System of Record Notice

Federal Register, Volume 78 Issue 10 (Tuesday, January 15, 2013)

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[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3019-3022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00602]
----------------------------------------------------------------------DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2012-0025]
Privacy Act of 1974; Science & Technology Directorate-001
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Records System of Records
AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.
----------------------------------------------------------------------SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of
Homeland Security proposes to update and reissue a current Department
of Homeland Security system of records titled, ``Department of Homeland
Security/Science and Technology Directorate-001 Research, Development,
Test, and Evaluation System of Records.'' This system of records allows
the Department of Homeland Security/Science and Technology Directorate
to collect and maintain records collected in support of, or during the
conduct of, Science & Technology-funded research, development, test,
and evaluation activities. As a result of the biennial review of this
system, routine uses have been updated. Additionally, this notice
includes non-substantive changes to simplify the formatting and text of
the previously published notice. This updated system will be included
in the Department of Homeland Security's inventory of record systems.
DATES: Submit comments on or before February 14, 2013. This updated
system will be effective February 14, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS2012-0025 by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 202-343-4010.
Mail: Jonathan R. Cantor, Acting Chief Privacy Officer,
Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be
posted without change and may be read at http://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact:
Christopher Lee, STPrivacy@hq.dhs.gov, the Science & Technology
Directorate's Privacy Office, Mail Stop: 0205, Department of Homeland
Security, 245 Murray Lane SW., Washington, DC 20528. For privacy
issues, please contact: Jonathan R. Cantor, Acting Chief Privacy
Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington,
DC 20528.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology
Directorate (S&T) proposes to update and reissue a current DHS system
of records titled, ``DHS/S&T-001 Research, Development, Test, and

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Evaluation System of Records.''
An integral part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Science & Technology Directorate's (S&T) mission is to conduct
research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E activities) on
topics and technologies related to improving homeland security and
combating terrorism. Some RDT&E activities involve the collection of
personally identifiable information. This system of records notice
covers records collected in support of, or during the conduct of, DHS/
S&T-funded RDT&E activities, when those records are retrieved by
personal identifier.
As a general rule, the information collected will be used by DHS/
S&T solely for the purposes of supporting RDT&E activities (e.g.,
testing and evaluating a screening technology or obtaining feedback on
a technology from volunteer participants). S&T will not use the
information collected for law enforcement, intelligence, or any purpose
other than RDT&E. This system of records notice only covers the
collection and use of information for the purpose of RDT&E activities.
In situations when DHS/S&T-funded RDT&E activities directly involve law
enforcement, intelligence personnel, and/or other operational entities,
a separate SORN is required to address any activities from which
information collected would be used in operations, to support
operational decisions, or any purpose other than RDT&E activities. An
exception to the above general rule limiting the use of collected
information
[[Page 3020]]
to RTD&E activities is if, during a human subject testing activity, the
individual provides information that indicates a violation or potential
violation of law, which includes criminal, civil, or regulatory
violations. Only in that limited situation, the information collected
may be referred to federal, state, tribal, local, international, or
foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority charged
with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, pursuant to Routine Use
G, below.
The Routine Uses have been updated to include Routine Use ``H,''
disclosure to the news media and the public. Additionally, this notice
includes non-substantive changes to simplify and clarify the formatting
and text of the previously published notice. The updates do not have a
significant impact on individual privacy. All current privacy
protections and considerations remain intact ensuring individual
privacy is protected during S&T RDT&E activities, including conducting
a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) and using technical safeguards and
access controls to protect data from unauthorized use. The updates
specify that any law enforcement, intelligence personnel, or
operational partners collaborating with S&T may make operational
decisions based on information collected during S&T RDT&E activities,
if they have appropriate legal authority and an appropriate SORN is in
place.
This updated system will be included in DHS' inventory of record
systems.
II. The Privacy Act
The Privacy Act embodies fair information principles in a statutory
framework governing the means by which federal government agencies
collect, maintain, use and disseminate individuals' records. The
Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system of
records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under the
control of an agency from which information is retrieved by the name of
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other
particular assigned to an individual. In the Privacy Act, an individual
is defined to encompass U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. As
a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative Privacy Act protections
to all individuals where systems of records maintain information on
U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and visitors.
Below is a description of the DHS/S&T-001 Research, Development,
Test, and Evaluation Records System of records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), a report on this system has
been sent to Congress and to the Office of Management and Budget.

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System of Records:
Department of Homeland Security/S&T-001
System name:
DHS/S&T-001 Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Records
Security Classification:
Unclassified
System location:
Records are maintained at the S&T Headquarters in Washington, DC,
in S&T field offices, and at public or private institutions, including
the National Labs, conducting research funded by S&T.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Categories of individuals covered by this notice include voluntary
participants in S&T-funded research (note: all S&T-funded research that
involves human subjects research is conducted in accordance with 45 CFR
part 46 and is reviewed by a certified Institutional Review Board);
individuals whose names may appear in publicly available documents
(e.g., newspapers and academic articles) about terrorism, terrorist
events, violent groups, or other topics related to terrorism research;
individuals whose personally identifiable information may be collected
through DHS operations and maintained by other DHS components;
individuals whose images, biometrics, physiological features, or other
information may be intentionally (with notice to and consent by the
individual) or incidentally captured during testing of S&T
technologies; subject matter experts who publish articles related to
terrorism or biomedical and life sciences research; and subject matter
experts who voluntarily consent to be included in a database of
experts.
Categories of records in the system:
S&T RDT&E Records will vary according to the specific project. The
information may include, but is not limited to, an individual's:
Name;
Age;
Gender;
Contact information;
Birthplace;
Ethnicity;
Level of education;
Occupation;
Institutional or organizational affiliation;
Publication record, such as article and publication
titles, dates and sources;
Medical history;
Lifestyle information (e.g., caffeine or tobacco use);
Publicly available reports of criminal history;
Video or still images;
Other images (e.g., infrared thermography, terahertz,
millimeter wave);
Audio recordings;
Fingerprints, iris images, DNA or other biometric
information; and
Physiological measurements collected using sensors (e.g.,
heart rate, breathing pattern, and electrodermal activity).
Authority for maintenance of the system:
The Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 1007-296, Sec.
302(4) (codified at 6 U.S.C. 182(b)), authorizes the Science and
Technology Directorate to conduct ``basic and applied research,
development, demonstration, testing, and evaluation activities that are
relevant to any or all elements of the Department, through both
intramural and extramural programs.'' In exercising its responsibility
under the Homeland Security Act, S&T is authorized to collect
information, as appropriate, to support research and development
related to improving the security of the homeland. When research
includes human subjects, S&T complies with the provisions of DHS
Management Directive 026-04, ``Protection of Human Subjects'', which
adopts the regulations set forth in 45 CFR part 46 and establishes

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Departmental policy for the protection of human subjects in research.
Purpose(s):
Records are collected for the purpose of furthering S&T's mission
to push innovation and development, and the use of high technology in
support of homeland security. The purposes of the records are to:
Understand the motivations and behaviors of terrorists,
individuals that engage in violent or criminal activities, terrorist
groups, and groups that engage in violent or criminal activities.
Understand terrorist incidents and the phenomenon of
terrorism and identify trends and patterns in terrorist activities.
Collect and maintain searchable records of individuals
(such as subject matter experts on chemical weapons)
[[Page 3021]]
and/or their characteristics and professional accomplishments,
organized according to categories useful for the purpose of
collaboration or conduct of research, including research to determine
the efficacy and utility of new or enhanced technologies intended for
eventual transition to and use by S&T's customers.
Evaluate the performance and utility to the future
customer of an experimental homeland security or first responder
technology or product in a laboratory or ``real-world'' setting.
Test the accuracy of a research hypothesis. (For example,
S&T might hypothesize that an individual's behavior changes in a
detectable manner when he or she is being deceitful, and then design a
research experiment to test that hypothesis.)
Answer a research question. (For example, ``Can an
experimental screening technology distinguish between threat objects
and non-threat objects?'').
Conduct testing and evaluation of an experimental
technology at the request of or on behalf of a customer.
Conduct research and development to solve a technical
problem for a customer.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3):
A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), including U.S. Attorney
Offices, or other federal agency conducting litigation or in
proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative body, when
it is relevant or necessary to the litigation and one of the following
is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation:
1. DHS or any component thereof;
2. any employee of former employee of DHS in his/her official
capacity;
3. any employee or former employee of DHS in his/her individual
capacity where DOJ or DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
4. the United States or any agency thereof.
B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
C. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or
General Services Administration pursuant to records management
inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and
2906.
D. To an agency or organization for the purpose of performing audit
or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only such information
as is necessary and relevant to such audit or oversight function.
E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been
compromised;
2. DHS has determined that as a result of the suspected or
confirmed compromise, there is a risk of identity theft or fraud, harm
to economic or property interests, or harm to the security or integrity
of this system or other systems or programs (whether maintained by DHS
or another agency or entity) that rely upon the compromised

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information; and
3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants,
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant,
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records.
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
G. To an appropriate federal, state, tribal, local, international,
or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority
charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, where a record, either
on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a
violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal,
civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and
consistent with the official duties of the person making the
disclosure.
H. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS' officers,
employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent
it is determined that release of the specific information in the
context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy.
Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
None.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
RDT&E records maintained in hard copy are stored in a locked file
cabinet or safe. Electronic records are stored in computer files that
require a password for access and are protected by a firewall. Data and
systems are encrypted as necessary, pursuant to DHS guidelines.
Retrievability:
In most cases, S&T RDT&E is focused on evaluating the performance
of a given experimental technology or system. Thus, only the aggregated
performance data (e.g., the technology has a 5% false positive rate, or
the technology is accurate 92% of the time) is important and relevant
to S&T. For this reason, S&T RDT&E records are not as a matter of
course retrieved by name or other identifier assigned to the
individual. However, S&T may need to access RDT&E records by name or
other identifier in order to make corrections to an individual's
record, resolve an anomaly related to a specific individual's record,
and/or link disparate pieces of information related to an individual.
For example, if an individual informed a researcher that he or she had
inadvertently provided incorrect information regarding his or her
medical history, the researcher would retrieve that individual's record
using the research identifier in order to correct the erroneous data.
Safeguards:
All RDT&E records are protected by employing a multi-layer security
approach to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive or personal data
through appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.
Protective strategies such as implementing physical access controls at
DHS facilities; ensuring confidentiality of communications using tools
such as encryption, authentication of sending parties, and
compartmentalizing databases; and employing auditing software and
personnel screening to ensure that all personnel with access to data
are
[[Page 3022]]
screened through background investigations commensurate with the level

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of access required to perform their duties.
S&T RDT&E records are also monitored for changes to the source
data. The program manager has the capability to maintain system backups for the purpose of supporting continuity of operations and the
discrete need to isolate and copy specific data transactions for the
purpose of conducting privacy or security incident investigations. S&T
RDT&E records are secured in full compliance with the requirements of
DHS IT Security Program Handbook. This handbook establishes a
comprehensive information security program.
Retention and disposal:
All records will be maintained in accordance with the NARA-approved
retention schedule. All existing S&T RDT&E records fall under General
Records System 20, which covers the disposition of electronic files or
records created solely to test system performance, as well as hard-copy
printouts and related documentation for the electronic files/records.
According to General Records System 20, records should be ``delete[d]/
destroy[ed] when the agency determines that they are no longer needed
for administrative, legal, audit, or other operational purposes.''
Electronic records will be deleted from all computers, storage devices,
and networks, and paper records will be shredded. Oftentimes, PII
collected during the project is retained for the duration of the
project; at the conclusion of the project, PII is destroyed. However,
researchers may retain aggregated research data (without PII)
indefinitely, as it may help inform future RDT&E efforts.
System manager(s) and address:
S&T Privacy Office, Mail Stop: 0205, Department of Homeland
Security, 245 Murray Lane, SW., Washington, DC 20528.
Notification procedure:
Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record
contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content,
may submit a request in writing to S&T FOIA Officer, Mail Stop: 0205
Department of Homeland Security, 245 Murray Lane SW., Washington, DC
20528, specific FOIA contact information can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.''
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other S&T system of records your request must conform with the
Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name,
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty
of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from Director,
Disclosure and FOIA, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition
you should provide the following:
Explain why you believe the Department would have
information on you;
Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe
may have the information about you;
Specify when you believe the records would have been
created; and
Provide any other information that will help the FOIA
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records;
and
If your request is seeking records pertaining to another living
individual, you must include a statement from that individual
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
Without the above information the component(s) may not be able to
conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to lack
of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.
Record access procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Contesting record procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Record source categories:
S&T RDT&E records include (1) Records collected directly from the

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individual; (2) publicly available documents (e.g., articles from
newspapers and academic journals); (3) records collected from the
individual using sensors (e.g., a heart rate monitor) or technologies
(e.g., cameras, audio recorders, infrared thermography or other images,
or biometric devices).
Exemptions claimed for the system:
None.
Jonathan R. Cantor,
Acting Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2013-00602 Filed 1-14-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-9F-P

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