- DHS has approved Helix surveillance platform for use by Secret Service
- USSS conducted a privacy impact assessment to compare privacy risks versus advantages of the platform
- DHS has reported a decrease in PIA releases in 2026, despite being a prerequisite for deploying surveillance technology
The Department of Homeland Security has approved a new Secret Service surveillance platform even as the agency’s broader pace of privacy impact assessments has slowed significantly this year, FedScoop reported Friday.
The system, known as Helix, pulls together video feeds, facial recognition capabilities and license plate reader data drawn from cameras at protected sites and existing image databases. The platform is used by Secret Service personnel to watch for potential threats near sensitive locations, including the White House complex and the area surrounding the Capitol.
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Why Was the PIA for the Helix Platform Necessary?
In its privacy impact assessment, the Secret Service explained that Helix’s ability to link identifiable information — including video imagery, facial data, biometric templates, and license plate numbers tied to time and location — created a greater privacy risk than any of the underlying data sources posed on their own, making a formal review necessary.
A Secret Service spokesperson characterized Helix as part of the agency’s ongoing modernization efforts rather than an entirely new capability, though the agency declined to specify when the platform was first put into use, citing operational security around its protective mission.
What Do Privacy Advocates Say About the Helix System?
Outside observers who reviewed the assessment raised a number of concerns about how the system operates in practice.
Patrick Eddington of the Cato Institute questioned the range and resolution of the cameras feeding into Helix, noting that elevated, pan-and-tilt-capable equipment could extend surveillance well beyond street level.
Reviewers also pointed to the assessment’s acknowledgment that Helix draws in footage of ordinary passersby on public streets, sidewalks and parks near protected sites — not just designated persons of interest.
The Secret Service maintains that facial recognition matching is limited to individuals flagged as persons of interest by its Protective Intelligence and Assessment Division, but the assessment does not spell out precisely how that designation is made. Eddington suggested that ambiguity could sweep in demonstrators near sites that frequently draw protests.
What Is the Significance of Privacy Impact Assessments?
Federal law generally requires agencies to complete a privacy impact assessment before deploying technology that identifies members of the public alongside other personal data, or before acquiring IT systems that collect and share information about individuals.
The Helix assessment stands out in part because so few privacy impact assessments have been released across DHS this year. It was the only new or updated assessment in the category covering law enforcement and surveillance systems, following a previous update in September 2025. Categories covering artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, information-sharing and biometrics have not seen updates since around April 2025.
Beyond Helix, DHS has issued only a handful of other privacy actions in 2026: an update to a bond management assessment at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a new assessment for a Customs and Border Protection trade-data automation program, and an approved assessment for a Transportation Security Administration crew member access initiative. The department has also retired four assessments so far this year.
