Besides the real possiblilities of political opposition research, there's this:
Obama passport breach... will it get worse? By New York Civil Liberties Union - March 21, 2008, 3:11PM
"...It's disconcerting that senior State Department officials only learned of this incident after a reporter contacted them about it. It suggests they don't run a very tight ship when it comes to guarding Americans' personal information.
This from the administration that so desperately wants to implement the Real ID Act, a law that would consolidate Americans' DMV records into a network of interlinking databases accessible to the federal government and bureaucrats throughout the 50 states and U.S. territories. These records, possibly including digital copies of birth certificates, Social Security cards and other sensitive documents, would be accessible to thousands of state and federal bureaucrats – some of whom are certain to be imprudently curious. The Bush administration has made sure there are no limits in place in the amount of information kept in the Real ID database. The potential for abuse is boundless.
This is one of many reasons why the New York Civil Liberties Union is fighting to block the implementation of the Real ID Act in New York and throughout the country. Government bureaucrats can and do make mistakes. Our lawmakers should do everything possible to ensure that Americans' personal information is secure. They could start by repealing the Real ID Act."