ABSTRACT

The terms search and seizure carried tangible connotations to early Americans, when a government official might, at will, barge in and ransack a home in order to commandeer property or rummage around for information. Unarguably, technology has aided the international flow of information and commerce in swift fashion, but information technology in the public sector involves so much more than paying a local water bill online, emailing state representative, or submitting an electronic Social Security report. While the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 is geared toward identifying government misconduct, in a general sense, public budget administrators would be remiss to ignore the dangers of fraud or turn a blind eye to waste and other fiscal abuses within their organizations. The agency charged MacLean with disclosure of confidential safety policies, and he countered by pointing out that the Transportation Security Administration sent orders to air marshals using text messaging to unsecured phones.