Out of business, Clear may sell customer data: Via computerworld.

It would go to a similar provider authorized by the TSA

Three days after ceasing operations, owners of the Clear airport security screening service acknowledged that their database of sensitive customer information may end up in someone else's hands, but only if it goes to a similar provider, authorized by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.

Until this week, the Clear service had given customers a way to skip long security lines in certain airports. For a $199 annual fee, air travelers could be pre-screened for flight and then use Clear's security checkpoints instead of the TSA's. Clear was run by New York's Verified Identity Pass, which also shut down on Monday.

Customers had to provide personal information, including credit card numbers, fingerprints and iris scans in order to participate in the program. After Clear abruptly shut its doors -- it has not yet declared bankruptcy -- some worried that this data could fall into the wrong hands.  read more »

TSA asked to ensure safety of customer data after Clear closing: Via computerworld.

Transportation security agency given July 8 deadline to explain how private information will be safeguarded

The chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security has given the Transportation Security Administration until July 8 to explain how the agency plans to ensure the security of private data collected by a recently shuttered company that offered a registered traveler program.

In a letter to the TSA's acting assistant secretary, committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) expressed his concern over the abrupt closure of Verified Identity Pass Inc.

For a $199 annual fee, New York-based VIP offered a service called Clear that was designed to help air travelers get through airport security checks faster by vetting their identities and backgrounds in advance.  read more »

Passenger says TSA agents harassed him: Via CNN.com .

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Steve Bierfeldt says the Transportation Security Administration pulled him aside for extra questioning in March. He was carrying a pocket edition of the U.S. Constitution and an iPhone capable of making audio recordings. And he used them.

On a recording a TSA agent can be heard berating Bierfeldt. One sample: "You want to play smartass, and I'm not going to play your f**king game."

Bierfeldt is director of development for the Campaign for Liberty, an outgrowth of the Ron Paul presidential campaign. He was returning from a regional conference March 29 when TSA screeners at Lambert-St. Louis (Illinois) International Airport saw a metal cash box in his carry-on bag. Inside was more than $4,700 dollars in cash -- proceeds from the sale of political merchandise like T-shirts and books.  read more »

S.D.Ohio: TSA search for contraband was invalid: Via FourthAmendment.com.

TSA search for contraband was invalid as not a search for items prohibited items from airplanes. The search continued after it was apparent that there were no prohibited items. United States v. Fofana, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45852 (S.D. Ohio June 2, 2009):  read more »

Freshman Representative Opposes "TSA Porn": Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online.

An anonymous reader writes "Not content to simply follow the 'anything to protect American lives' mantra, freshman Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has introduced a bill to prohibit mandatory full body scans at airports. Chaffetz states, 'The images offer a disturbingly accurate view of a person's body underneath clothing ... Americans should not be required to expose their bodies in this manner in order to fly.'  read more »

CNN: More on virtual strip search by airport screening: Via FourthAmendment.com.

CNN posted an article yesterday afternoon about an effort to stop body scans at airports being virtual strip searches. Airport security bares all, or does it?:  read more »

Report: FBI Mishandles Terror Watch List: Via Threat Level.

The FBI can’t figure out the right way to add or remove suspected terrorists from the country’s unified terrorist watch list, subjecting citizens to unjustified scrutiny from government officials and possibly putting the country at risk, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog said Wednesday in a new report.

“We found that the FBI failed to nominate many subjects in the terrorism investigations that we sampled, did not nominate many others in a timely fashion, and did not update or remove watchlist records as required,” the Inspector General report (.pdf) said. “We believe that the FBI’s failure to consistently nominate subjects of international and domestic terrorism investigations to the terrorist watchlist could pose a risk to national security.”

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), a longtime civil liberties advocate, took issue with the nation’s premier law enforcement agency letting innocent citizens languish on a secret list.  read more »

Airport Passenger Screening: Background and Issues for Congress: Via Congressional Research Reports.

Over the next several years, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will likely face continuing challenges to address projected growth in passenger airline travel while maintaining and improving upon the efficiency and effectiveness of passenger screening operations. New initiatives to expand the role of TSA personnel beyond screening operations, as well as initiatives to improve screening efficiency and effectiveness through the deployment of new technologies, will likely require additional investment.  read more »

“Show Us Your Body, or We’ll Feel You Up.”: Via ACLU Blog.

You know how when the weather starts to warm, the gym is buzzing with people toning to achieve that perfect beach body? Starting this summer, abs of steel will be in season anytime you fly.

Yesterday, Slate’s William Saletan wrote about the TSA’s new policy towards body scanner —a.k.a. "naked"—machines. Saletan points out that two years ago, the naked machines were offered as an alternative to physical pat-down searches to passengers who set off the metal detectors or were flagged for a secondary screening. Naked machines were considered less invasive than the grope-and-grab.

Well, the alternative will soon become the norm this summer, when the strip-search machines will replace the metal detectors in several U.S. airports. That’s right: this summer, you will no longer have a choice of whether to enter the naked machine or not. As Saletan puts it, the choice is "Show us your body, or we’ll feel you up."  read more »

Feds Begin Post-9/11 Airline Watchlist Takeover : Via Wired: Threat Level.

The federal government is finally beginning to take over the job of comparing U.S. airline passengers against its terrorist watchlist, more than six years after it announced its post-9/11 plans to relieve airlines of that duty.

Now four unnamed small airlines are uploading passenger lists to the Transportation Security Administration for comparison against the approximately 16,000 names on the TSA's two watchlists, the agency announced this week.  read more »

TSA: More gate searches in store for fliers Via USATODAY.com :

WASHINGTON — A new, more aggressive effort by airport screeners aims to halt randomly selected passengers for a security check just before they step onto their departing plane, according to a government memo obtained by USA TODAY.

Scores of passengers have already been pulled aside for searches as they waited in line at airport gates for boarding calls. Each of the passengers had already passed through security checkpoints when a uniformed Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer asked them to step out of line to check their IDs or search their carry-on bags.  read more »

Update: DHS Privacy Committee Releases Agenda for Upcoming Meeting: Via Privacy Lives

The Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee has released a draft agenda (see below) for a public meeting to be held on February 26, 2009 in Arlington, Va. (Here’s the original announcement.)

NOTE: Public comments to be distributed at the meeting and requests to make oral presentations are due today.  read more »

Air Cargo Security: Via Open CRS: Recently Added

The air cargo system is a complex, multi-faceted network that handles a vast amount of freight, packages, and mail carried aboard passenger and all-cargo aircraft. The air cargo system is vulnerable to several security threats including: potential plots to place explosives aboard aircraft; illegal shipments of hazardous materials; criminal activities such as smuggling and theft; and potential hijackings and sabotage by persons with access to aircraft. While it is generally agreed that full screening of all cargo placed on aircraft is not currently feasible, several procedural and technology initiatives have been proposed to enhance air cargo security and deter terrorist and criminal threats. Procedural initiatives include proposals to: expand the "known shipper" program; increase cargo inspections; increase physical security of air cargo facilities; increase oversight of air cargo operations; provide security training for cargo workers; and tighten controls over access to aircraft during cargo operations.  read more »

Privacy Advisers Tell Government to Improve REAL ID, Border Search Policies: Via EFF.org Updates

A committee of privacy advisers has recommended that the government add vital privacy protections to two high profile and controversial homeland security efforts.

The Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee made a host of recommendations to the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary and acting privacy officer in a February 2 draft letter February 5 final letter, which has been posted on the DHS web site. [UPDATE: the February 2 draft letter has been removed from the DHS web site, but is available here.] Among the issues flagged for improvement, the committee highlighted the implementation of the REAL ID Act and handling of travelers' digital information during border searches.  read more »

House Approves Whitelist of People Who Aren't Terrorists: Via Threat Level

The House overwhelmingly adopted legislation this week mandating the creation of a new kind of terrorist watchlist: a database of people who aren't terrorists, but are routinely flagged at airports anyway.

The U.S. government maintains a list of about a million names of suspected terrorists that is crosschecked with passenger names ahead of airline boarding. The list has been dogged for years by sloppy name matches that have ensnared innocent travelers, children, prominent politicians and government officials, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' secretary of education and all men named David Nelson.  read more »

TSA lends its eyes to Bowl Sunday: Via USATODAY.com

Authorities at Super Bowl XLIII will be looking for more than just drunken fans. They'll be watching spectators' body language, facial expressions and demeanor to find suspicious people.

For the first time Sunday, federal behavior-detection officers will team with local police to use a controversial technique on people heading to a major event, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says. The officers usually work in airports.

Behavior observation aims to find people in crowds acting unusually.  read more »

Visitors To US Now Required To Register Online - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:

mytrip sends a reminder that starting today, visitors to the US from 35 visa-waiver countries will be required to register online with the Department of Homeland Security in advance. The DHS is asking people to go online for the ESTA program 72 hours before traveling, but they can register any amount of time ahead. Approval, once granted, is good for 2 years. DHS says that most applications are approved in 4 seconds. If an application is rejected, the traveler will have to go to a US embassy and get a visa. CNet reports that information from applications will be retained for 12 years, and eventually up to 75 years.

(Read Original Article - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online.)

A rare peek at Homeland Security's files on travelers - Via Budget Travel blog on NewWeek:

The oversize white envelope bore the blue logo of the Department of Homeland Security. Inside, I found 20 photocopies of the government's records on my international travels. Every overseas trip I've taken since 2001 was noted.

I had requested the files after I had heard that the government tracks "passenger activity." Starting in the mid-1990s, many airlines handed over passenger records. Since 2002, the government has mandated that the commercial airlines deliver this information routinely and electronically.  read more »

Privacy Lives » Blog Archive » Department of Homeland Security Releases Annual Data Mining Report: Via Privacy Lives

The Department of Homeland Security’s Privacy Office has released its annual report (pdf) on data mining programs at the agency. The report focuses on three programs: (1) the Automated Targeting System (ATS) Inbound, Outbound, and Passenger modules, under U.S. Customs and Border Protection; (2) the Data Analysis and Research for Trade Transparency System (DARTTS), under Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and, (3) the Freight Assessment System (FAS), under the Transportation Security Administration.

This report comes on the heels of one by the National Research Council that found data mining programs don’t really work. The Council’s report, “Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists: A Framework for Program Assessment,” was sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation.

Read Original Article (Via Privacy Lives.)

Data-based Counterterrorism Programs Should be Evaluated for Effectiveness, Privacy: Via The National Academies

October 7, 2008 -- All U.S. agencies with counterterrorism programs that collect or "mine" personal data -- such as phone records or Web sites visited -- should be required to evaluate the programs' effectiveness, lawfulness, and impacts on privacy, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report offers a framework agencies can use to evaluate programs, and urges Congress to consider new restrictions on how agencies can use data.  read more »

Behavioral screening -- the future of airport security?: Via CNN.com

TEL AVIV, Israel (CNN) -- Keep your shoes and belts on: Waiting in long airport security lines to pass through metal detectors may soon be a thing of the past.

Security experts say focus is shifting from analyzing the content of carry-ons to analyzing the content of passengers' intentions and emotions.

"We are seeing a needed paradigm shift when it comes to security," says Omer Laviv, CEO of ATHENA GS3, an Israeli-based security company.

"This 'brain-fingerprinting,' or technology which checks for behavioral intent, is much more developed than we think."

Nowhere is the need for cutting-edge security more acute than Israel, which faces constant security threats. For this reason, Israel has become a leader in developing security technology.  read more »

TSA boosts 'behavior detection,' mulls other changes: Via CNN.com

This holiday season, it's still shoes off and liquids out at airport security, but changes may be on the way to part of this routine, and agents will be watching much more than the contents of your carry-on.

In the coming months, the government expects to revisit its rule for the amount of liquids that may be brought aboard planes, while boosting the number of behavior detection officers deployed at checkpoints across the country.

More than 2,000 are already on the job, and the program is growing every day, said Christopher White, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.  read more »

Low Hit Rate Isn't the Problem with TSA Screening: Via Freedom to Tinker

The TSA, which oversees U.S. airport security, comes in for a lot of criticism -- much of it deserved. But sometimes commentators let their dislike for the TSA get the better of them, and they offer critiques that don't stand up logically.

A good example is yesterday's USA Today article on TSA's behavioral screening program, and the commentary that followed it. The TSA program trained screeners to look for nervous and suspicious behavior, and to subject travellers exhibiting such behavior to more stringent security measures such as pat-down searches or short interviews.

Commentators condemned the TSA program because fewer than 1% of the selected travellers were ultimately arrested. Is this a sensible objection? I think not, for reasons I'll explain below.

Before I explain why, let's take a minute to set aside our general opinions about the TSA. Forget the mandatory shoe removal and toiletry-container nitpicking. Forget that time the screener was rude to you. Forget the slippery answers to inconvenient Constitutional questions. Forget the hours you have spent waiting in line. Put on your blinders please, just for now. We'll take them off later.  read more »

Chertoff: We're Closing that Boarding-Pass Loophole: Via Threat Level

There’s a hole in airline security big enough to get Osama bin Laden himself onto a domestic flight, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff acknowledges, but that’s no reason to ditch watch lists or ID checks at the airport, he says.

Chertoff told Threat Level in an interview last week that the government was aware of, and patching, the so-called boarding-pass loophole, which just came back into the public eye after a recent Atlantic magazine story where a reporter got though security using a fake boarding pass.

That loophole lets a known terrorist who is on a government watch list board a plane without needing a fake ID.  All that’s needed is a home computer, a printer and a little skill at HTML.

“On the issue of switching boarding passes, that is a loophole we are aware of,” Chertoff said.  read more »

Laptop Search Hit Rate: Only 1.4% - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:

The overwhelming majority of laptop searches at the border turn up no evidence of crime, according data presented by Deputy Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Jayson P. Ahern.

At a panel discussion on October 20, Ahern revealed that of the 169 laptops searched at the border in August 2008, only two were seized – a mere 1.4% “hit rate.” Another 10 computers were “detained” for further analysis, such as language translation and decryption, to determine whether they contain evidence of crime.

Under Customs’ laptop search policy– first revealed on July 16, 2008–computers, other digital media, and documents can be searched at the border with no individualized suspicion at all, and can be seized as evidence only when a Customs agent determines that there is probable cause. The policy permits agents to conduct the search without having either evidence of wrongdoing or even approval of a supervisor. It authorizes Customs agents to copy the contents of a laptop or other digital medium and send it to a distant location where persons unseen and unknown to the traveler decrypt and translate data in the laptop, and it permits Customs to “detain” the computer for weeks or for months while this occurs.  read more »