Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Customs and Border Protection-019 Air and Marine Operations Surveillance System (AMOSS) System of Records, 57402-57405 [2013-22690]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• Office of the Secretary

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57402-57405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22690]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2013-0021]


Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection--019 Air and Marine Operations Surveillance 
System (AMOSS) System of Records

AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of 
Homeland Security proposes to establish a new Department of Homeland 
Security system of records titled, ``Department of Homeland Security/
U.S. Customs and Border Protection--019 Air and Marine Operations 
Surveillance System (AMOSS) System of Records.'' This system of records 
allows the Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection to collect and maintain records on publicly available 
aircraft and airport data provided by the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA), requests from law enforcement about suspects, 
tips from the public, and recordings of event and operations data in a 
watch log or event tracking log. Additionally, the Department of 
Homeland Security is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to exempt 
this system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act, 
elsewhere in the Federal Register. This newly established system will 
be included in the Department of Homeland Security's inventory of 
record systems.
    Dates And Comments: Submit comments on or before October 18, 2013. 
This new system will be effective October 18, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2013-0021 by one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-343-4010.
     Mail: Jonathan R. Cantor, Acting Chief Privacy Officer, 
Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received go to https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact: 
Laurence Castelli, (202) 325-0280, Privacy Officer, U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection, Washington, DC 20229. For privacy issues please 
contact: Jonathan R. Cantor, (202) 343-1717, Acting Chief Privacy 
Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, 
DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) proposes to establish a new DHS system of records 
titled, ``DHS/CBP--019 Air and Marine Operations Surveillance System 
(AMOSS) System of Records.''
    This System of Records Notice (SORN) is being published because 
AMOSS stores personally identifiable information in a system of 
records. AMOSS is a sophisticated radar processing system that supports 
the concerted and cooperative effort of air, land, and sea vehicles; 
field offices; and command and control centers staffed by law 
enforcement officers (LEO), detection enforcement officers (DEO), 
pilots, crew, and Air and Marine Operations Center (AMOC) support staff 
in monitoring approaches to the U.S. border to detect illicit 
trafficking and direct interdiction actions, as appropriate. AMOSS also 
supports domestic operations in conjunction with other domestic law 
enforcement agencies by tracking domestic flights, as well as providing 
air traffic monitoring for air defense purposes. By processing a 
collection of external data imposed over a zooming-capable screen, 
AMOSS provides a real-time picture of air activity over a wide portion 
of North America, thus allowing system operators to discriminate 
between normal and suspicious air, ground, and marine vehicle movement. 
Much of the external data processed by AMOSS does not contain 
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and is supplied to AMOSS by 
means of networked external sources. For instance, global positioning 
systems (GPS) from CBP vehicles or law enforcement investigations, 
maps, datasets from radar plot data, track data, and flight plan data 
are all incorporated to enhance the system operator's ability to 
differentiate between normal and suspicious aviation movement.
    AMOSS collects PII principally from the following sources:
    (1) Aircraft registration and owner information, which is 
downloaded to AMOSS weekly from the publicly available Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) Registration Database (DOT/FAA-801--Aircraft 
Registration System (April 11, 2000, 65 FR 19518));
    (2) Airport manager contact information, which is contained in a 
larger download of airport and aeronautical navigation data obtained 
from the FAA National Flight Data Center Web site (DOT/FAA- 847--
Aviation Records on Individuals (November 9, 2010, 75 FR 68849));
    (3) Suspect information entered into the AMOC watch or event track 
logs received from other CBP personnel or law enforcement agencies; and
    (4) Information from members of the public who call in to report 
suspicious activity to a tip line.
    The majority of the PII contained in AMOSS is publicly available 
data, which AMOSS downloads from the FAA Registration Database. The FAA 
Registration Database contains airport and runway information, aircraft 
registration (ownership) information on U.S. registered aircraft, 
flight plan/route information, special use airspace identification, and 
navigation aids identification. The information that AMOSS extracts 
from the FAA Registration Database contains PII in the form of aircraft 
owner names and addresses and airport manager names and phone numbers.
    AMOSS also contains event and operations data, which DEOs or other 
AMOC staff record in a watch log or event tracking log. The watch log 
contains records of operational activities on the floor of the AMOC. 
The event tracking log contains active event logs of all investigative 
and law enforcement actions in response to suspicious activity. The 
watch log and event tracking log are similar to a police blotter or 
journal and can include

[[Page 57403]]

intelligence/suspect records on vehicles, vessels, and aircraft, as 
well as airport manager names and phone numbers. In addition, the watch 
log and event tracking log may contain PII of suspects who are 
encountered when the DEOs are investigating suspicious air, ground, and 
marine vehicle movement, including names, addresses, phone numbers, 
drivers licenses, and, in some cases, Social Security Numbers (SSN) of 
suspects. The watch log and event tracking log may also contain PII 
from members of the public who call in to a tip line to report tips on 
suspicious activity, including names and phone numbers. Consistent with 
DHS's information sharing mission, information stored in AMOSS may be 
shared with other DHS components when CBP has determined that the 
component has a need to know the information. In addition to CBP, AMOSS 
has users from various DHS components including the U.S. Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Secret Service (USSS), and the 
Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Based on a need to know, 
CBP may share data from AMOSS with other parts of DHS including, but 
not limited to, the DHS National Operations Center, U.S. Coast Guard 
(USCG), and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A). Information 
is transmitted via secure connections between components.
    When appropriate, information in AMOSS may be included in a 
Memorandum of Information Received (MOIR) in TECS (DHS/CBP-011--U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection TECS (December 19, 2008 73 FR 77778)) and 
shared as a suspicious activity report, pursuant to DHS/ALL-031--
Information Sharing Environment Suspicious Activity Reporting 
Initiative (September 10, 2010, 75 FR 55335).
    DHS may share with appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, 
territorial, foreign, or international government agencies when DHS 
determines that the receiving component has a need to know the 
information to carry out national security, law enforcement, 
immigration, intelligence, or other functions consistent with the 
routine uses set forth in this system of records notice. AMOSS also has 
users from the Department of Defense (DOD), including the North 
American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). NORAD users include members 
of the Canadian Armed Forces. These users use AMOSS to identify and 
track aircraft that are transiting, entering, and departing from the 
United States. Access for these users is restricted through the use of 
role-based assignments within AMOSS.
    As part of the AMOC's law enforcement and general aviation security 
mission, non-PII aircraft positional data may be shared with other 
foreign, federal, state, and local agencies. Upon request, AMOSS also 
supports domestic operations in conjunction with other domestic law 
enforcement agencies by tracking domestic flights.
    The collection of information in AMOSS is authorized primarily by 
the following authorities: 6 U.S.C. 202; the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended, including 19 U.S.C. 1590; 19 U.S.C. 2075(b)(2)(B)(3); the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101, et seq., 
including 8 U.S.C. 1103, 1225, and 1324; and the Immigration Reform and 
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Public Law 104-208; Presidential 
Directive 47/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 16 (NSPD-47/HSPD-
16); and DHS Delegation No. 7010.3 (May 11, 2006).
    DHS is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, elsewhere in the 
Federal Register, to exempt this system of records from certain 
provisions of the Privacy Act. CBP will, however, consider individual 
requests to determine whether or not information may be released. 
Moreover, no exemption shall be asserted with respect to information 
maintained in the system as it relates to aircraft data collected from 
the FAA, aside from the accounting of disclosures with law enforcement 
and/or intelligence agencies pursuant to the routine uses in this SORN. 
This newly established system will be included in DHS's inventory of 
record systems.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act embodies fair information practice principles in a 
statutory framework governing the means by which federal government 
agencies collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' 
records. The Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a 
``system of records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any 
records under the control of an agency from which information is 
retrieved by the name of an individual or by some identifying number, 
symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual. In 
the Privacy Act, an individual is defined to encompass U.S. citizens 
and lawful permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends 
administrative Privacy Act protections to all individuals when systems 
of records maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent 
residents, and visitors.
    Below is the description of the DHS/CBP-019 Air and Marine 
Operations Surveillance System (AMOSS) System of Records.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to 
Congress.
System of Records
    DHS/CBP--019.

System name:
    DHS/U.S. Customs and Border Protection--019 Air and Marine 
Operations Surveillance System (AMOSS).

Security classification:
    Unclassified, sensitive, and law enforcement sensitive.

System location:
    Records are maintained at the Air and Marine Operations Center 
(AMOC) in Riverside, California.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    AMOSS contains information on aircraft owners who have registered 
their aircraft with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well 
as airport managers. AMOSS contains information about individuals 
suspected of violating the law or presenting a threat to the United 
States. AMOSS also contains information about individuals mentioned in 
tips from members of the public who call in to report suspicious 
activity to a tip line or from law enforcement, as well as contact 
information for those members of the public or law enforcement.

Categories of records in the system:
    The records in AMOSS are comprised of the following information:
    FAA DATA:
     Aircraft registration (ownership) information on U.S. 
registered aircraft, including registrant name and address, aircraft 
type, and aircraft identification numbers;
     Airport information, including manager name and contact 
information;
     Runway information;
     Flight plan/route information;
     Special use airspace identification; and
     Navigation aids identification.
    EVENT AND OPERATIONS DATA:
     Watch log records of operational activities on the floor 
of the AMOC;
     Event tracking log information on suspects, including: 
Names, addresses, phone numbers, drivers licenses, Social Security 
Numbers, TECS case numbers, information identifying conveyances

[[Page 57404]]

(including vehicle type, tail numbers, license plate numbers, etc.) and 
remarks by Detection Enforcement Officers (DEO);
     Event tracking log information on members of the public 
who call in to a tip line, including: Names, and phone numbers.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    The collection of information in AMOSS is authorized by the 
following authorities: 6 U.S.C. 202; the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended, including 19 U.S.C. 1590; 19 U.S.C. 2075(b)(2)(B)(3); the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (``INA''), 8 U.S.C. 1101, et seq., 
including 8 U.S.C. 1103, 1225, and 1324; the Illegal Immigration Reform 
and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Public Law 104-208, Division 
C; Presidential Directive 47/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 
16 (NSPD-47/HSPD-16); and DHS Delegation No. 7010.3 (May 11, 2006).

Purpose(s):
    Information in AMOSS is used to assist CBP in identifying aircraft, 
vessels, or vehicles illegally entering or attempting to enter the 
United States, making suspicious movements, or otherwise participating 
in the smuggling or transshipment of narcotics, illegal contraband, 
illegal aliens, illegal currency, terrorist activities, or other 
suspected or confirmed violations of U.S. customs and/or immigration 
laws. Information in AMOSS is also used to assist other foreign, 
federal, state, and local agencies for law enforcement and general 
aviation security purposes.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), including U.S. Attorney 
Offices, or other federal agency conducting litigation or in 
proceedings before any court, adjudicative, or administrative body, 
when it is relevant or necessary to the litigation and one of the 
following is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such 
litigation:
    1. DHS or any component thereof;
    2. Any employee or former employee of DHS in his/her official 
capacity;
    3. Any employee or former employee of DHS in his/her individual 
capacity when DOJ or DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
    4. The United States or any agency thereof.
    B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the 
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
    C. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or 
General Services Administration pursuant to records management 
inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 
2906.
    D. To an agency or organization for the purpose of performing audit 
or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only such information 
as is necessary and relevant to such audit or oversight function.
    E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
    1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or 
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 
compromised;
    2. DHS has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed compromise, there is a risk of identity theft or fraud, harm 
to economic or property interests, harm to an individual, or harm to 
the security or integrity of this system or other systems or programs 
(whether maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) that rely upon 
the compromised information; and
    3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, 
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, 
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. 
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to 
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are 
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
    G. To an appropriate federal, state, tribal, local, international, 
or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority 
charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or 
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, when a record, either 
on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a 
violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal, 
civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and 
consistent with the official duties of the person making the 
disclosure.
    H. To federal and foreign government intelligence or 
counterterrorism agencies or components when DHS becomes aware of an 
indication of a threat or potential threat to national or international 
security, or to assist in anti-terrorism efforts.
    I. To an organization or person in either the public or private 
sector, either foreign or domestic, when there is a reason to believe 
that the recipient is or could become the target of a particular 
terrorist activity or conspiracy, or when the information is relevant 
to the protection of life, property, or other vital interests of a 
person.
    J. To third parties during the course of a law enforcement 
investigation to the extent necessary to obtain information pertinent 
to the investigation.
    K. To a court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal in the course 
of presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing counsel or 
witnesses in the course of civil or criminal discovery, litigation, or 
settlement negotiations, or in response to a subpoena from a court of 
competent jurisdiction.
    L. To appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, or foreign 
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations when 
CBP is aware of a need to use relevant data for purposes of testing new 
technology and systems designed to enhance border security or identify 
other violations of law.
    M. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief 
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a 
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when 
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS 
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS's officers, 
employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent 
it is determined that release of the specific information in the 
context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion 
of personal privacy.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in 
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records 
are stored on

[[Page 57405]]

magnetic disc, tape, digital media and DVD/CD-ROM.

Retrievability:
    Records may be retrieved by name or other (alphanumeric) personal 
identifier.

Safeguards:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated 
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed 
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being 
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this 
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the 
information for the performance of their official duties and who have 
appropriate clearances or permissions.

Retention and disposal:
    CBP has established a 15-year retention schedule beginning on the 
last date of the record entry or update, and plans to submit this 
schedule to NARA for approval.

System Manager and address:
    Director, Information Systems, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
Office of Air and Marine, Air and Marine Operations Center, Riverside, 
California.

Notification procedure:
    The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted portions of AMOSS 
from the notification, access, and amendment procedures of the Privacy 
Act because it is a law enforcement system. CBP will, however, consider 
individual requests to determine whether or not information may be 
released. Moreover, no exemption shall be asserted with respect to 
information maintained in the system as it relates to aircraft data 
collected from the FAA, aside from the accounting of disclosures with 
law enforcement and/or intelligence agencies pursuant to the routine 
uses in this SORN. Thus, individuals seeking notification of and access 
to any record contained in this system of records, or seeking to 
contest its content, may submit a request in writing to the CBP FOIA 
Officer, whose contact information can be found at https://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.'' If an individual believes more than one 
component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or her the 
individual may submit the request to the Chief Privacy Officer and 
Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, Department of Homeland 
Security, 245 Murray Drive SW., Building 410, STOP-0655, Washington, DC 
20528.
    When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or 
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with 
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first 
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name, 
current address, and date and place of birth. You must sign your 
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under 
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty 
of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is 
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Chief Privacy 
Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, https://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition you should:
     Explain why you believe the Department would have 
information on you;
     Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe 
may have the information about you;
     Specify when you believe the records would have been 
created; and
     Provide any other information that will help the FOIA 
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records.
    If your request is seeking records pertaining to another living 
individual, you must include a statement from that individual 
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
    Without this bulleted information the component(s) may not be able 
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to 
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
    Records containing PII are obtained from the following sources:
    (1) Aircraft registration and owner information from the publicly 
available FAA Registration Database;
    (2) Airport manager contact information, which is contained in a 
larger download of airport and aeronautical navigation data obtained 
from the FAA National Flight Data Center;
    (3) Suspect information entered into the AMOC watch or event track 
logs received from other CBP personnel or law enforcement agencies; and
    (4) Information from members of the public who call in to report 
suspicious activity to a tip line.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    No exemption shall be asserted with respect to aircraft data 
collected from the FAA that is maintained in AMOSS. However, this FAA 
data may be shared with law enforcement and/or intelligence agencies 
pursuant to the above routine uses. The Privacy Act requires DHS 
maintain an accounting of the disclosures made pursuant to all routine 
uses. Disclosing the fact that a law enforcement or intelligence agency 
has sought particular records may affect ongoing law enforcement or 
intelligence activity. As such, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), DHS 
will claim an exemption from subsections (c)(3); (e)(8); and (g)(1) of 
the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, as is necessary and appropriate to 
protect this information. Further, DHS will claim exemption from 
subsection (c)(3) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 552a(k)(2) as is necessary and appropriate to protect this 
information.
    The Secretary of Homeland Security, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
552a(j)(2), has exempted all other AMOSS data (non-FAA source data) 
from the following provisions of the Privacy Act: 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3) 
and (4); (d); (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I), 
(e)(5), and (e)(8); (f); and (g). Additionally, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), has exempted this 
non-FAA source data in AMOSS from the following provisions of the 
Privacy Act: 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), 
(e)(4)(I); and (f). When a record received from another system has been 
exempted in that source system under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), DHS will 
claim the same exemptions for those records that are claimed for the 
original primary systems of records from which they originated and 
claims any additional exemptions set forth here.

    Dated: August 6, 2013.
Jonathan R. Cantor,
Acting Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2013-22690 Filed 9-17-13; 8:45 am]
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