Nikki Haley: Privacy and Info Sharing Are Critical in Post-Hack World

Speaking at the CJIS Conference in Columbia on Monday. Gov. Nikki Haley was joined by SLED Chief Mark Keel in discussing security and privacy issues that law enforcement is encountering with increasing frequency.

Haley and Keel both spoke briefly to about 500 security and public safety personnel who gathered from locations across the state. It is the first such conference in six years.

In a session with the media Haley and Keel discussed the importance of keeping data secure while also maintaining individuals' privacy.

“The exchange of information is absolutely crucial to law enforcement, whether it’s a tag or a driver’s license or a criminal history,” Keel said.

Haley said that in the wake of the Department of Revenue hack the ability to share information with other agencies was paramount as was maintaining the privacy of people’s data.

“There’s a lot of information that’s accessible, but making sure we access it responsibly and make sure we always remember citizens’ privacy. That’s a fine line that has to be walked,” Haley said.

Guidelines for information-sharing are provided by the FBI and then implemented by law enforcement agencies at all levels of government.

“We have been successful in sharing information across levels of government but we still continue to try to improve upon that,” Keel said.

In the last few months, as news broke of the NSA’s surveillance programs being leaked by a former contractor, agencies are having to review their own security protocols.

“We follow the rules that are set forth. We all know that information is power,” Keel explained.

Speaking of SLED’s process for preventing leaks, Keel said, “We have a very specific process we go through when hiring. But, there are always going to be people who do things you would never dream they would do. I’m sure the NSA wishes they would have been able to pick out (the leaker).”

“Everyone has the ability to abuse power. You’ve got to make sure that you have the most responsible people in the right places,” Haley said.

“Technology is changing by the day,” Haley said. “It’s not an area where we can come up short.”

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