Summary

Since the 1960s, classified satellite information collected by intelligence agencies has been used, from time to time, by federal civilian agencies and other non-intelligence entities for civil, scientific, and environmental purposes (such as mapping, disaster relief, and environmental research). These uses have historically been coordinated by the Civil Applications Committee (CAC) led by the U.S. Geological Survey, a component of the Department of the Interior. Following the events of September 11, 2001, attention has turned to information sharing as a key element in developing comprehensive and practical approaches to defending against potential terrorist attacks. Having information on threats, vulnerabilities, and incidents can help an agency better understand the risks and determine what preventive measures should be implemented. The ability to share such terrorism-related information can also unify the efforts of federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as the private sector in preventing or minimizing terrorist attacks. Exchanging terrorism-related information continues to be a significant challenge for federal, state, and local governments--one that we recognize is not easily addressed. Accordingly, since January 2005, we have designated information sharing for homeland security a high-risk area. Citing a growing need to use classified satellite information for civil or domestic purposes, in 2005, an independent study group reviewed the future role of the CAC and concluded that although the civil domestic users were well supported through the CAC, homeland security and law enforcement users lacked a coherent, organized, and focused process to access classified satellite information. In 2007, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence designated the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the executive agency and home of a newly created National Applications Office (NAO), whose mission would be to process requests for classified satellite information from, among others, nontraditional users of intelligence for civil, homeland security, and law enforcement purposes. DHS established a process whereby potential requesters for classified satellite information annually submit memorandums generally describing the information they plan to ask for, followed by a more detailed review of each actual request to ensure legal compliance. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, prohibited funds from being made available to commence operations of the NAO until the Secretary of Homeland Security certified that the program complies with all existing laws, including all applicable privacy and civil liberties standards, and that certification was reviewed by GAO. On April 9, 2008, in a letter to Members of Congress, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security certified that the NAO complies with all existing laws, including all applicable privacy and civil liberties standards. The Secretary also provided a charter for the office, privacy and civil liberties impact assessments, and NAO standard operating procedures. Our objectives were to determine the extent to which DHS justified its certification that the NAO complies with (1) all applicable laws, (2) privacy standards, and (3) civil liberties standards.

Although the department has established procedures for legal review, it has not yet fully addressed all outstanding issues regarding how the planned operations of the NAO, as described in the department's certification documents, are to comply with legal requirements. Specifically, DHS has not resolved legal and policy issues associated with NAO support for law enforcement. The NAO charter states that requests for law enforcement domain uses (i.e., activities relating to enforcing criminal or civil laws or investigating violations thereof) will not be accepted by the NAO until interagency agreement is reached on unresolved legal and policy issues. An independent study group had determined that the legality of using satellite imagery of domestic subjects for law enforcement purposes raised difficult issues that had not been fully settled. Work has begun to address these issues, and the department now plans to recertify the NAO's compliance with all laws before accepting requests related to law enforcement. Recertification following the resolution of legal and policy concerns will be an important element in providing assurance that NAO operations are in compliance with all applicable laws. The DHS Privacy Office worked with NAO program officials to define privacy protections for the program and prepared a privacy assessment that discussed high-level privacy protections. Further, DHS has recently taken additional steps to justify its certification of compliance with privacy standards. The NAO civil liberties impact assessment identified a number of areas of potential concern regarding civil rights and civil liberties. Although the NAO program office addressed several of these issues--such as the need to develop and conduct training on civil liberties issues--the department has not indicated how the NAO would address other significant issues, including the potential for improper use or retention of intelligence information by customers and the potential for overly broad annual memorandums about customers' planned uses, which may facilitate the acceptance of requests that should be rejected.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Implemented" or "Not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Recommendations for Executive Action