer oversight questions from Congress, so I have already contacted the major airlines that own ARC—like Delta, American Airlines, and United—to find out why they gave the green light to sell their customers' data to the government." Publicly shared documents show that ARC is owned and operated by at least eight top U.S. airlines. Delta, Southwest, United, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, as well as European airlines Lufthansa and Air France, in addition to Air Canada, all have representatives on the company's board of directors. Over 240 airlines use ARC's services for ticket settlement. The company also connects airlines and travel agencies, locating travel trends with other companies such as Expedia. It also provides fraud prevention, the ARC YouTube channel and website show. The selling of travel information is conducted via the company's Travel Intelligence Program (TIP). The documents obtained by 404 Media via a Freedom of Information Act request state that CBP needed access to the information 'to support federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify persons of interest's US domestic air travel ticketing information.' The documents reveal that ARC asked CBP to 'not publicly identify vendor, or its employees, individually or collectively, as the source of the Reports unless the Customer is compelled to do so by a valid court order or subpoena and gives ARC immediate notice of same.' The data delivers 'visibility on a subject's or person of interest's domestic air travel ticketing information as well as tickets acquired through travel agencies in the U.S. and its territories,' the documents state. According to a DHS Privacy Impact Assessment, the data is updated daily and includes more than a billion records over the course of 39 months of travel, both past and future. TIP can be searched using names, credit cards, or airlines. However, the data only includes travel arrangements made using a travel agency accredited by ARC, such as Expedia. 'If the passenger buys a ticket directly from the airline, then the search done by ICE will not show up in an ARC report,' the assessment states. It also says that data is included on both U.S. and non-U.S. persons. The deputy director of the Center for Democracy & Technology's Security and Surveillance Project, Jake Laperruque, told 404 Media that 'While obtaining domestic airline data—like many other transaction and purchase records—generally doesn't require a warrant, they're still supposed to go through a legal process that ensures independent oversight and limits data collection to records that will support an investigation.' 'The government seems intent on using data brokers to buy their way around important guardrails and limits,' he added. A spokesperson for CBP told Wired that the agency 'is committed to protecting individuals' privacy during the execution of its mission to protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and enhance the nation's economic prosperity.' 'CBP follows a robust privacy policy as we protect the homeland through the air, land and maritime environments against illegal entry, illicit activity or other threats to national sovereignty and economic security,' the spokesperson added. ARC earlier told The Lever that TIP 'was established after the September 11 terrorist attacks to provide certain data to law enforcement … for the purpose of national security matters' and criminal probes. The Independent has contacted ARC and CBP for comment.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
PennDOT looking to make your drive on Route 183 in Berks safer, more efficient
Anyone who travels the 15-mile stretch of Route 183 in Berks County can probably point out some of its deficiencies. The problems include very narrow or nonexistent shoulders; high-volume, non-signaled, high-trafficked intersections; and a series of structural bottlenecks. There are also deficiencies not easily recognized while going 60 mph, including a number of bridges nearing the end of their lifespans. Three separate studies, each tackling a segment of the major north-south corridor, are in various stages of completion. PennDOT commissioned the studies after being asked by Berks County transportation planners to look at possible improvements to the corridor. Those studies quietly commenced during the 2 ½ years since a citizen-led town hall meeting in Bernville. About 100 people, including elected leaders from four municipalities, attended, as did representatives of the Reading Area Transportation Study, or RATS. RATS is the planning organization that helps PennDOT decide how to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal money devoted to highway, bridge and transit improvements in Berks. 'We've known all along that these needs are there,' county transportation planner Alan Piper said at a recent meeting of the group. 'But that (the town hall meeting) gave us the impetus to be able to go back and work through the process, and to get these various phases onto the program.' The studies eventually will lead to specific improvement projects to be funded in the four-year transportation improvement plan, or TIP, for Berks, Piper explained. It's a start. Just don't hold your breath waiting for construction. 'The nature of this corridor is changing annually as traffic continues to increase with a mix of trucks,' Piper said. 'But we're moving things forward, and I want to commend the department (PennDOT) for doing the studies and getting involved in this at the level that they are.' Donald Lerch, a PennDOT consultant, recently gave the RATS coordinating committee an overview of the Route 183 studies. Upper section The first study, recently completed, takes in the northernmost section, from Interstate 78 in Upper Bern Township to New Schaefferstown Road in Jefferson Township The engineers conducting that study recommend upgrading the intersection of Route 183 and Old Route 22 in Strausstown. A blinking yellow light warns Route 183 motorists of a stop sign. While preliminary engineering still needs to be done before plans are proposed, the consulting engineer is recommending a roundabout or full signalization. For the balance of that section, the engineers are recommending the shoulders — only a few feet wide if they exist at all for much of that section — be widened to 6 feet where practical. 'There are things along the corridor which make it difficult to widen,' Lerch said. 'For example, there are quite a few cultural resources, historic properties — some with buildings right up against the road — as well as the Northkill Creek, which parallels the corridor for a significant distance.' Within the limits of that study, two bridges would need to be replaced with wider spans to accommodate wider shoulders. The new spans would be wide enough to allow traffic to continue to flow over them during work to widen the rest of the section, as opposed to a detour throughout the construction phase, Lerch said. Middle section The next section begins slightly north of Solly Lane, just north of Bernville, down to Byerle Hill Road, just south of the borough, in Penn Township. 'Here's probably going to be the most significant, at least from a financial perspective, of all of the projects,' Lerch said. PennDOT officials are studying how to widen the stretch of Route 183 north of New Schaefferstown Road in Jefferson Township. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) It includes two intersections with heavy traffic volume: Shartlesville Road, which is a shortcut to the Amazon RDG1 Fulfillment Center in Upper Bern Township and is the main access road for Penn-Bernville School; and North Heidelberg Road, which is a shortcut for many western Berks residents to the Route 183 corridor . It cuts through Bernville and part of Blue Marsh Lake. The project team has conducted interviews with stakeholders, including representatives of the Tulpehocken School District, the four municipalities that those intersections directly impact and the Army Corps of Engineers, which manages Blue Marsh Recreation Area. 'The focus is going to be on safety improvements,' Lerch said, 'but, in particular, two intersections of Shartlesville Road and North Heidelberg Road.' Analyses are being done to determine the best-suited intersection types. Engineers have to contend with several concerns when designing improvements for this section. A bridge that crosses Northkill Creek just north of Shartlesville Road will probably need to be replaced with a wider span. Besides the school district property bordering Route 183, Lerch pointed out, the extent to which the highway can be widened or realigned is limited by Blue Marsh; the road is built upon a levee for the lake. Lower section This study is in an early stage. It addresses the maddeningly inconsistent lane capacity between West Leesport Road and the Route 222 interchange in Bern Township. Route 222-bound traffic backs up beyond the queuing lane along Route 183 in Bern Township heading southeast toward Reading. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) The road narrows from four lanes around the interchange to one lane in each direction around Van Reed Inn. It returns to four lanes, not including turning lanes, around West Ridge Shopping Center before narrowing to two lanes around Wawa, just north of the West Leesport Road intersection. A single vehicle stopped while waiting for a clearing in oncoming traffic to turn left into a business can bring traffic behind it to a standstill in the two-lane sections. Also, during peak commuting, it's common for traffic to stack beyond the queuing lane for traffic turning onto the Route 222 southbound onramp. 'The goal is to widen the piece between West Leesport and 222 to make that two through-lanes in each direction, plus a center turning lane and right turn lanes where warranted,' Lerch said. 'It will also include lengthening the queuing lane for traffic that is turning onto 222.'
Business Recorder
03-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Alleged involvement in corruption: FIA registers case against former Nadra chairman, others
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has registered a case against former chairman National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) Muhammad Tariq Malik and others for their alleged involvement in corruption and corrupt practices. According to the first information report (FIR) registered by the agency's Anti-Corruption Wing (ACW) an enquiry was initiated on complaint of Malik Muhammad Afzal, joint secretary Ministry of Interior against Nadra officials that Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) submitted a complaint on allegations of violation of PPRA Rules 2004 in award of contract of 30 million Smart Cards worth $29.7 million on single bid basis against the market price of $0.2970 in China ( three cent per card) at a loss of at least 25 million to national exchequer for procurement of tender no: 13/2022. Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has also conducted a detailed inquiry and submitted report to Ministry of Interior in this regard, it says. It says that during enquiry it is found that as per PPRA enquiry, criteria/technical specifications and experience clauses were allegedly enhanced to facilitate a specific company M/s SELP. In this procurement, the price increased by 31 cents per smart card as compared to previous procurement of year 2020, it says, adding that as price was continuously decreasing from year 2013 to year 2020 due to factors like time and technology advancement. According to allegations in TIP loss to national exchequer is $25 million USD, however, in the light of comparison between purchase orders of year 2013 to 2022 loss to national exchequer is approximately 31 cent per smart card for purchase order of 30 million smart cards during procurement of tender 13/2022. This exorbitant increase in price of smart card was only to get kick-backs and commission from vendors which has resulted in loss of millions of US dollars to national exchequer. Based on the sufficient oral and documentary incriminating evidence collected, it is crystal clear that accused persons in connivance with each- other are found involved in corruption and corrupt practices as well as criminal misconduct and criminal breach of trust as they have misappropriated Nadra funds; and they have also obtained illegal pecuniary benefits/gains by corrupt and illegal means and therefore, have committed offences u/s 409/109/420/468/471/34 PPC r/w section 5(2) 1947 PCA. The other accused include Gohar Ahmad Khan, Sameer Enver Baig, Kamran Latif Ex-Director Production Nadra Headquarters, Jumana Noor, Muhammad Usman, Khurram Shahzad Ex-Director Technology and Development, Sanaullah Domki Assistant Director (HOD) Nadra, Rashid Javaid Chief Financial Officer Nadra Headquarters, Usman Cheema, Naveed Akhtar Channa Ex-HOD Procurement Department Nadra Headquarters. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Gizmodo
03-06-2025
- Health
- Gizmodo
A Monkey Herpesvirus Could Hold Key to New Cancer Treatment
A cousin of herpes might just help us fight cancer. Scientists have engineered a protein derived from a herpesvirus in monkeys that could enhance the immune system's potency against cancer. Researchers at the University of Michigan detailed their work on the protein in a paper published last month. In experiments with mice, the protein prolonged the life of cancer-fighting T cells, leading to reduced tumor growth. The findings point to a novel way that we can further strengthen immune-related cancer treatments, the researchers say. The protein comes from herpesvirus saimiri, named after the squirrel monkeys (all members of the genus Saimiri) that the virus primarily infects. The researchers had identified the virus as carrying proteins that activate certain pathways in T cells—the immune system's frontline soldiers against infections and cancers—that extended their survivability. They ultimately engineered a modified version of one particular protein from the virus, called tyrosine kinase interacting protein (TIP). They hoped their version of TIP could bind to a protein in T cells that would stimulate the production of other proteins called STAT that could then boost the T cells' longevity and cancer-killing potential. As expected, the protein increased levels of STAT (specifically the protein STAT5) in T cells in a Petri dish. They then tested the protein on mice with melanoma and lymphoma. The T cells of treated mice lived longer and killed tumor cells more effectively, resulting in reduced cancer growth, the researchers found. 'Our findings demonstrate that signaling pathways can be rewired in T cells to sustain their function in solid tumors,' the researchers wrote in the paper, published in Science Immunology. In recent years, scientists have developed a class of treatments that ramp up the immune system's natural ability to recognize and attack cancers, which is broadly known as immunotherapy. So the U-M scientists believe that their protein could be used in combination with existing immunotherapies to keep T cells in tip-top cancer-bashing shape. More broadly, they believe that other organisms or their genes can be tweaked to modify our immune cells to make them better at fighting cancers. The team's protein is still experimental, so it will take plenty more research to know whether it can be safely and effectively used in people. But it may not take too long for other herpesviruses to contribute to cancer treatment. Several research teams have developed modified versions of the herpes simplex 1 virus (the primary cause of cold sores) to directly eradicate tumors. Some of these treatments have already begun to be tested in people, and have shown promise in early clinical trials so far.
