[Clips] WhiteHouse.gov Uses Cookies, Bugs

[R. A. Hettinga]

--- begin forwarded text


 Delivered-To: clips at philodox.com
 Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2005 11:17:06 -0500
 To: Philodox Clips List <clips at philodox.com>
 From: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
 Subject: [Clips] WhiteHouse.gov Uses Cookies, Bugs
 Reply-To: rah at philodox.com
 Sender: clips-bounces at philodox.com

 Gee. Another government website that tries to look up your skirt.

 Imagine that.

 These people in the AP really *are* virgins, aren't they?

 Cheers,
 RAH
 -------

 <http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/1,69945-0.html>

 Wired News


   WhiteHouse.gov Uses Cookies, Bugs


 Associated Press

 NEW YORK -- Unbeknown to the Bush administration, an outside contractor has
 been using internet tracking technologies that may be prohibited to analyze
 usage and traffic patterns at the White House's website, an official said
 Thursday.

 David Almacy, the White House's internet director, promised an
 investigation into whether the practice is consistent with a 2003 policy
 from the White House's Office of Management and Budget banning the use of
 most such technologies at government sites.

 "No one even knew it was happening," Almacy said. "We're going to work with
 the contractor to ensure that it's consistent with the OMB policy."

 The acknowledgment came a day after the National Security Agency admitted
 it had erred in using banned "cookies" at its website. Both acknowledgments
 followed inquiries by The Associated Press.

 The White House's website uses what's known as a web bug to anonymously
 keep track of who's visiting and when. A web bug is essentially a tiny
 graphic image -- a dot, really -- that's virtually invisible. In this case,
 the bug is pulled from a server maintained by the contractor, WebTrends,
 and lets the traffic analytic company know that another person has visited
 a specific page on the site.

 Web bugs themselves are not prohibited.

 But when these bugs are linked to a data file known as a "cookie" so that a
 site can tell if the same person has visited again, a federal agency using
 them must demonstrate a "compelling need," get a senior official's signoff
 and disclose such usage, said Peter Swire, a Clinton administration
 official who helped draft the original rules.

 The White House's privacy policy does not specially mention cookies or web
 bugs, and Almacy said the signoff was never sought because one was not
 thought to be required. He said his team was first informed of the cookie
 use by the AP.

 In any case, Almacy said, no personal information was collected, and the
 cookie was used only to determine whether a visitor was a new or returning
 user.

 It's not entirely clear how the cookies are created.

 Cookies from the White House site do not appear to be generated simply by
 visiting it, according to analyses by the AP and by Richard M. Smith, a
 security consultant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who first noticed the web
 bug this week.

 Rather, WebTrends cookies are sometimes created when visiting other
 WebTrends clients. Smith said his analysis of network traffic shows such
 pre-existing cookies have then been used to recognize visitors to the White
 House site.

 But WebTrends officials say they do not aggregate information about
 visitors across multiple sites, and when presented with Smith's data,
 referred inquiries to the White House. Almacy said it's possible the cookie
 resulted from the White House visit, adding he was awaiting further details
 from WebTrends.

 In a statement, the company added that the analysis performed at the White
 House site is typical among organizations for improving user experience.

 But Swire said a similar use of cookies had prompted the federal guidelines.

 The Clinton administration first issued the strict rules on cookies in 2000
 after its Office of National Drug Control Policy, through a contractor, had
 used the technology to track computer users viewing its online anti-drug
 advertising. The rules were updated in 2003 by the Bush administration.

 Although no personal information was collected at the time, Swire said,
 concerns were raised that one site's data could be linked later with those
 from the contractor's other clients.

 "It all could be linked up after the fact, and that was enough to lead to
 the federal policy," Swire said.

 Nonetheless, agencies occasionally violate the rules inadvertently. The CIA
 did in 2002, and the NSA more recently. The NSA disabled the cookies this
 week and blamed a recent upgrade to software that shipped with cookie
 settings already on.

 --
 -----------------
 R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
 The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
 "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
 [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
 experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'