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FC: Feds will begin testing massive system to profile air travelers

------- 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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