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| Fliers to Be Rated for Risk Level |
| 2003-09-09 |
| We’re getting colors!! EFL: In the most aggressive -- and, some say, invasive -- step yet to protect air travelers, the federal government and the airlines will phase in a computer system next year to measure the risk posed by every passenger on every flight in the United States. The new Transportation Security Administration system seeks to probe deeper into each passenger’s identity than is currently possible, comparing personal information against criminal records and intelligence information. With emphasis on the probe deeper part. Passengers will be assigned a color code -- green, yellow or red -- based in part on their city of departure, destination, traveling companions and date of ticket purchase. Most people will be coded green and sail through. But up to 8 percent of passengers who board the nation’s 26,000 daily flights will be coded "yellow" and will undergo additional screening at the checkpoint, according to people familiar with the program. An estimated 1 to 2 percent will be labeled "red" and will be prohibited from boarding. These passengers also will face police questioning and may be arrested. One could also ask why the "reds" aren’t already in jail. The new system, called Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System II (CAPPS II), has sparked so much controversy among both liberal and conservative groups that the TSA has struggled to get it going. Delta Air Lines backed out of a testing program with the agency earlier this year, and now the TSA will not reveal which airlines will participate when it tests a prototype early next year. I’m guessing the ones that draw the short straws. If all goes as planned, the TSA will begin the new computer screening of some passengers as early as next summer and eventually it will be used for all domestic travelers. Next summer is early? The existing system identifies certain passengers as risky based on a set of assumptions about how terrorists travel. For instance, passengers are flagged for additional screening if they bought a one-way airline ticket, or if they paid with cash instead of a credit card. The next hijacker will buy a roundtrip ticket using his Visa Gold card, they learn too. But the TSA, recognizing that the system is outdated and easy to fool, wants to replace it and put the government in the role now played by the airlines in making security assessments. Under the new program, the airline will send information about everyone who books a flight to the TSA, including full name, home address, home telephone number, date of birth and travel itinerary. If the computer system identifies a threat, the TSA will notify federal or local law enforcement authorities. I ask again, if you know this much about these "threats", why are they not under arrest? The agency has not indicated the number or type of personnel needed to oversee the program. 1. Thousands, if not tens of thousands. 2. Entry level, low wage data entry types (just the kind of job made to order for identity theft. Anyone want to bet they wouldn’t outsource this overseas? No?) The TSA will check each passenger in two steps. The first will match the passenger’s name and information against databases of private companies that collect information on people for commercial reasons, such as their shopping habits. I guess those of us who tell these companies that we are 90 year old Eskimo women are screwed, huh? This process will generate a numerical score that will indicate the likelihood that the passenger is who he says he is. And if the data entry clerk makes an error, you’re screwed. Passengers will not be informed of their color code or their numerical score. Your first hint will be the cold steel muzzle behind the ear and the taste of concrete. The second step matches passenger information against government intelligence combined with local and state outstanding warrants for violent felonies. Known for their accuracy. David A. Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, worries that the computer screening program will go beyond its original goals. "This system is not designed just to get potential terrorists," Keene said. "It’s a law enforcement tool. The wider the net you cast, the more people you bring in." Of course, somebody sees this as a great way to close their open cases at the publics expense. I’m glad I just bought a new truck, I see a lot more road trips and a lot fewer flights in my future. |
| Posted by:Steve |
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| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-9-10 12:23:17 AM |
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| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-9-9 11:43:19 PM |
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| Posted by: mojo 2003-9-9 10:42:20 PM |
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| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-9 10:30:17 PM |
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| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-9-9 10:26:57 PM |
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| Posted by: (lowercase) matt 2003-9-9 10:12:17 PM |
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| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-9-9 10:11:26 PM |
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| Posted by: Charles 2003-9-9 8:29:13 PM |
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| Posted by: tu3031 2003-9-9 8:24:18 PM |
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| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-9-9 7:11:17 PM |
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| Posted by: Pappy 2003-9-9 6:45:15 PM |
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| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-9-9 6:14:16 PM |
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| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-9-9 5:43:07 PM |
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| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-9-9 4:05:42 PM |
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| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-9-9 3:31:14 PM |
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| Posted by: .com (a.k.a. Abu This!) 2003-9-9 3:17:45 PM |