Airline passenger screening system faces delays

Computerworld - WASHINGTON -- The General Accounting Office warned today that the Transportation Security Administration's high-tech system to screen airline passengers for terrorist connections faces significant testing and deployment delays, which could affect the program's ultimate success.
According to a report by the GAO, the TSA has not only fallen behind in testing the new Computer-Assisted Passenger PreScreening System (CAPPS II), but also has yet to fully identify all of the functions it would like the system to perform. In addition, the TSA has not yet completed work on at least seven key technical challenges that could stand in the way of the system's final deployment.
"These issues, if not resolved, pose major risks to the successful deployment and implementation of CAPPS II," the GAO concluded.
In a written response to the report, Janet Hale, undersecretary for management at the Department of Homeland Security, said the CAPPS II system can now receive data from the Airline Data Interface (ADI), cleanse and format the data, perform a risk assessment and then assign a risk "score" to individual passengers.
But because the TSA isn't yet authorized to test the system using real passenger names and data, the DHS hasn't been able to advance system development beyond its current state, said Hale.
The U.S. has relied on a computerized system since the late 1990s to analyze airline passengers for potential security risks. Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, however, Congress directed the TSA to operate a more developed system that is directly linked to airline reservation systems. That led to CAPPS II, which is being designed to access a more diverse set of personal data on passengers, including commercially available credit data. However, airlines are reluctant to share customer data with the government because they're concerned about possible privacy violations, and that has contributed to delays in testing the CAPPS II system.
There are other significant issues facing U.S. airport security, according to a former top Israeli airport security official and the director of security at Virgin Atlantic Airlines. According to these officials, who spoke Tuesday during an online Terror and Technology conference sponsored by IDPartners LLC, the U.S. runs a major risk by focusing too much on information technology and other high-tech solutions to uncover terrorist plots against airports and airlines.
Because the terrorist threat against airlines is a relatively new experience in the U.S., "there is a tendency to solve problems through the use of technological means," said Rafi Ron, president of New Age Security Solutions and the former head of security at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. "Focusing on technology sometimes makes you lose your overall perspective. That can lead to unbalanced planning, unbalanced investment and misuse of funds."
Rather than rely on IT systems for the bulk of security monitoring, Ron said airport authorities should use personnel training programs in behavior pattern recognition, which has been highly successful in Israel. Behavior analysis can "fill the gap of a purely technological approach," said Ron. "Technology is not yet good enough to provide us with a 100% solution."
So far, Boston's Logan Airport has taken the lead in the U.S. in employing Ron's training methods in behavior pattern recognition. At Logan, local law enforcement personnel now study the behaviors of all airline passengers in public areas and look for suspicious behaviors -- the exact details of which remain secret for security reasons.
Victor Anderes, director of security Virgin Atlantic North America, agreed that U.S. airports need to find a better balance between high-tech and low-tech security. "We need to be cautious in terms of how we use technology," said Anderes. "There is a tendency to go high tech, but terrorists are moving toward low-tech measures." That puts a premium on human intervention in the security process, he said.
IT systems do have an important role to play, particularly in the area of physical access control, said Anderes. Biometric technologies, for example, continue to be deployed throughout various airports around the country to ensure that only authorized employees gain access to secure areas. "If we don't use that type of technology to control access, then whatever we do is going to be labor intensive, costly and subject to human error," said Anderes.
Anderes also warned of an urgent need to improve interagency communications and information sharing throughout U.S. airports. More than two years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, too many different agencies still have overlapping and sometimes conflicting jurisdictions in and around airports, he said.
"The perfect airport would have a harmonized approach between all of the stakeholders," said Anderes. "One of the biggest challenges we face at airports is that ultimately there is no one agency or person who dictates what happens [there]."

Airport Security Update 1 2 Next » Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis Email Print Send Feedback Reprints Jump to comments Security Additional Resources Microsoft DirectAccess and UAG: Better Together Here are some of the key reasons why you would want to run Unified Access Gateway with DirectAccess. Microsoft Case Study: Energy Firm Tightens Protection, Simplifies IT Work Review how one energy firm tightened protection and simplified IT work using business-ready security solutions. Sybase NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions. Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase. White Papers & Webcasts Data Grids & SOA Get this paper now!   Data in Action: Making the Planet Smarter Register Now Oracle Accelerate - Not Just Smart but Timely Download Now!   Hosted Security Services: Why it make budget and security sense in today's economy Watch Now Why BI is Ripe - Now! - For Businesses of Any Size Download Now!   The Workday User Experience Video Watch Workday's Creative Director, Scott Lietzke, discuss the business-centered design philosophy at Workday. How Midsize Businesses Are Using ERP To Gain Competitive Advantage in a Tough Economy Download Now!   Business Process Framework Demo Learn about Configurable Business Processes and Calculated Fields. Watch Now! Rapid Implementation: The New Age of ERP Download Now!   Manager Experience Demo Go beyond self-service solutions to perform more effectively. Watch Now. All White Papers | All Webcasts Computerworld Reports Computerworld Technology Briefing: More than Business Value Computerworld Briefing: Staffing for Intelligence 8 Questions To Ask About Your Intrusion-Security Solution All Computerworld Reports Sign up to receive updates on the latest Business Intelligence resources IT Jobs See All Jobs Post a job for $295 Go Jobs by SimplyHired   SAS Information Management Kit SAS is the leader in business intelligence and analytical software and services. Only SAS offers leading data integration, storage, analytics and business intelligence applications within a comprehensive enterprise intelligence platform. SAS gives 97 of the top 100 companies in the 2007 Fortune 500 THE POWER TO KNOW®. Webcast: The Information Management Roadmap Imagine high-quality data, cleansed, analyzed and delivered throughout your organization. Join Computerworld, IT visionary Thornton May and a panel of experts to learn how SAS® can help you make it happen. View this webcast  Research Report: Information Management Initiatives at Midsize and Large Organizations See the top-line results of this Computerworld sponsored survey to see how IT and business leaders are handling information management implementation. Download this report  White Paper: Information Management: Better Information for Winning Decisions. This white paper explains how the SAS Information Evolution Model aids companies in assessing how they use this information to make strategic decisions and drive business. Download this white paper  White Papers Data Grids & SOA Why BI is Ripe - Now! - For Businesses of Any Size Rapid Implementation: The New Age of ERP Faster, Cheaper and Easier to Maintain HP Technology Guide for Scalable Business Solutions Clipper Group Report: HP Provides Enhanced Options for Data Center Ensuring High Service Levels in Cloud Computing The Top 5 Server Monitoring Battles - and How You Can Win Them A Green Architectural Strategy That Puts IT in the Black Quantifying the Business Value of VMware View Oracle Accelerate - Not Just Smart but Timely How Midsize Businesses Are Using ERP To Gain Competitive Advantage in a Tough Economy Leveling the Field: Powerful Software Solutions for Midsize Companies IDC Research Report: The Business Value of Consolidating on Energy-Efficient Servers The Business Case for Virtualization Best Practices for Optimizing Performance and Availability in Virtual Infrastructures Capacity Management in VMWare Virtualized Infrastructures Death to PST Files The Tangled Web: Silent Threats & Invisible Enemies Master Data Management Projects in Practice - An Information Difference Research Study Sponsored Links To get a better view of your entire data center, you need a better vantage point. Improve your vision with Hitachi IT Operations Analyzer - Free 30 day trial To get a better view of your entire data center, you need a better vantage point. Improve your vision with Hitachi IT Operations Analyzer - Free 30 day trial Stop malware without grinding performance to a halt with SonicWALL Cisco Unified Computing System: New Levels of Integration Diskeeper prevents fragmentation to boost speed and efficiency. Try Free! Discover the Four Trends Driving the Future of Data Centers Microsoft & Novell Interop-Ability Case Study: VTI Technologies Realizing Cost Savings Through Infrastructure Modernization Turn your desk phone and mobile phone into one with Sprint Mobile Integration. Stay informed with custom newsletters from Tech Dispenser Looking to add Unix/Linux functionality to Windows? Next-generation firewalls control applications and prevent threats. Not All QSAs Are Created Equal: What You Should Know Before You Buy The arrival of Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) marks a new era in storage scalability The AMD Virtual Experience Virtual Trade Show Introducing: Project Icebreaker Improve your Modular Cooling System Now with Alcatel-Lucent and Save CA ARCserve r12.5 is More Than Backup! Download Trial Version Today Take the Netezza TwinFin TestDrive! Enterprise search helps employees get more done. Get the facts from Google. Let Progress Software help your business make progress. How Novell & Microsoft interoperability pays off for MoneyGram Now let 1000's access reports themselves with SAP Crystal Reports Server Northwestern Computer Information Systems Program Streamline IT Costs. Boost Performance with WAN Optimization Tolly Performance Report  "Citrix NetScaler with nCore Outperforms F5 BIG-IP" Are you gambling with your data? It is at risk. Find out and protect it. Link to www.trustlto.com ITwhitepapers.com - Access thousands of white papers on 300+ technical topics. Leverage Your Cisco infrastructure for Superior Application Performance Learn about the AMD Virtual Experience Save up to 61% plus Free Cheesecake About Us Advertise Contacts Editorial Calendar Help Desk Jobs at IDG Privacy Policy Reprints Site Map CIO Computerworld CSO DEMO GamePro Games.net IDC IDG IDG Connect IDG Knowledge Hub IDG TechNetwork IDG Ventures IDG.net InfoWorld ITwhitepapers ITworld JavaWorld LinuxWorld Macworld Network World PC World The Industry Standard Copyright © 1994 - 2010 Computerworld Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited. Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are trademarks of International Data Group Inc.