Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    sales and data analytics
    How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
    9 Min Read
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Change.gov and Cluen: A Case Study in Privacy
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Business Intelligence > CRM > Change.gov and Cluen: A Case Study in Privacy
Business IntelligenceCRMData Mining

Change.gov and Cluen: A Case Study in Privacy

ariherzog
ariherzog
5 Min Read
SHARE

Surely you’ve heard of the Obama-Biden Transition Project and know it’s a 501c(4) organization, right? Have you visited the official website at change.gov, read the blog, and shared your vision for America?
If you think like I do, perhaps you agree with Josh Bernoff’s 3 tips how change.gov should be improved?
In my last post, I quoted […]

Surely you’ve heard of the Obama-Biden Transition Project and know it’s a 501c(4) organization, right? Have you visited the official website at change.gov, read the blog, and shared your vision for America?

If you think like I do, perhaps you agree with Josh Bernoff’s 3 tips how change.gov should be improved?

More Read

Data Mining Book Review: Decision Management Systems
Big Data Analytics: Don’t Forget the Endgame
Actionable Information Governance
In-Memory Analytics and the Future of Business From Booz & Co.
AI Drives the Intersection of Industrial Hygiene and Cybersecurity

In my last post, I quoted co-chair Valerie Jarrett saying the transition process between now and January 20 will be “transparent.” I thought that would be a step in the right direction.

I still hope transparency is possible in the government, but a curious investigation led me down a path to conclude transparency is the tip of the iceberg and change.gov is not what it seems.

With a desire to work on social media efforts for the Obama Administration, I recently applied for a job on change.gov. Nothing fancy; just a simple contact form.

I saw an email response yesterday, pointing me to continue the application process by filling out a 7-page, 63-question tell-all survey that New York Times reporter Jackie Calmes summarizes:

Applicants are asked whether they or anyone in their family owns a gun. They must include any e-mail that might embarrass the president-elect, along with any blog posts and links to their Facebook pages.

The application also asks applicants to “please list all aliases or ‘handles’ you have used to communicate on the Internet.”

Declan McCullagh of CNet News expands upon Calmes’ summary with a closer look:

Translated into English, this means that President-elect Obama wants to know far more about you than his predecessors did. That requirement would force applicants to disclose information about Facebook and MySpace pages, profiles posted on dating Web sites, and even what was posted on Web sites like CNET and YouTube that allow readers to append comments.

If that doesn’t bother you, go ahead and fill out the application at change.gov/jobs/apply_app/ — but the information is not stored at change.gov.

Notice the bottom of the page where it says the application system is powered by Cluen technology?

Click the link and be redirected to the Cluen Corporation, an 18-year-old private firm that provides recruiting software solutions.

The basic idea behind the company’s Searchlight technology is a recruiting agency can collect data through online forms that are masked to be at the agency’s website and the data is stored on secure Cluen servers.

A tactic used by a recruiting firm should be different for a presidential transition team, right? Surely, job data would be stored on a government server somewhere?

Think again.

Check out https://searchlight2.cluen.com/CandidateLogin.asp?compid={BBCFD5B2-E18C-4307-BEFA-BD007B34C07D}&layout={D3264583-16A1-451A-A7DC-3BC1F4F61B56} which provides the true “power” of the attribution line at the change.gov application page.

In other words, not only are prospective applicants asked to submit 63 answers with personal information, but the data is stored at the Cluen Corporation. Perhaps this is included in the change.gov privacy policy under “physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards.”

Maybe I’m off my rocker, in which case you can donate money to the 501c(4) here.

If I’m not off my rocker, what are your thoughts?

Thank you for reading my article. If you enjoyed it, please consider receiving my free advice by reader or by email.


Link to original post

Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

sales and data analytics
How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
ai in marketing
How AI and Smart Platforms Improve Email Marketing
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive Marketing
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
AI supply chain
AI Tools Are Strengthening Global Supply Chains
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

machine learning
Artificial IntelligenceMachine Learning

Deep Feature Synthesis Is the Future of Machine Learning

6 Min Read

Enhancing Collective Defense with Taxonomies for Operational Cyber Defense

6 Min Read
AI in Gaming
Artificial IntelligenceExclusive

Gaming Industry Changes: How MMO AI Overhaul Can Shape The Future

5 Min Read
customer retention big data
Big DataBusiness IntelligenceCRMData ManagementMarket ResearchMarketingSoftware

New Big Data Platform: Gainsight

4 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

ai chatbot
The Art of Conversation: Enhancing Chatbots with Advanced AI Prompts
Chatbots
ai is improving the safety of cars
From Bolts to Bots: How AI Is Fortifying the Automotive Industry
Artificial Intelligence

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?