Tue, Sep 23, 2003
Bad Smell From Association With Feds Prompts Additional
Safeguards
Folks, you know what this is about: we told you last week;
and there's a followup today. JetBlue is having its security
procedures audited -- don't you wish the government were as careful
with your private information?
JetBlue Airways has
retained Deloitte & Touche to assist the airline in its
analysis and continued development of its privacy policy following
the airline's release of customer data to Torch Concepts, a
contractor for the Department of Defense, for a project concerning
military base security.
At the special request of the Department of Defense, the airline
shared passenger itineraries but did not provide payment or credit
card information to Torch Concepts. "The information given to Torch
contained name, address and phone number, along with flight
information, but absolutely no payment or credit card information,"
said David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue Airways. "While this is a
concern, we want to let our customers know that we are fully
committed to their privacy and are working with the assistance of
Deloitte & Touche to further develop our internal processes and
procedures to address the protection of personally identifiable
customer information."
Torch's outside legal
counsel has confirmed to JetBlue that no identifiable customer data
was released to any third party, including the Department of
Defense or the Transportation Security Administration, and that all
the data has [sic] been destroyed. JetBlue does not sell
customer information to any third parties and the airline received
no payment from Torch.
The airline also confirms that it will not be a test airline nor
has it ever shared customer information for the TSA's CAPPS II
program and will not do so unless required by law. While, in the
interests of the safety and security of its customers, JetBlue had
entered into discussions with the TSA regarding the CAPPS II
program and had agreed initially to participate in its development,
the airline decided against further participation unless federally
mandated due to concerns for customer privacy and the uncertainty
of the final structure of CAPPS II.
"We support the TSA and the important work they do to ensure the
safety and security of all airline passengers but we decided not to
be involved in CAPPS II testing given the unresolved issues
regarding privacy protection," said David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue
Airways. "Along with other airlines, we look forward to continuing
our partnership with the TSA to improve airline security while
being respectful of customer privacy concerns."
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