Privacy4Patriots Responds to TSA Screening of Disabled 3-Year-Old by Urging Agency to Respect Family's Privacy - WTRF 7 News Sports Weather - Wheeling Steubenville

Privacy4Patriots Responds to TSA Screening of Disabled 3-Year-Old by Urging Agency to Respect Family's Privacy

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SOURCE: Power4Patriots

A Missouri family flying to Orlando out of St. Louis recently was involved in an incident with TSA officials who singled out their 3-year-old, wheelchair-bound daughter for a pat-down. In response, Privacy4Patriots stresses that respect for families’ privacy should carry a bigger emphasis for the agency.

(PRWEB) March 02, 2013

As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a number of other media outlets, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials singled out a 3-year-old girl with Spina bifida for additional screening on Feb. 9, 2013, at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. A TSA agent also told the parents that it was illegal for them to film the screening.

Already under fire for having nearly 400 of its agents fired for theft, according to ABC News, the TSA needs to do a better job of respecting the privacy of traveling families by avoiding unwarranted additional screening of children, says Privacy4Patriots, the publisher of an upcoming report on how to protect one’s privacy.

Adults deserve privacy as well, and following are Privacy4Patriots’ five ways to help secure it while traveling:

  •     Password protect devices. Many people have personal, financial and medical information on their cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices. If any of those devices are lost or stolen, owners will sleep better if they protected them with difficult-to-guess passwords.

  •     Upload tracking or “find-me” apps on digital devices. Thieves like to target laptops, tablets and smart phones carried by unwary travelers, due to their resale value. There are a number of apps that allow people to track their devices. Some apps will even take photos of the thief.

  •     Keep vacation and other travel plans private. When someone posts a comment on Facebook such as, “Off to the shore with the family for the weekend,” they might as well add, “Key is under the front door mat.” Broadcsting one’s absence on social media sites is an invitation to a thief.

  •     Only use secure Wi-Fi venues. Ask venue owners if their wireless router is encryption enabled. When checking email or accessing financial information, make sure that the website has “https” at the beginning, which indicates that they encrypt data during transmission.

  •     Remember to log out of public computers. Internet cafes and libraries can be great places to check email while away from home, but logging out is very important. There are information thieves who hang around in those types of places, watching for people who forget this simple but crucial step.

Check out this Power4Patriots blog post to learn four ways to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/3/prweb10487827.htm