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Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 20:40:26 -0400 To: Philodox Clips List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "R.A. Hettinga" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Clips] Paying Extra for Faster Airport Security Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Security needs identity like a fish needs... well, you get the idea... Cheers, RAH ------- <http://online.wsj.com/article_print/0,,SB111767537888648936,00.html> The Wall Street Journal June 2, 2005 Paying Extra for Faster Airport Security Orlando Kicks Off Program Offering Quicker Screenings To Holders of Special Cards By AVERY JOHNSON Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL June 2, 2005; Page D3 Starting this month, air travelers in Orlando, Fla., can pay for a high-tech card that promises to whisk them through the airport's security lines. Under the program, travelers who use Orlando International Airport and are willing to pay a $79.95 annual fee will be able to register for a government security screening, which includes fingerprints, iris scans, as well as an application that asks for basic identity information. Travelers who pass the screening -- and who will be subject to continuing checks against government watch lists -- will then receive a special card that permits them to use an express lane through airport security. That lane expedites the screening process and frees cardholders from secondary searches. The program will be operated by New York-based Verified Identity Pass Inc., a private company run by Steven Brill, whose former ventures included Court TV and The American Lawyer magazine. The program marks the first time a private company has teamed up with the government to speed up airport security lines. Yesterday, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority board awarded the contract for its new system to Verified Identity Pass's system, opting for its prospectus over a proposal from Unisys Corp. Enrollment will start June 21, and the company hopes to open a lane for card holders as early as next month. The card will initially be good only at the Orlando airport. The proposal says that in the second and third years of the program, prices could climb by about $10 annually. Orlando International is Florida's busiest airport, handling more than 31 million passengers last year. Other airports and the Transportation Security Administration -- the government office in charge of safeguarding transportation -- are watching closely. After launching a similar, though smaller, test program for frequent fliers in five airports last summer, the TSA is evaluating future private-public partnerships depending on how the Orlando system works. Other airports say they are studying the system and could submit their own proposals to the TSA soon. In its initial phase, the program in Orlando will accept as many as 30,000 travelers. Membership is open to anyone who clears the government watch lists and is willing to pay. Most of the process of signing up takes place online at www.Flyclear.com, but travelers still need to come into the airport to get their iris images and fingerprints taken. The TSA's own expedited checkpoint system, called the Registered Traveler pilot program, is capped at 10,000 members and is available only to frequent fliers who are invited by participating airlines. Signing up requires thumb and index fingerprints, as well as paperwork and an iris scan at the airports in Minneapolis, Houston, Boston, Washington's Reagan airport and Los Angeles. The 10,000 people continue to be members for as long as the program runs, and the TSA says it hasn't any plans to expand the group of either passengers or participating airports in the near future. Mr. Brill's program, though, expects to be able to synch up with the five airports in the government's system in the fall. Programs like these, as well as the TSA's Registered Traveler plan, have been slow to get started. The Orlando program was initially expected to launch in May, but got greenlighted yesterday. The rival Unisys proposal had suggested linking up the card with a debit card for shopping, would cost about $100 a year and said it would offer immediate use in the five participating TSA airports. The fast-lane system has been hampered by concerns about privacy and the safety of personal information, as well as synchronized systems run by different companies at different airports. Tim Sparapani, the legislative counsel for privacy rights at the American Civil Liberties Union, says that at least the government screeners are held accountable to privacy laws -- he takes issue with outsourcing the management of sensitive data such as fingerprints to for-profit companies. Mr. Brill says his system won on its pricing and privacy policies. It gives customers guarantees about the safety of their personal information by issuing a "warranty" for any breaches. In addition, the card doesn't track movement -- it doesn't know where its members are at any given time, or what their final destination is when they check in. The system only holds their information for a few hours. The card also gives members reserved parking and access to a skycap system that can pick up luggage at a hotel, route it through security, and deliver it to the destination hotel. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' _______________________________________________ Clips mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips --- end forwarded text -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]