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[FYI] (Fwd) FC: Feds will begin testing massive system to profile air travelers
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- Subject: [FYI] (Fwd) FC: Feds will begin testing massive system to profile air travelers
- From: "Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>
- Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 18:41:27 +0100
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Date sent: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 05:21:38 -0800 (PST)
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
To: politech@politechbot.com
Subject: FC: Feds will begin testing massive system to profile air travelers
Send reply to: declan@well.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5185-2002Jan31.html
By Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 1, 2002; Page A01
Federal aviation authorities and technology companies will soon
begin testing a vast air security screening system designed to
instantly pull together every passenger's travel history and living
arrangements, plus a wealth of other personal and demographic
information.
The government's plan is to establish a computer network linking
every reservation system in the United States to private and
government databases. The network would use data-mining and
predictive software to profile passenger activity and intuit
obscure clues about potential threats, even before the scheduled
day of flight.
It might find, for instance, that one man used a debit card to buy
tickets for four other men who sit in separate parts of the same
plane -- four men who have shared addresses in the past. Or it
might discern an array of unusual links and travel habits among
passengers on different flights.
Those sorts of details -- along with many other far more subtle
patterns identified by computer programs -- would contribute to a
threat index or score for every passenger. Passengers with higher
scores would be singled out for additional screening by
authorities.
As described by developers, the system would be an unobtrusive
network enabling authorities to target potential threats far more
effectively while reducing lines at security checkpoints for most
passengers. Critics say it would be one of the largest monitoring
systems ever created by the government and a huge intrusion on
privacy.
Although such a system would rely on existing software and
technology, it could be years before it is fully in place, given
that enormous amounts of data would need to be integrated and a
structure would need to be established for monitoring passenger
profiles.
At least one carrier, Delta Air Lines, has been working with
several companies on a prototype. Northwest Airlines has
acknowledged that it is talking with other airlines about a similar
screening system. Federal authorities hope to test at least two
prototypes in coming months or possibly sooner, according to
government and industry sources familiar with the effort.
[...]
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