CyberScoop reports that the Department of Homeland Security's alleged abuse of facial recognition tools and other biometric technologies has prompted the DHS Office of the Inspector General to launch an audit into the privacy practices of the agency, with the probe confirmed to initially focus on the department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Office of Biometric Identity Management sub-components."The objective of the audit is to determine how DHS and its components collect or obtain [personally identifiable information] and biometric data related to immigration enforcement efforts and the extent to which that data is managed, shared, and secured in accordance with law, regulation, and Departmental policy," said DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari in a letter published by Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. Such a development comes after a joint letter from Warner and Kaine expressed worries over widespread facial recognition and license plate information gathering and storage for immigration enforcement. Warner and Kaine then called on the DHS OIG to investigate the department's and ICE's adherence to the Constitution.
