Even the government can't get it right. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is developing a data mining tool that allows for faster searches through mountains of data. However, according to a General Accounting Office (GAO) report, that tool may pose some very large privacy issues. The reason - the tool is designed to sift through data and identify possible terrorism suspects. The GAO remains unconvinced that the tool, called Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight and semantic Enhancement (or ADVISE) can disseminate information associated with people of the same name. Also, the GAO raised concerns that use of ADVISE could bring it in direct conflict with the E-Government Act, which requires privacy impact analyses.

The GAO has released its report in a 35-page white paper. To view the report, visit the GAO website.