When I worked at the USGS, Pasport Files where stolen, hacked by a kid. The FBI was very involved. Seems the files contained, for each person, basic info like name and address, but also itinerary - past and present - credit card account info, other sensitive department / bureau information.

It's identity theft stuff. For us worker bees it's nothing unusual but for this to happen at a federal office or bureau, it's a very big deal. My limited experience with the Fed is that server security is absolute crap at federal locations. At the USGS, there was supposed to be security implemented long before the hack. Heads rolled.

Others may have more detailed info.

What's in a passport file?

Also

I figured it was all about embarrassing hairdos of decades past.

Most likely, this will turn out to be some bored employees who looked at the files of a bunch of different people. Cases like this would occur much less often if the government put Solitaire back on their computers.

I was wondering the same thing. Sounds like, not much that's all that exciting, which made it all the more stupid that people did it. In the similar case of people getting fired for accessing Britney Spears' medical records, I can understand the curiousity (though I do NOT condone it).

It just seems weird that the last time we had a President Bush that the passport records of presidential candidates were accessed. Will Bill it was trying to portray him as a commie that visited Russia as a student. I hope that this is just bored/curious contract employees. Then again, I don't put anything past the current administration.

Have I gone off the deep end because I assumed it was an attempt to tie Obama to trips to the middle east or something goofy like that, and the other candidates were peeked at, too, to draw attention away?

I can see where it might have been a malicious campaign activity, but I can also see where it was just rampant curiosity on the part of low-level government employees who have access to the files.

I had a friend who temped for Texas Monthly one summer. She'd call me regularly and say, "Ooh, I just processed a subscription check from Lyle Lovett! Here's his home address! His checks have clowns on them!" Um, I might have made that last part up.

When people suddenly have access to information that a) is interesting and gossip-worthy to their friends, and b) was previously off-limits, they're going to look. Like TPS said, it's sort of the same as with Britney Spears' medical records.

But yeah, again, it could totally have been someone trying to dig up dirt. There's just no real way to tell. We're so suspicious. It's been a campaign with lots of attempted gotchas, but none that have been too sticky. I think we're all waiting for the other gotcha shoe to fall.