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CAPPS 2 Back to the Drawing Board
dagnabit writes "Just saw this over at MSNBC. Apparently Tom Ridge is revising CAPPS II due to the lawsuits and complaints from some Congresscritters As an alternative, the TSA is hoping frequent travellers will voluntarily give up their info..."
From this article at Wired:
"The Department of Homeland Security and the TSA feel very strongly we should not move forward on any program that in any way infringes on preserving our freedoms," Stone said. "That is first and foremost."
Which really means, "we thought that people would just go along with us because we snuck every other piece of bullshit legislation through without notice but we were wrong."
The system, as originally proposed, would require all passengers to provide extra information when booking a ticket -- information that airlines don't currently ask for, like addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. The system would then check that information against databases of criminals and terrorists and assign each passenger a green, yellow or red score, according to perceived risk.
Civil-liberties groups from the left and right have gained powerful allies on Capitol Hill by arguing the system is both too invasive and ineffective.
Damn straight it's ineffective. The 9/11 terrorists were already in the country legally. What the hell good would this do? They were already flying planes. Would knowing their dates of birth and their addresses have helped? Nope.
Privacy firebrand Bill Scannell, whose DontSpyOnUs website has targeted companies such as JetBlue and Delta Airlines for working with the TSA, welcomed news of changes to CAPPS II, but argued the TSA did not go far enough.
"They should shut down this anti-democratic project and put it into a security system that works," Scannell said. "Instead of retooling, they should junk the entire system and improve physical security."
No way! Improve physical security? You mean like stop worrying about having an algorithm figure stuff out and do it manually? That's work, no way! Plus, we wouldn't be able to create a large database of information on airline passengers that could be easily accessed by other agencies in the on-going fight to end freedom, errr I mean terrorism.
They'll probably just pass a law to immunize from prosecution anyone who collects their dirty laundry for them.
"The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
I've travelled and been green lighted by CAPPS I.
So CAPPS II is dead...but is my information still...
...this idea? After all, we KNOW that the gub'ment has never, ever arrested people based on faulty info. Trust the man, people; trust the MAN.
Don't be a looter...and yes, I know that it's spelled with an "A" instead of an "E".
It is good to see that the US government is finally seeing that people do not want their right to privacy infringed upon. If they want to do something like the CAPPSII program it should be instituted voluntarily. Several airlines are already doing this and a rigorous background check to ensure the passengers are safe when they run them through an express check in. If anything US citizens should have their constitutional rights protected and if THEY should decide to give them up it was their decision for convenience of skipping the line.
Aren't "frequent" flyers the ones we care the least about? I mean, if you are dead from hijacking a plane, you typically don't go on many more flights.
"Roger, this passenger has taken 2000 flights in the last 10 years...you know...I have this suspicion he is UP TO SOMETHING!"
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
How does Numm II sound?
From the article:
Airlines, some facing lawsuits, have been caught up in the controversy because they provided passenger information for use in testing the screening system.
Has no one there heard of 'dummy data'? Live data - particularly sensitive data - is a no-no in the testing environment. In many cases this is simply because the developers have absolutely no need-to-know; in other instances it is possible for live data to escape the test environment via generated reports, bug reports (e.g. SSNs ending in 4 cause $PROBLEM), etc.
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
Last time i checked, suicide terra-ists don't plan to accumulate mileage.
To-do List: Receive telemarketing call during a tornado warning. Check.
I don't know If I like them collecting all that extra info. But....
If they collected it for all non US persons I wouldn't mind. Although don't they already collect all this info for non US persons. If not, maybe they should.
Evolution or ID?
After an hour or two in line for physical security checks, I often start daydreaming and wondering if going through a background check would be worth it. To just breeze on through some special line. Ah, that would be the life. But they'd probably want to implant some chip...
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
This was "probably" scrapped simply because of the publicity it generated. There are "probably" easier ways to collect private information on the populate using pre-established methods that are less prone to public scrutiny (re: Carnivore).
There does seem to be a fallacy going around in intelligence circles that all that is required for good security is as much data as can possibly be obtained - which of course isn't the case. What is required is good and timely analysis of relevant good quality data. Airlines can't even book seats correctly 100% of the time - what are the chances that their data is going to be good quality 100% of the time?
remember one the first things that Bush said after 9/11?
We will not allow these terrorists to change our way of life.
heh. right.
to be honest, a voluntary system with no rules on what information can be collected scares me more than the all-knowing capps ii program. it puts in effect the same sort of discrimination and information gathering without any of the restrictions that would be in place in a legislated system. say 8 passengers give their information and two don't-- who do you think will get the cavity search?
What Future?
I don't believe in voluntarily. I see a future in which people who did not "voluntarily" gave up information are harrassed and automatically marked suspect.
As an alternative, the TSA is hoping frequent travellers will voluntarily give up their info..."
Of course, if you don't volunteer the information, they'll be happy to conduct you to a private room for your strip search.
It's good to use your head, but not as a battering ram.
Tom Ridge should just send out jack booted thugs to gas, burn, shoot, or otherwise kill these people who are being subversive to CAPPS II and any other plan that helps to establish the New World Order. The government is always right.
It's getting bad when even Reuters' journalists can't punctuate a sentence properly.
The program, which has never been tested fully, was launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks to refine electronic techniques for using personal information to identify and rate potential threats.
This sentence means that the program hijacked attacks [...]. I think they meant:
The program, which has never been tested fully, was launched after the Sept. 11, 2001 hijacking attacks to refine electronic techniques for using personal information to identify and rate potential threats.
And not because Tom Ridge just woke up today morning a changed man either.
Its because they realized when senators and congressman and lobbyists on either side of the spectrum told them that snooping on influential people aint a good thing. Its not me or you they are worried about offending, its the people who they need, who can make or break them that they cater to.
But they would violate the rights of every non-american who step off or on their planes with out a second thought, because every immigrant is a potential terrorist, isnt it? Every tanned face will be pulled aside, strip searched, his financial / public and private records scoured and reviewed by people who could very well abuse that power.
Well..here's to Good Ol America.
Rapid Nirvana
First, i think that our invasive government has done enough to deprive us of any personal space. Tom Ridge, or anyone else doesn't need to know my pants size, yearly income, and how many pets i have if i'm getting on a plane. Security is one thing, but this is blatant excess, and abuse of authority. I'm glad we've at least got someone in congress with enough sense to say, "ok, so now when we get on planes, they'll anal probe us... Not so sure if i like that...". I just wish that good sense was around when the "Patriot" Act was written/passed. Well, change is not easy to swing these days, so i don't imagine we'll be seeing any less of this nonsense flying through congress (until we get some new faces in gov't....)
sigSEGV - doy!
What's wrong with you people? Are you terrorists?
Every patriotic citizen supports Herr Bush, and his faithful minister Herr Ridge, in their zeal to strengthen the Fatherland, and eliminate the bad elements (terrorists).
Only subversives refuse to wear the pink stars...
centered around the fairly obvious criminal/terrorist lists supposedly broadcast by the government. If the passenger name were/are checked against these lists, the blatant evil-doers (what a fun word!), if that stupid, could be easily apprehended.
What is needed is a far better infiltration of the terrorist networks. Then disseminate the characteristics to the security agencies. Not a quick fix, but nothing can be a silver bullet (absolute security infringes on liberty, absolute liberty infringes on security).
How exactly would a voluntary system help?
Potential terrorists are likely not to provide information on themselves, and non-terrorists who do the same are going to be discriminated against.
Besides that, the governement is supposed to cater to the people, not the other way around.
The reporter's just plain dumb.
I'm a native born, US citizen, of (obvious) northern European ancestory. I have 2 degrees, an honorable discharge and have filed a tax return every year since I was 15 (that's 19 years if you're counting). I held a secret clearance for several years and have been bonded several times. I've had a couple speeding tickets, but never even been accused of any other misdemeanor, let alone a felony. In other words, my life has been documented by our government in quite substantial detail.
Despite this, every time I fly in the continental US I get searched. At the security screen where everybody else is passed through the x-ray and detector, my shoes are removed, I'm patted down, my hands and shoes are swabbed for explosive residue and my bags are rifled through. When I get to the gate and hand my ticket over, I get hauled off to the side, patted down again, and my bags re-searched. Every plane change, every pass through a gate or security station brings the same result. I have not boarded a flight in the US in the last 3 years without this happening. There is no appeal, there is no questioning why, there is only the choice to submit to this or not fly. My crime? Well, the only event I can come up with is I declared a firearm in my luggage after 9/11. A perfectly legal thing, I followed all the rules - demonstrated it was clear, locked the case, and placed it in the suitcase with the "steal me" tag.
It's embarassing, being dragged off to stand in the "special line" by myself. Mainly, I wonder what lowlife is getting through while they interogate me? Security personel are a finite resource, people have to be moved through at a reasonable clip or else flights are missed. When they spend 15 minutes with me, that's 15 minutes they could be investigating someone with bad intentions. Mistakes on credit reports can be researched, documented and appealed, usually successfully. This is unappealable, hell, nobody will even admit I've been flagged, it's "random".
At the bottom of the endless pile of paper work which characterizes all regulation lies a gun.
Alan Greenspan
Does this mean the EU will not have to provide Data for The "intelligence services".
That would be good news.
My drinking team has a Rugby problem
MSNBC appears to have their own online tools for committing terrorist acts. On the right site of the article is a link to "Launch Airline bombs
Suicide and bomb attacks against airliners" through their special interactive section.
particularly the current flight security lines.
Lets face facts:
1. The 911 flights were brought down with box knives that did not go through security at all.
2. A box knife is no longer an effective way to hijack a plane. This is simply because a hijacked plane is no longer about a 3 day trip to Cuba. Now its about becomming a lawn dart. If you tried to hijack a plane prior to 911 with a knife, maybe we'd sit back and enjoy some cigars when we landed. Today, this firefighter and dozens of other people on the plane are going to shove the box cutter up your ass sideways. I'm not a kung-fu master by any means, but I am a 200 pound man in pretty good shape. Its a narrow plane. If I come running down the isle at you, you are going to fall down. I may get cut with a box cutter. So be it.
Now, making me wait 3 hours in line so you can take my nail clippers away isn't going to change anything at all. There are LOTS of ways we could still take stuff on planes (and if I can think of them, so can anyone else -- but I'd rather not broadcast them).
Tom Ridge and his ilk like to keep people scared because they get more power and funding that way. One way to keep people scared is to make them stand like cattle in long lines to give up deadly nail clippers.
Here's an idea, lets not vote for this administration this time either!
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
"This new legislation will encourage airline passengers to provide their names, dates of birth, financial records and DNA samples in exchange for not being rectally probed by airport security every time they want to fly."
"What do you call this bill?"
"It's called the Aristocrats."
CAPPS just plain doesn't work. I am a privacy advocate and have sent several letters to my congressmen and representatives apposing CAPPS, but there are graver issues involved here. Beyond the fact that the government will have extremely large neural networked databases built on people to be used for "national security" and to "keep people safe" it actually makes air travel less safe from attack!
e cks-on-our-employess-for-your-safety scam. Repeat after me, TSA and CAPPS has helped weaken security.
Check out the Carnival Booth paper put out by MIT. It is long and technical, but well worth the read. I would much rather go back to the private security agencies instead of this bullshit TSA no-hs-education-required-we-dont-do-background-ch
Steal This Sig
Well I've seen some folks here state that this is a change and government is recognizing that they cannot infringe on people's privacy etc. I beg to differ - I think it has nothing to do with acknowleding people's privacy, instead, it has everything to do with skirting the law when real abuses come to light.
Consider, a person whose information is quietly taken and then misused (e.g., credit card fraud). Person discovers and sues airline. Airline claims no liability due to Government regulation/law. Person sues Government. Now if the person had 'voluntarily' provided that information who can he/she sue? And I bet there is going to be a typical sign-off-your-life disclaimer sheet that no one can/will read each time this happens.
The problem of figuring out a person's intentions is very old. Lists, invasion of privacy, snooping etc. have never yielded any good or reliable results for ordinary people (e.g., the communist witch hunts of not too long ago). However, there are lawful means of doing this which involve judicial review and can stand up in the open daylight (in front of a jury) when challenged to both catch real offenders and not vicitimize innocent folk.
Sorry no takers here on CAPSS{n}...
'villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged.'
Jean-Luc Picard, "The Drumhead"
You can't generate cheap vast amount of "dummy data", which have the same quality and diversity of real data for the same price as the real data. Most airline I know of, inclusive the one i work with, on their test system simply copy the real data over. This is really cheap in comparison to generating data. Furthermore our program change are tested against real data, which is more sure than testing against fake dummy data that might be skewed when you generated them.
This is also *WHY* we all have to sign non disclosure agreement on the DATA not on the source, because of the sensitiveness of the data like credit card info, frequent flyer,address etc... Whereas the source is nearly a public things for who care to get its hand on it.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
Congresscritters? What are we, five years old?
Speak like a child, get treated like a child.
The rope isn't about terrorism, its about their SOCIAL agenda.
They're afraid you'll engage in an autoerotic strangulation act. The idea of someone getting off in any way other than that responsible for procreation is abhorent to them.
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
Its a great idea, keep a database of terrorists - kinda like the pedophile lists, so once they've done one offence and got on the list you can make sure they dont get on a plane again. I also like the name check system that checks to see if a terrorist has made a fake ID with an anagram of their name or their same date of birth! Biometrics is going to be the key here, you've got to iris scan everyone to make sure they are who they said they were at the passport office or who they told that guy they got the fake ID from.
One idea though - why not add one of those little "Are you a terrorist?" tick-boxes when you buy tickets? I think if they also asked you the same question at the gate they could check to see if you had changed your choice - which would mean you were probably not telling the truth.
Some great ideas here. Oh BTW If they do start doing all that bank account checking stuff and they discover lots of money going between Saudi-Arabia and certain people in the US, they might want to make an exception if the person in question is the owner of any oil companies or their name begins with "prince" because obviously they're not terrorists! that would be abit embaressing, especially if Bush got pulled over trying to get on Air Force 1!
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
TOP Secret : CAPPS2 is mainly set of HMO Dbases!!!
Yup.
Its a fact. All the CAPPS2 mainly does is send your DOB (date of birth) general residence area and name to a 3rd party contractor database of merged "semi-anonymized" HMO database records that contain no medical data, just action dates, locations, birthdates and names !!!
Anyone not showing up for healthcare ever or only in recent years is flagged as possible terrorist.
And all the other info they talk about year after year is a smokescreen.
Its merely a check against medical insurance databases of the major insurance providers, both public and private.
HA!!!!
You read it here first. I never signed any nondisclosure documents or possessed any docs of interest, but its 100% true.
(FBI shill accts will mod this -1 as there are many gov employees that scan slasdot merely to mod down anon exposes such as this)
There were, as you can imagine, an insane number of troubles and issues with this approach. And our office was one of the ones that screamed bloody murder over these issues.
I would note that if "papers, please" becomes a regular part of travel in this country, then what makes this country special is dead.
I need to use the preview button more often. Oh, and more coffee, too.
You can only drink 30 or 40 glasses of beer a day, no matter how rich you are.
-- Colonel Adolphus Busch
I certainly don't hear a whole lot of French people complaining about the well-documented practice of French airlines assisting French corporations in industrial espionage.
I'm not new here, I should not be surprised. Everytime there's a political discussion, some neo-con starts bashing the French for the most unlikely reason.
I thought I had seen it all. According to our well-documented accusers, we sold weapons to Saddam during the embargo, we sold him nuclear weapons, we stole Iraq oil, we're antisemitic, we hate Americans, we've killed Rwandan babies, we protect Serbian fascists, we don't bath... But what I had not yet heard is that our airlines (that would be Air France, I guess) practice industrial espionage. Wow, that's a serious accusation! Bear in mind, next time you're on an Air France flight that your French competitor will know whether you chose beef or chicken!!!
Of course, nobody can never show any evidence for such well-documented facts. It doesn't seem to matter. The French apparently committed a deadly sin when they tried to prevent the US from doing (what IMHO is) a huge mistake in Irak. So anything goes against them. It doesn't matter if it makes sense or not, it's true as long as it bashes the French.
Some of these accusations might be true though. I'm perfectly aware that my country has not always be on the right side and that we've had our share of dark hours or shameful years. I just feel that as a whole, the balance is positive. Maybe I'm even wrong here. And I'm ready to discuss that with anyone interested in an honest debate. But all this constant hatred against the French is something else entirely, and frankly it's frightening.
I do not fear for my country. We've been through worse situations than being bad-mouthed by O'Reilly or some anonymous geek on Slashdot. No, I fear for the US. A country I and most French people love, whatever you're told on Fox News. You know, we're not perfect in France. Our words and actions are not guided by God, more by plain old human experience. And one lesson we learned from being occupied by the Nazis for 4 years: If you let yourself hate someone solely based on his religion, color or nationality, you're on a very, very dangerous slope.
It would be nice to be sure of anything the way some people are of everything.
"The 9/11 terrorists . . . but weren't a few of them wanted for various warrents?" [sic]
There were one or more motor-vehicle-related warrants. That's a pretty slender reed on which to hang our hopes of averting terrorism.
1. If little or no terrorism is averted by checking for things like traffic warrants, then why bother?
2. However, if you really feel that even the slimmest chance is worth pursuing, then why stop with airports?
After all, we're looking for terrorists of any kind, not just highjackers. So, why not make it a regular, permanent practice to randomly detain people at bus stations, hospital admissions, grocery stores, etc. -- in other words, all the places that people pretty much can't avoid going -- and check them for unresolved citations, uncollected civil judgments, overdue property tax, delinquent child-support payments, failure to report for jury duty, marijuana-breath, and anything else which might lead to a temporarily plausible arrest (even if not a conviction or incarceration)?
And, of course, if even the remotest possible justification for an arrest is found, then an arrest will be made, with or without any suspected connection to terrorism -- just like they're now doing in airports, thanks to the post-9/11 laws.
The fact is, no matter *what* purpose the legislators actually intended, whenever law-enforcement officials are handed a weapon of *any* kind, they look for every possible opportunity to use it beyond its intended purpose -- for example, using the threat of RICO laws to persecute [sic] people whose acts have nothing to do with organized crime. It has been well-documented that they've already been doing that with the Patriot Act, using it to conduct prosecutions and secret *warrantless* searches in cases which clearly have nothing to do with terrorism.
Could someone please explain how the heck these sorts of incredibly stupid ideas make it so far down the line towards implementation? I mean, have the people involved not read the Carnival Booth paper?
How does green lighting certain people protect us if these same people suddenly decide to do something nefarious? What about the ground crew? I have good friends that work at O'Hare and they'll tell you flat out that security on the tarmac is a joke. People holding doors open for others, an underground tunnel system that runs all over the place, poor perimeter security, etc. Why not simply secure the cockpit and post air marshalls with tasers?
The program will be reincarnated with new spin and a new name- much like what happened with TIA.
Couple that with neofascist political agendas and you have the Perfect Government Project.
Wait let me guess, the problem with the system is that it didn't spit back a list of names the administration already wanted it to spit back. Guess they'll have to fire the new Intelligence Chief cuz as we all know, the WH never lies.
One idea though - why not add one of those little "Are you a terrorist?" tick-boxes when you buy tickets?
:-)
Quoting from the second page of the US Department of State's current Form DS-156, Nonimmigrant Visa Application:
Do you seek to enter the United States to engage in export control violations, subversive or terrorist activities, or any other unlawful purpose? Are you a member or representative of a terrorist organization as currently designated by the U.S. Secretary of State? (Y/N)
That what you were looking for?
TopShelf said: "In my mind, this wouldn't be useful just for terrorists, but a broader class of criminals as well."
. . . which is exactly the objection. If you're just horny to find perps, then why stop wih the airport?
Hmmm, perhaps you'd also like to make them TWO FEET TALL
TopShelf: "Also, they could include on the list what the warrant is for, and use that information in making a determination as to whether to arrest the person."
What country do YOU live in?
When have you ever seen someone with the authority to make an warrant-arrest bypass the opportunity?
subject says it all
Hijacker 'suspects' alive and well.
CAPPS II would have either caught the wrong people and/or innocent people. The FBI's hijacker list was incorrect and probably still is.
El Al, the Israeli airline, is world-reknowned for its security measures.
Here's an informative article from Business Week about a year ago.
The point is that effective and efficient security can be achieved, and it doesn't require this sort of extreme federal legislation. I think that if US carriers and airports look to the example set by El Al, air travel would be much safer.
"Interesting side note: as a head without a body, I envy the dead."
But weren't some of them on expired visas? You know, those things we use to control the access of non-citizens into America? Who was it that said laws that aren't enforced are just advice? Truman?
"The bigger the lie, the more they believe." - Det. Bunk
I always wondered what would have happened if he'd made that second jump into Switzerland and freedom. .
Anyway, don't worry about Tom Ridge. Despite delays, he'll have the American infernal security machine up and running like a big pig-processing plant before WWIII hits American shores. Unless you all do something about it first. .
Otherwise, it's "Heil Bush!" (Or Kerry, or whothefuckever happens to be residing after the big November event.)
I think I'm going to split this version of reality; it's getting a bit too ugly for my liking. See you guys, later! Vrooom!
-FL
You can collect terabytes of low grade information and look for little diamonds of high grade intelligence.
Guess what?
You will find them by the score.
You are attempting to identify an extremely rare occurence - maybe 1 person in a billion boards a plane with the intent to highjack it - the false positives will always dominate the results. The cops will be chasing shadows, detaining and searching the wrong people.
Spend the money on real security, such as security guard training (and better pay.)
"But weren't some of them on expired visas?"
No one's saying, "No one should ever be be detained or investigated, regardless of reason."
No one's saying, "Every single word of [the Patriot Act, etc.] is tyrrany."
Of course passports and visa should be checked. And I don't have a problem with a procedure which validates that your identification is genuine, that you're not on a list of terrorism suspects under surveillance, or even that you're not wanted for a violent crime.
I DO have a problem with a process which can get someone arrested, in the course of trying to board a plane, with no evidence of any *terrorism*-related concern.
I DO have aproblem with a process which denies boarding to people whose names are on a secret list, with NO due-process provisions for judicial review or determining the reason or having the decision amended.
And I have a VERY big problem with a process which uses terrorism and uses language about Fatherland and patriot-versus-traitor, as an excuse to search people's financial and medical records, and to collect and record data about citizens' travel activities, with no *effective* *independently* verifiable guarantees that the data is immediately discarded after determining that there's no reasonable cause for concern.
I don't really disagree with much of what you've said . . . I just don't follow how you choose to tack this on to my question about whether or not some of the terrorists in question were on expired visas - and not even answer the damned question. Do you not understand how message threading works?
"The bigger the lie, the more they believe." - Det. Bunk
" . . . my question about whether or not some of the terrorists in question were on expired visas - and not even answer the damned question."
Look again: right at the top I said, "Of course passports and visa should be checked."
I don't think you were in fact in doubt about the terrorists' visas and asking me to confirm your impression of the facts. It seemed pretty obvious to me that you were in effect saying, "Their visas had expired, so wouldn't a strict security regime like CAPPS have helped to catch them in time?"
At least, that's how I interpreted it when you said: "You know, those things we use to control the access of non-citizens into America? Who was it that said laws that aren't enforced are just advice?"
"answer the damned question. Do you not understand how message threading works?"
Don't be rude. What purpose does it serve?
The thing I am most concerned about is US government steadfast desire to build the huge comprehensive single system for identifying threats. This does not work. There are two problems about any "lets build a huge database to tackle XYZ":
1) There are inherent assumptions built into any such system, which means it will be looking at the things in a particular way. If this way of thinking is identified, terrorists will adapt accordingly and slip through.
2) Current state-of-the-art in data mining technologies is very good for data analysis, but bad for making final decisions. This is the last bit between collating and analyzing information and assigning color codes to passengers, which is trouble. Why force the technology into something it is not designed to? Lets instead provide collated information to security officer looking at a particular person for him/her to make the final decision
Instead, US government should consider taking the best of commercial and semi-commercial systems used by different agencies and in different fields, apply them to the same data and try to cross-reference the results. Each one will go its own way and one might score. From the top of my head:
There is a CopLink from Knowledge Computing Corp. Granted - it looks at existing criminal records in US, but it is a start.
There is LAS NameHunter for name recognition (but CAPPS 2 is probably using it)
There are piece of technology which are used in domain other then security, but could/should be easily adapted to do the job:
There is "Anonymous Entity Resolution" from SRD, which is used by casinos to cross-reference the entry identification information.
There is HyperDossier/QueryConstructor from Intellidos which are being used by pharmaucetical companies to sift through huge sets of drug activity data
There is Infoglide's Bladeworks, which tracks similarities between different online identities (I understand eBay is using it to stop rampant scams in its auctions)
There are dozens of other companies working in the field.