Ellison donates software for U.S. security

[Eugene Leitl]

who'd thunk

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-8070437.html

Ellison donates software for U.S. security
By Wylie Wong
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
December 4, 2001, 8:20 p.m. PT
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-8070437.html?tag=prntfr

Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said Tuesday that he has donated
Oracle software to the U.S. government to create a database for national
security.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Ellison has championed the need for
the United States to create a national standard for identification cards.
During his keynote speech at Oracle's OpenWorld customer conference in San
Francisco, Ellison said he has delivered Oracle's 9i database management
software to a U.S. government agency for national security, but he
declined to give further details, such as which agency or for what usage.

"We don't run those law enforcement agencies. We just provide them
software," he said during a news conference.

Ellison had earlier offered to donate its database software, but charge
for maintenance and upgrades as part of his goal of creating a national ID
standard.

Ellison has suggested airport security would be improved by requiring
travelers to provide their names and social security numbers to airport
security personnel. Security personnel could then compared the travelers'
thumbprints with those stored in a national security database to ensure
accurate identification.

When Oracle started up nearly 25 years ago, it built databases for the
Central Intelligence Agency. Database management software allows
businesses, Web sites and government agencies to store and manage vast
amounts of information. For example, Ellison said, the Immigration and
Naturalization Service has more than 80,000 handprints of travelers and
foreigners with visas to enter the country. He said national security data
is currently housed in multiple databases when it should be grouped
together in one central repository.

"There is cooperation (among government agencies)," he said. "But there's
a lot of data fragmentation."

During his news conference, Ellison added that a national standard for
identification cards is important for national security reasons. "Our
existing ID's should not be easily forged," he said. "Credit cards are
based on a set of standards, why doesn't the government?"