Mail Isolation Control and Tracking: What You Need to Know

Mail Isolation Control and Tracking (MICAT) is a system used by the US Postal Service to monitor and track mail.

This system was implemented in 2013 to improve mail security.

The goal of MICAT is to detect and prevent the delivery of mail containing threats, such as anthrax or other bioterrorism agents.

Mail is scanned and tracked at multiple points during the delivery process, including when it's sent, received, and sorted.

This data is then analyzed to identify potential threats and prevent them from reaching their intended destination.

The US Postal Service uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to identify suspicious mail and flag it for further inspection.

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Mail Isolation Control is a program employed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) that takes photographs of the exterior of every piece of mail processed in the country.

The program, known as Mail Isolation Control and Tracking (MICT), was created in the aftermath of the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people, including two postal workers.

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It's used for mail sorting, but also enables the USPS to retroactively track mail correspondence at the request of law enforcement.

The Postmaster General stated that the system is primarily used for mail sorting, but it also helps track hazardous substances and keep people safe.

The FBI revealed MICT on June 7, 2013, when discussing the Bureau's investigation of ricin-laced letters sent to U.S. President Barack Obama and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The images are taken at more than 200 mail processing centers around the country, and each scanning machine only keeps images of the letters it scans.

The images are retained for a week to 30 days and then destroyed, but the Postmaster General said the USPS does not maintain a massive centralized database of the letter images.

Mail covers, a law enforcement surveillance technique, do not involve reading the mail itself, just the outside information, and are not considered by the Postal Service or Justice Department to be constitutional violations since the outside of envelopes and packages can readily be seen by anyone.

Here's a breakdown of the program's key features:

The U.S. Postal Service has been logging all mail processed nationwide since the Mail Isolation Control and Tracking (MICT) program was created in the aftermath of the 2001 anthrax attacks. This program was designed to track hazardous substances and keep people safe.

The MICT program photographs the exterior of every piece of mail, taking pictures of the outside information, including names, addresses, return addresses, and postmark locations. This metadata gives the government a pretty good map of your contacts, even if they aren't reading the contents.

The images are taken at over 200 mail processing centers around the country, and each scanning machine only keeps images of the letters it scans. The images are retained for a week to 30 days and then destroyed. This means that the government doesn't maintain a massive centralized database of the letter images.

The program is similar to U.S. electronic surveillance, collecting information on the outside of your mail, which can be used to give investigators leads that they can then follow up on with a subpoena. Former FBI agent James Wedick says it's a treasure trove of information, allowing investigators to see who you bank with, who you communicate with, and more.

The program has been in effect for almost 11 years, and last year alone, Postal Service computers photographed the outside of about 160 billion letters and parcels.

The US Postal Service has a program called Mail Isolation Control and Tracking (MICT) that photographs the exterior of every piece of mail processed in the United States. This program was created in the aftermath of the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people, including two postal workers.

The program is primarily used for mail sorting, but it also enables the USPS to retroactively track mail correspondence at the request of law enforcement. The images are taken at more than 200 mail processing centers around the country and are retained for a week to 30 days before being destroyed.

The USPS does not maintain a massive centralized database of the letter images, but rather keeps the images on individual scanning machines at the processing centers. This raises concerns about the potential for abuse and the collection of metadata, which can reveal sensitive information about individuals.

Computer security expert Bruce Schneier compared MICT to the mass surveillance of the National Security Agency (NSA), stating that both programs collect metadata, such as names, addresses, return addresses, and postmark locations. This metadata can be used to create a map of an individual's contacts, even if the contents of the mail are not read.

Former FBI agent James Wedick described MICT as a "treasure trove of information", stating that it can reveal who an individual banks with, communicates with, and other sensitive information. He also noted that the program can be easily abused because it's so easy to use and doesn't require a judge's approval.

The USPS almost never denies requests to track suspects' mail on behalf of law enforcement agencies, and the program has been in effect for almost 11 years. Last year alone, Postal Service computers photographed the outside of about 160 billion letters and parcels.