wear an aluminum shirt

RFID chip can be hacked.

SecureIDnews

Secure ID News.

The right to travel without ID

The 9th Circuit's Opinion in Gilmore v Gonzales.

John Gilmore loses right to travel dispute

Court says ID checks at airports constitutional

Airlines and the U.S government have the right to keep passengers from boarding planes if they refuse to show personal identification, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday.

John Gilmore, an early Sun Microsystems employee and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an online civil liberties group, sued after Southwest and United Airlines in 2002 both did not allow him on board their flights when he refused to show any ID.

In court filing, he argued that requiring identification from airline passengers was unconstitutional, but a three-judge panel of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed.


"We hold that neither the identification policy nor its application to Gilmore violated Gilmore's constitutional rights, and therefore we deny the petition," Judge Richard Paez wrote. "The Constitution does not guarantee the right to travel by any particular form of transportation."

"He was not threatened with arrest or some other form of punishment; rather he simply was told that unless he complied with the policy, he would not be permitted to board the plane. There was no penalty for noncompliance."

The United States has stepped up its scrutiny of identification cards at airports over the past decade, with additional checks added after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when hijacked commercial jets flew into the World Trade Center.

TSA newswire

TSA Announces Key Elements of Registered Traveler Program

Smart Card Technology to be Used to Store Fingerprint Biometrics

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced several parameters for a nationwide private sector Registered Traveler (RT) program, including the biometrics to be used for identification purposes and the redress process for individuals who are denied access to the program. The Registered Traveler program is envisioned as a means to accelerate the screening process at participating airports for passengers who voluntarily choose to enroll in the program.

As the recently announced Rice-Chertoff vision for developing new solutions that ensure the best use of new technologies and more efficient processes to improve security and facilitate travel across U.S. borders moves forward, TSA will work with the private sector providers of Registered Traveler programs to harmonize technologies and business processes with government-sponsored travel facilitation programs. Moving forward, the program will be harmonized with the DHS-State Department P.A.S.S. System (People, Access, Security, Service), the credentialing effort announced earlier this week by Secretaries Rice and Chertoff.

"Security is and will continue to be TSA's number one priority. We are receptive to innovative private sector ideas to develop a market-based nationwide program that enhances security and offers a more appealing travel experience to program participants," said TSA Administrator Kip Hawley.

In order to give industry the opportunity to begin offering Registered Traveler programs later this year, TSA is directing RT program providers to collect ten fingerprint images from each applicant. This biometric information will be used to verify participant identity at RT checkpoints. These biometrics, which are in widespread use today, provide exceptionally high levels of accuracy. With ten fingerprints on the participant's smart card, the likelihood that identity can be accurately confirmed is improved.

To store biometric data for identity confirmation, RT programs will utilize Smart Card technology that conforms to current Federal Technical Implementation Guidance (see http://smart.gov/), and biometrics will be stored consistent with biometric standards established by the American National Standards Institute/InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (ANSI/INCITS). All Registered Traveler data will be handled in compliance with the Federal Privacy Act.

Registered Traveler applicants who believe that a determination has been made in error that they are ineligible to participate in the program, or participants who have had their eligibility revoked, will have the opportunity to seek redress. While the consolidated traveler screening redress process envisioned by the Rice-Chertoff initiative is being developed, TSA will utilize its current Office of Redress to handle Registered Traveler redress matters. Registered Traveler redress procedures will mirror those now utilized to resolve watch list issues

REdress Procedures. To facilitate the Registered Traveler redress process, an individual may be asked to furnish additional information and/or documents; the information requested will be limited to that which is necessary to resolve the particular matter. Individuals will be notified of the results of their appeal in writing.

The Registered Traveler programs will be market-driven and offered by the private sector. Individual participation in a Registered Traveler program will be entirely voluntary, with prices established by private sector providers. TSA will mandate a core RT security assessment for each applicant to a Registered Traveler program. If RT providers undertake more in-depth security background checks (e.g., by using commercial data specifically authorized by customers, or by other voluntary means), TSA will offer a variety of enhanced or time-saving participant benefits at passenger screening checkpoints. Participants may receive significant efficiency benefits over what exists today, if additional security is added by a more thorough background check.

We know that terrorists may seek to exploit the Registered Traveler program, and the program must be designed to thwart those efforts. Therefore, program benefits will change from time to time in order to make it more difficult for terrorists to anticipate our security activities. Further, TSA will not exempt Registered Traveler participants from random additional screening.

If the RT businesses wish to make investments in approved screening equipment, fund additional screeners, and/or obtain space for separate RT screening, then TSA is prepared to authorize the use of dedicated screening lanes or alternative screening locations for RT participants.

Today's announcement is the latest progress point in a plan announced by Hawley last fall that is expected to lead to TSA approval of qualified RT programs by June of this year.

On December 15, 2005, TSA issued a Request for Information to assist in the identification of one or more business models for the program that can meet the requirement for nationwide interoperability, be sustained solely through user fees, and provide scalable and sustainable operations. Responses to the Request for Information are due to the agency on January 20, 2006.

Respondents were asked to describe business process options for the following functions:

Enrollment and biometric capture
Identity/document validation at enrollment
Card issuance and revocation
Data transfer and storage throughout the system
Interface technology for the smart card and verification system
Audit processes and procedures
Compensation for participating entities
Identification verification at the security checkpoint
Membership renewal
Respondents were also asked to:


Define and estimate the applicant volume necessary to support any capital/infrastructure investments that would be required, operational costs, and pricing assumptions in their business model;

Define the fee structure and flow of funds to participating entities under their business model; and

Identify the roles of service providers and any possible contractual relationship.

By late April, TSA expects to (1) select an entity to certify service providers and manage compliance, (2) issue recommended amendments to Airport Security Plans (ASPs) establishing requirements for airport checkpoint verification providers; and (3) receive plans from interested parties for achieving interoperability among Registered Traveler programs.

DHS Q & A about interoperability standards

Interoperability Standards.

USA Today Jan 23, 2006, page 3A

Excerpt

Page 3A

TSA: Program may use fliers' financial data
By Thomas Frank
USA TODAY



Congress barred the TSA from using commercial data on airline passengers after a government probe criticized the agency last year for improperly storing 100 million records on travelers when it said no data storage would occur.

The TSA says the ban does not apply to Registered Traveler because the program is voluntary and the background checks would be done by companies at an airport. It would be the company that determines whether applicants pose a terrorist threat, TSA spokeswoman Amy von Walter said.

However, the quizzes asked questions that were either too difficult, such as the year someone received their Social Security number, or so easy that “a terrorist … could pass the quiz on behalf of any person,” according to a report by the company, Verified Identity Pass.

CEO Steven Brill said the company had success using document scanners to authenticate applicants' driver's licenses and passports. “There are other things we can do beyond that quiz,” Brill said.

vendors object

January 21, 2006
Airline passengers who buy a pre-approved security pass could have their credit histories and property records examined as part of the government's plan to turn over the Registered Traveler program to private companies.

In announcing the new plan yesterday, the Transportation Security Administration said the Registered Traveler card would allow frequent fliers to go through airport security lines more quickly if they pay a fee, pass a government background check, and submit 10 fingerprints. The program will begin June 20.

The agency announced that it would require companies to conduct more in-depth security background checks, for example, ''by using commercial data specifically authorized by customers, or by other voluntary means."

TSA spokeswoman Amy von Walter said the agency wanted to be able to identify terrorists who weren't already known to law enforcement or intelligence agencies.

Companies interested in the business of Registered Traveler were surprised by the requirement for additional kinds of background checks.

''This would have to be measured against the commitment to privacy," said Tom Blank, spokesman for the newly formed Voluntary Credentialing Industry Coalition, who was formerly acting deputy director of the TSA. He said the group will analyze the new requirement.

Carter Morris, who heads a group of 60 airports advocating the Registered Traveler program, said it remains to be seen whether the requirement will hamper it.

''It's a little early to say whether the whole program hangs in the balance," Morris said. ''The vendors are worried that it adds cost to their business model."

in compliance with FPA

TSA Sets Standards For Private Registered Traveler Programs

JANUARY 20, 2006 -- The Transportation Security Administration today laid out several key elements for the nationwide Registered Traveler program, set to launch this summer. Among the technological and biometric standards of the program—which ultimately will be run by private companies approved by the agency—TSA confirmed the system would be based on smart cards that hold biometric information of prescreened travelers.

TSA said program providers must collect 10 fingerprints from all applicants as the basis of traveler verification and that the smart cards in use must conform to Federal Technical Implementation Guidance standards. TSA said, "All Registered Traveler data will be handled in compliance with the Federal Privacy Act." TSA also is in the midst of setting a system of redress for travelers who fail to gain Registered Traveler status, mirroring avenues of redress used to resolve watch-list issues.

TSA also said the program "will be harmonized with the DHS-State Department PASS System," a passport credentializing system launched this week.

Today's disclosure of several Registered Traveler parameters coincides with the TSA deadline for public commentary and requests for information from companies interested in launching a privately run and TSA-approved program. TSA said it would take into account any commentary to help shape the program that is set to launch nationwide on June 20 (BTN, Nov. 14, 2005).

While TSA said in a statement that it released these standards today "to give industry the opportunity to begin offering Registered Traveler programs later this year," the agency it expects to fully determine the program's standards by late April.

"Security is and will continue to be TSA's number-one priority. We are receptive to innovative private sector ideas to develop a market-based nationwide program that enhances security and offers a more appealing travel experience to program participants," said TSA director Kip Hawley in a statement.

Meanwhile, American Express—the world's largest corporate travel agency—today announced that it is seeking partners to launch a Registered Traveler program for its customer base.

Laser Visas

United States To Begin Issuing New, Secure Passport Cards in 2006
Cards will meet proposed Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements



By Anthony Kujawa
Washington File Staff Writer



Washington -- The United States anticipates issuing a new, secure passport card for land border crossings by the end of 2006, an alternative to the traditional passport book that will meet the proposed documentation requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff.

“[A]s we add these new documentation requirements … we want to make sure we're doing it in a way that continues to support the free movement of people and cargo across the border,” Chertoff said at the State Department January 17, announcing with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a joint vision for secure borders and open doors in the information age.

The three-part plan to welcome visitors to the United States without compromising security, aims to renew America’s welcome with improved technology and efficiency; develop travel documents for the 21st century; and create “smarter screening” of travelers. (See related article and fact sheet.)

Chertoff said the passport card will meet the statutory mandates of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which stipulates that anyone applying for admission to the United States, including U.S. citizens, must present secure travel documents that denote citizenship and serve as proof of identity. Other forms of identification, less secure than a passport, historically have been accepted for citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda.

Officials say the goal of the program is to strengthen border security and make it faster and simpler for U.S. citizens and foreign travelers both to enter and leave the United States.

The program stems from the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, signed into law by President Bush in December 2004. The 2004 law mandated that the secretary of homeland security, in consultation with the secretary of state, develop and implement a plan to require U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to present a passport or other secure document when entering the United States, regardless of the country of origin.

Homeland Security and State formally proposed regulations to implement the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative September 1, 2005. If adopted, those regulations would take effect in phases, applying the new passport or secure document requirement to air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda as of December 31, 2006. By December 31, 2007, the passport requirement would extend to all land border crossings. (See related article.)

SEARCH FOR “INEXPENSIVE, EFFICIENT, INTEROPERABLE” SYSTEM

Rice and Chertoff formally announced that the United States is committed to making a cheaper, secure alternative to the passport book by 2006 for U.S. citizens in border communities who frequently cross land borders.

“We continue to consult very closely with our Canadian and Mexican partners in the Security and Prosperity Partnership and with our other allies in this part of the world about how to best facilitate border movement in a way that is consistent with the law and security,” Chertoff said.

“[O]ur first step is to develop an inexpensive, efficient, interoperable travel card system,” he added.

The Homeland Security secretary said the passport card would be particularly useful for those citizens in border communities who regularly cross northern and southern borders. “We're talking about essentially like the kind of driver's license or other simple card identification that almost all of us carry in our wallets day in and day out,” he said.

Chertoff called the passport card “an important first step” in implementing a broader shared vision for a unified, user-friendly system for “trusted travelers.”

He also said the United States is working to establish a global enrollment network that will unify the various registered traveler programs into a single comprehensive system.

“The idea here is to get necessary information only one time from an applicant, and then create a system and architecture that allows both DHS and State Department officers to get access to this data to confirm the traveler's identity,” he said.

The State Department anticipates that the border-crossing cards currently in use -- also known as a "laser visa" -- will continue to be acceptable as a substitute for a passport and a visa for citizens of Mexico traveling into the United States from across the Mexican border. The department also anticipates that existing documents used at land border crossings in international frequent traveler programs known by the acronyms SENTRI, NEXUS and FAST will be accepted. Although the three programs vary slightly, they are based on the same principle of pre-screening and identifying low-risk travelers so they can cross the international border without having to go through the traditional inspections process.

Through a “unified architecture,” Chertoff said the United States aims to decrease wait times at ports of entry and focus resources on that minority of people who pose a threat.

Additional information is available on the Web site of the departments of Homeland Security and State.






Created:19 Jan 2006 Updated: 19 Jan 2006

show stopping negatives

There's already a private company running a Registered Traveler test program at the Orlando (Fla.) Airport. Verified Identity Pass, which was started by media entrepreneur Steven Brill, charges $79.95 for the card.


Earlier this month, the company told the TSA that it tested whether commercial data services could authenticate that a person is who he says he is.


The results: "We dropped the idea after fully testing it and finding that it had no security benefits and significant, almost show-stopping negatives," the company said in a document responding to the TSA's request for information.


Other private companies such as General Electric, ARINC and Iridian Technologies, along with airports, think there's money to be made in the business of verifying people's identity at airports.


"Travelers want it," said Steve van Beek, spokesman for the airport group Airports Council International. "We can accommodate their desire for customer service and provide better security."


___


On the Net:


Transportation Security Administration:


Registered Traveler Consortium:


www.tsa.gov


www.rtconsortium.org/


URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2006/01/20/national/w024620S17.DTL

USA Today -RegisteredTraveler to begin Jun 20

Dedicated Lines.

Multifunction ID card

DAILY BRIEFING January 18, 2006


DHS chief eyes ID cards with biometric data
By Michael Martinez, National Journal's Technology Daily


Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff said today he intends to spend money to develop technology that will allow identification cards to serve several purposes, but stopped short of advocating a national identification card.

Chertoff told reporters at a media briefing hosted by the King Publishing Group that he believes it is critical to develop a technological platform for ID cards that is efficient and versatile.


He said the department ought to be working toward the creation of a single, secure card embedded with biometric information and capable of working across jurisdictions. In May 2005, President Bush signed into law a bill that established national standards for driver's licenses. States must meet the standards by 2008.


Chertoff said a multi-functional ID card could satisfy the conditions and simultaneously serve other security initiatives, such as the Registered Traveler program for moving pre-approved airline passengers through screening more quickly.


Chertoff said individuals are mistaken if they believe that ordinary driver's licenses provide sufficient identification. He said the technology embedded in the cards he is proposing would improve privacy protection and reduce inconveniences.


He did not offer any suggestions as to how states will pay to meet the requirements of the licensing law, but he said he expects full compliance. "It's the law," he said. "Whether people like it or not, they're obliged to follow it."


On another front, Chertoff conceded that state and local officials might be frustrated with recent adjustments in the department's risk-based formula for distributing counterterrorism grants that award grants to regions rather than cities.


Several governors, including Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, criticized the shift. Schwarzenegger wrote Chertoff last week to voice his concern that San Diego and Sacramento might lose funding under the new formula.


Chertoff said he expected the shift would ruffle feathers. "We're not saying there's no threat to anyone not on the list," he said. The risk-based formula will extend to chemical plants, he said.





This document is located at

GovEXEC.

On condition of anonymity?

State, DHS put technology punch at borders
01/17/06
By Wilson P. Dizard III,
GCN Staff


Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff today unveiled a joint program to strengthen technology at the border, speed legitimate travel and bolster counterterrorism programs.

“We will update our technology to achieve a faster, more secure” method of processing travelers, Rice said in remarks at the State Department this morning.

“When I took office the [stereotype] was that the State Department was the welcoming department and a little soft, while [the Homeland Security Department] was the tough department but a little heartless,” Rice said. “We share an interest in an open and fully secure border.”

Rice emphasized the reduced processing times the departments have achieved for issuing visas to scientists, among other travelers.

Chertoff said that officials share “a vision for strengthening security and keeping the welcome mat out.”

That strategy will involve extensive deployment of modern technology, Chertoff added.

The new policy, described as the Rice-Chertoff Joint Vision: Secure Borders and Open Doors in the Information Age, relies on three phases:
“Renewing America’s Welcome,” a project to ease the path for legitimate travelers. One aspect of this phase will be to create two pilots that will be designed to improve the experience of international travelers arriving at airports. The pilot programs at the Houston and Dulles international airports will include customized video messages, as well as improved screening of arriving passengers. State also plans to pilot videoconferencing technology so that foreigners seeking visas won’t have to travel long distances to embassies or consulates.


A second phase calls for “Travel Documents for the 21st Century,” and builds partly on existing programs. For example, it includes both the existing e-passport program that relies on contactless chip technology and a new generation of border crossing cards that also will use radio-frequency identification devices. By the end of this year, State and DHS plan to produce an inexpensive, secure biometric passport card for Americans who cross the border frequently, the departments said. Citizens will be required to present the cards at the borders by 2008 under existing law, a senior official said. They will be called the People Access Security Service.


The third and final phase of the program is “Smarter Screening,” which relies largely on improved information sharing between the two departments. State and DHS plan to eventually move to a paperless visa system in which officials will have electronic access to visas, passports and biometric information. The departments also seek to share data with like-minded governments.
Officials said the push to bolster border technology would not involve imposing any new requirements on foreigners traveling to the United States, and in some cases would be accompanied by more flexible visa requirements for students and business professionals.

Senior department officials speaking on condition of anonymity said they seek to develop standards that will allow various existing registered traveler system and border card programs to use interoperable technology, including RFID chips.

One aspect of the technology push that falls under the travel document phase is the planned creation of a global enrollment network for travel document applications. The goal of this project would be to capture a traveler’s data once and use it many times. Officials said they are still in the planning stages of developing specifications for the network.

Feb 9, 2006

Link to Registered Traveler hearings.

hearing on Feb 9, 2006

Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006, 10 a.m.

Commerce, Science, and Transportation
To hold an oversight hearing to examine commercial aviation security, focusing on Transportation Security Administration's aviation passenger screening programs, Secure Flight and Registered Traveler, to discuss issues that have prevented these programs from being launched, and to determine their future.

The focus of the hearing will be on Secure Flight and Registered Traveler.