Sunday, September 21, 2003
JetRedWhiteandBlue
Violating its own privacy policy, JetBlue Airways gave 5 million passenger itineraries to a Defense Department contractor that used the information as part of a study seeking ways to identify "high risk" airline customers.
The study, produced by Torch Concepts of Huntsville, Ala., was intended to be a proof-of-concept analysis for a project on military base security, titled "Homeland Security: Airline Passenger Risk Assessment."
JetBlue, whose terminal at Oakland International Airport is a major hub for the low-cost carrier's popular cross-country routes, insisted the data was not shared with any government agency and that Torch has since destroyed the passenger records.
New York-based JetBlue said it has taken steps so the situation will not happen again. "This was a mistake on our part," JetBlue chief executive David Neeleman said in an apologetic e-mail sent to angry customers.
Silicon Valley privacy activist Bill Scannell, who first posted details of the study and JetBlue's involvement on his Web site, Don't Spy On Us, said Friday the privacy of anyone who flew JetBlue from its inception until September 2002 was compromised.
Still more.
posted by chris at 10:28 PM
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