Look who's buying stolen phone records

Time Magazine has the latest details today regarding the ongoing scandal that is the illegal acquisition and online peddling of personal telephone records. Of greatest interest in the story [1] is news that this grotesque invasion of privacy is being fueled by the state, local and federal law enforcement agencies that these shady data brokers list among their customers.
 
"It appears this may just be the tip of the iceberg, but the allegation by one data broker that they are selling records to Homeland Security and the FBI is an important issue that needs further exploration," says Rob Douglas, a security expert who runs the Web site www.privacytoday.com [2]. Douglas had been consulting for the House Energy and Commerce Committee on this issue until last month when he resigned over his contention that allegations of privacy abuse by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI were not being properly addressed, according to Time.
 
The bottom line is that Congress has been completely ineffectual [3] in getting to the bottom of this issue.
 
For a refresher on how your phone records are acquired without your permission, check out this earlier 'Net Buzz column. [4]