American’s privacy threatened by new AICPA Fingerprint
Database...The AICPA is now allowing a foreign data-mining
corporation access to tens-of-thousands of US fingerprints

The CPA exam directors e-mail addresses are below, please share your
thoughts about this program with them...we need your help to shut this
down.
(copy & paste their addresses into your e-mail software)

Op-Ed by Jason Giaimo
Former Vice President,
Institute of Management Accountants, Alaska State Chapter
President, Net Gain Business Consultants

In a thinly-veiled data-collection scheme, the AICPA is now allowing a foreign data-mining corporation full-access to
tens-of-thousands of fingerprints of US college students and anyone else taking the CPA exam, and Anchorage-based
Net Gain Business Consultants is leading a national movement to stop them. Haven’t honest Americans surrendered
enough of their privacy? This illogical, unnecessary, and un-American obsession with collecting innocent peoples’
fingerprints is just wrong, and enough is enough!   Accountants should NOT risk their identity by taking the
CPA exam until this Orwellian and dangerous AICPA program is shut down.

Starting January 1st of last year, and for the first time in its 121 year history, the venerable American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and their sister organization National Association of State Boards of
Accountancy (NASBA) began forcing college students (and other examinees) to either submit to being fingerprinted --
or be barred from the exam process regardless of other identification presented...only to give a foreign data-broker full
and immediate access to the fingerprints collected. I offered to show my US passport, driver’s license, social security
card & even my original birth certificate but I was barred from completing my remaining CPA exams due to
“insufficient identification.”  Under the program, a US passport is considered "insufficient for
identification."

“This seems more like security theatre than anything that addresses a real threat” notes world-renown biometrics
expert Dr. James Wayman, Director of the National Biometrics Test Center at San Jose State University.  Fingerprints
change constantly, and these one or two finger systems are notoriously prone to false negatives. I personally know of
an examinee who washed their hands during an exam break, and was not recognized by the scanner due to the new
moisture state of their fingers.  This experience would not be uncommon, so it’s hard to understand the business case
for this type of application.  Besides, giving fingerprints is far beyond what is necessary, and based on what I have
seen, if NASBA were a government agency, they would be in violation of privacy regulations” notes biometric
expert Dr. Wayman.

The logical question that is being asked is how can a passport be sufficient identification to travel the world
and enter the USA, but not to sit for the CPA exam? This is clearly NOT about
identification, but about data collection; it is unethical and it needs to
stop.  Despite the clear concerns & comments made by members of the Alaska Board of Public Accountancy
during their April 24, 2008 meeting (see official minutes on their website) that “the fingerprinting only seems to ensure
that it is the same person showing up for all four (exam) parts and does not confirm the identity of the person” and “if
the information is not secure enough (it) may end up in the wrong hands” -- sadly the Alaska Board of Accountancy
has informed me that it actually supports this program.

One enthusiastic supporter of the new program is Ken Bishop, a former undercover narcotics unit Police Commander,
who is NASBA Vice President. He believes fingerprints are necessary, and strongly supports the creation of the new
Global CPA Examinee Fingerprint Database. Although Mr. Bishop has stated in writing that “fingerprints are only
temporarily recorded and erased at the completion of the exam procedure,” published AICPA documents show
otherwise.  The CPA Fingerprint Database will be globally accessible to multiple parties
over the Internet, “even years later” according to a Prometric Vice President Mr. Bumham,
quoted in the AICPA Fall 2007 newsletter.  

Senior executives at the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), who offer a highly respected alternative to the
CPA credential called the CMA (Certified Management Accountant), have rejected fingerprinting exam candidates,
stating that “we were approached by the same vendor who offers this to the AICPA, and we concluded it was
expensive, unnecessary, and risky to our member’s privacy.”   The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)has also rejected
mandating fingerprinting of examinees.

According to NASBA executives, the new CPA Fingerprint Database will be stored by the foreign-owned data
mining firm ChoicePoint - the same data miner who was recently assessed the largest penalty in history of
the Federal Trade Commission for “making false and misleading statements about its privacy policies,
violating consumer’s privacy rights, and for violating numerous Federal laws.” According to the FTC website,
ChoicePoint sold highly confidential financial information on over 163,000 American consumers to Nigerian criminal
gangs, and it will now be storing American’s (CPAs) fingerprint data as well.  

Currently, ChoicePoint maintains more than 17 billion records of individuals and
businesses, which it sells to an estimated 100,000 clients including the Dept of
Homeland Security, law enforcement agencies and the FBI.  Even Ms. R.M. Tracy, a former
FBI Special Agent and well known data privacy expert who was hired by the AICPA itself to lecture on data privacy
singled out ChoicePoint during her 9/26/08 presentation for its numerous legal violations, privacy abuse, and lawsuits
by the Attorney General’s of 44 US states.  ChoicePoint even sent a letter expressing an interest
in selling access to CPA examinee’s fingerprints to me, when I posed as a potential
customer.

Why should innocent Americans object to having their fingerprints taken?  This is a perilous and shameful road for
America (The Land of the Free) to go down.  One look at any newspaper will show that “state-of-the-art”
databases are breached on nearly a daily basis. In the last three years alone, over 1,000 documented breeches
totaling over 220 million electronic records; you and your family’s most personal financial, medical and private
information, have been exposed. Criminal organizations and terrorist hackers are getting more sophisticated by the
day, and your fingerprints are like passwords that can never be changed.  Once they are compromised (and if
collected, they will be) you will be at risk forever.

At risk of what?  When you submit to being fingerprinted for “routine” background checks (banking, government jobs,
school, church volunteers), your prints are compared against the FBI’s database of over 55 million sets of fingerprints
(including rapists, murderers, foreign terrorists etc.), and then (supposedly) purged. However, according to a
December 23rd 2007 article in the Washington Post, the FBI is initiating a new program called “rap-back” which will
allow the FBI to retain and add the fingerprints from these “routine” background checks on innocent Americans to the
massive IAFIS tracking database.  Your fingerprints will then be subject to electronic line-ups thousands of times
per day, whenever the law enforcement database is queried for terrorism, murder or other criminal activities.   
Mistakes do happen, and I for one, would prefer to avoid such associations!  

Many, many people have been falsely imprisoned by errors in fingerprint matching. Just Google US attorney “Brandon
Mayfield” for one recent example.  His prints initially came back a “100% perfect match” to a terrorist bombing
according to FBI fingerprint experts. He would probably still be in jail (or have been executed) for mass murder if the
Spanish police had not taken the highly unusual step of lobbying the FBI for his release.

Are your fingerprints in the database yet?  Will YOU be the next Brandon Mayfield? Stephan Cowans served nearly 7
years of a 45 year prison sentence due to a fingerprint matching error.  Robert Loomis, Roger Caldwell, William
Stevens, Bruce Basden, Michael Cooper, John Stoppelli and Neville Lee were all convicted and served terms for
murder, rape or similar offenses based upon “perfect” fingerprint matches later found to be erroneous.  The list goes
on, and on, and on.

“Fingerprinting is going to be an essential component of (government) tracking (of its citizens)” said Barry
Steinhardt, director of the Technology and Liberty Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. It's
enabling the “Always On Surveillance Society.”

Right now, YOU can help us stop this.  Please dedicate just the next two minutes of your
day to put an end to this shameful and dangerous program.  Send a short e-mail
to the people below, (and to your local news paper editor)– tell them to SHUT DOWN THIS
UNETHICAL AND UNNECESSARY FINGERPRINTING PROGRAM.  Someday it may be YOU or a loved
one whose fingerprints get matched incorrectly, or are stolen by foreign criminals/terrorists, and planted on -- I
shudder to think on what.  E-mail the directors of the CPA exam now – and call AICPA President Barry
Melancon (212)596-6001 –The Land of The Free is counting on you

KEY DECISION MAKERS AT THE AICPA AND NASBA WHO HAVE THE POWER TO
SHUT DOWN THE FINGERPRINTING  PROGRAM. Copy, paste and send them an e-
mail with your thoughts.

colleen.conrad@rubinbrown.com; rdavila@marshall.usc.edu; randy.fletchall@ey.com; owb@virginia.edu; s.
walters@morehead-st.edu; J-flagg@tamu.edu; cmills@aicpa.org; mdaggette@dmmcpas.com; ealmonte@aicpa.org;
bmelancon@aicpa.org; samcotterell@BC.com;
donnyb@burkettcpas.com; wdavenport@cbh.com; jcote@nasba.org, samcotterell@BC.com
info@allen-pinnix.com, donnyb@burkettcpas.com, wdavenport@cbh.com, sflowers@cityofartesia.us,
ghansen@eksh.com, Markph23@aol.com, claireen.l.herting@us.pwc.com,
cejohnson@bokf.com, hparsons@pangborncpa.com, tom@brinkandsadler.com,  
albuquerque@mossadams.com, mskinner@sblcpa.com, smithk@unk.edu, ksmoll@smollbanning.com,
mweinshel@weinwyncpa.com, viki@nvaccountancy.com, jcote@nasba.org, dcostello@nasba.org, kbishop@pcshq.
com; kbishop@nasba.org, phartman@nasba.org, giaimo1@aol.com,  Mary_Lane/Nashville/NASBA@nasba.org,
bmelancon@aicpa.org, scoffey@aicpa.org, rmiller@aicpa.org, jomalley@aicpa.org, apugliese@aicpa.org,
athomas@aicpa.org, sbango@aicpa.org, rbouchard@aicpa.org, netgainbc@aol.com, jbrackens@aicpa.org,
jcobb@thecaq.org, ddidia@aicpa.org, cmills@aicpa.org, pduane@aicpa.org, cfornelli@thecaq.org,
clandes@aicpa.org, clund@aicpa.org, jmaiman@aicpa.org, jmetzler@aicpa.org, tochsenschlager@aicpa.org,
mpeterson@aicpa.org, jrothberg@aicpa.org, sspiegel@aicpa.org, jtoman@aicpa.org, vvelazquez@aicpa.org,
nalbertson@aicpa.org, jallegretti@aicpa.org, wavgerakis@aicpa.org, hbaum@aicpa.org, kbreithaupt@aicpa.org,
mbuddendeck@aicpa.org, jcote@nasba.org, dcostello@nasba.org, kbishop@pcshq.com; kbishop@nasba.org,
phartman@nasba.org, Mary_Lane/Nashville/NASBA@nasba.org, rburns@thecaq.org, lceynowa@thecaq.org,
lcohen@aicpa.org, ldesina@aicpa.org, rdey@aicpa.org, rdurak@aicpa.org, aeubanks@aicpa.org, jfiore@aicpa.org,
mfoelster@aicpa.org, gfreundlich@aicpa.org, jhyde@thecaq.org, ekarl@aicpa.org, pkravitz@aicpa.org,
tlaspaluto@aicpa.org, rlevy@aicpa.org, imackay@aicpa.org, cmckittrick@aicpa.org, cmills@aicpa.org, colleen.
conrad@rubinbrown.com,  wmontemarano@aicpa.org, bmelancon@aicpa.org; hnerkar@aicpa.org, dnoll@aicpa.
org, apawlicki@aicpa.org, kpercent@aicpa.org, dreigle@aicpa.org, creynolds@aicpa.org, wroberts@aicpa.org,
lschock@thecaq.org, gscopes@aicpa.org, lsnyder@aicpa.org, wstromsem@aicpa.org, jsyrowik@aicpa.org,
pparker@aicpa.org, anthomas@aicpa.org, dtolson@aicpa.org, vwebb@aicpa.org, kwiberg@aicpa.org,
swinters@aicpa.org, myoung@aicpa.org, cmills@aicpa.org