[FYI] (Fwd) FC: Feds will begin testing massive system to profile air travelers

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
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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