Why I do not fear Big Brother, the DHS-CIA edition

I have repeatedly said that the nature of bureaucracy serves to prevent any concerted Big Brother event from happening. Conspiracy theorists imagine that Mossad and the CIA and Dow Chemical are all plotting against us from an underground bunker in Brussels, but the truth is that organizations don't want to cooperate with each other.

The latest example comes from the Schengen region in Europe, a group of countries that monitor people coming in an out of the region. In its efforts to secure the world from terrorists, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is assisting the Schengen region with biometric technology to identify people who are coming in and out of the area.

[DISCLOSURE: I AM EMPLOYED IN THE BIOMETRIC INDUSTRY.]

[NOTE: IF YOU ARE A U.S. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE, YOU MAY HAVE TO STOP READING THIS POST. THE REMAINDER OF THIS POST INCLUDES MATERIAL FROM WIKILEAKS, AND AS FAR AS I KNOW YOU'RE STILL NOT ALLOWED TO READ IT.]

Unfortunately, the DHS initiative is causing potential problems for the CIA.

In 2015, a new entry-exit system that mandates fingerprint identification is scheduled to go live, the guidelines note: "The European Commission is considering requiring travelers who do not require visas to provide biometric data at their first place of entry into the Schengen area, which would increase the identity threat level for all U.S. travelers” – spies included.

So if you're a CIA spy trying to sneak into the Schengen area, the DHS tools can serve to reveal your real identity.

Whoops.