NSA and White House found violating privacy rules through cookies

NSA and White House found violating privacy rules through cookies

Though federal rules strictly ban using of cookies, the National Security Agency (NSA) on its web site is alleged to have been planting them on visitors' computers discreetly so as to monitor their surfing habits.

The cookies made an exit this week after a complaint was lodged by a privacy activist. NSA officials attributed this mistake to a software upgrade they were reportedly making.

Associated Press got hold of the information that the NSA was using "persistent cookies". These coolies are set to expire by the year 2035.

The White House website was also found guilty of using cookies through WebTrends, which were banned after a two-year old directive was issued by White House's Office of Management and Budget.

Meanwhile, David Almacy, the White House Internet director, while denying that the White House web site was placing cookies on any of the persons who visit its Web site, accepted that it monitors as to what pages are being viewed.

He said: “The only information we track is what pages are being viewed and we count site visits and the length of time each visitor spends on our site. We don't track any personal information about the user.”

Mr. Almacy added: “What was happening was that users that visited other WebTrends sites picked up WebTrend cookies from these other sites. Mr. Smith's packet sniffer program then assumes that because we use WebTrends our site placed the cookies on his hard drive.”

Mr. Smith said that the White House came up with “very predictable” responses and added that third-party cookies also allow tracking.

Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an advocacy group, said: “Considering the surveillance power the N.S.A. has, cookies are not exactly a major concern. But it does show a general lack of understanding about privacy rules when they are not even following the government's very basic rules for Web privacy.”