Thread: Get used to biometric tests, U.S. tells travelers

Link

By Gideon Long

LONDON (Reuters) - International travelers should get used to having their fingerprints taken or their irises scanned because traditional airport security tests are outdated and open to abuse, a leading U.S. official said on Thursday.

"As a general principle, certainly in the area of international travel, biometrics is the way forward in virtually every respect," said Michael Chertoff, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary.

"When we screen based on names, we're screening on the most primitive and least technological basis of identification -- it's the most susceptible to misspelling, or people changing their identity, or fraud.

"Biometrics is the way ahead."

Chertoff was speaking to reporters after meeting British officials during a four-day visit to Europe to discuss transatlantic security cooperation.

On Monday he visited the Netherlands, which will pilot a scheme later this year to allow passengers flying between New York's JFK airport and Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to pass through border controls using a biometric card.

If they can produce the card, travelers will not be subjected to further questioning or screening.

The scheme is the first of its kind to be launched between the United States and a European country and, if it works, could be adopted elsewhere.

The United States hopes the use of biometric testing will help prevent potential terrorists entering the country and cut down confusion about who is allowed in and who is not.

The most high profile case of confusion involving a British citizen came in September last year when Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, was barred from entering the United States after boarding a plane from London.

U.S. officials diverted the flight 600 miles from its destination of Washington D.C, took Islam off the plane and sent him back to Britain.
Washington said his name appeared on their no-fly lists and he was stopped because his activities "could be potentially linked to terrorism." Britain, where Islam is a renowned educationalist and respected member of the Muslim community, insisted he was harmless.

Britain is one of 27 countries whose citizens do not need a visa to enter the United States if they intend to stay less than 90 days. Washington wants all 27 to issue new passports by Oct. 26 this year containing a computer chip and a digital photograph of the holder.

Chertoff stressed the need for these countries to talk to each other about the kind of chips they were using to avoid the emergence of rival testing systems.

He made an analogy with the "video war" of the early 1980s, when VHS and Betamax vied for dominance as the industry standard for video recording systems.

"It would be a very bad thing if we all invested huge amounts of money in biometric systems and they didn't work with each other," he said. "Hopefully were not going to do VHS and Betamax with our chips," he added. "I was one of the ones who bought Betamax and that's now in the garbage."

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politi ... ory=641731


US wants to be able to access Britons' ID cards
By Kim Sengupta

27 May 2005

The United States wants Britain's proposed identity cards to have the same microchip and technology as the ones used on American documents.

The aim of getting the same microchip is to ensure compatability in screening terrorist suspects. But it will also mean that information contained in the British cards can be accessed across the Atlantic.

Michael Chertoff, the newly appointed US Secretary for Homeland Security, has already had talks with the Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, and the Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, to discuss the matter.

Mr Chertoff said yesterday that it was vital to seek compatibility, holding up the example of the "video war" of 25 years ago, when VHS and Betamax were in fierce competition to win the status of industry standard for video recording systems.

"I certainly hope we have the same chip... It would be very bad if we all invested huge amounts of money in biometric systems and they didn't work with each other.Hopefully, we are not going to do VHS and Betamax with our chips. I was one of the ones who bought Betamax, and that's now in the garbage," he said.

Mr Chertoff also proposed that British citizens wishing to visit the US should consider entering a "Trusted Traveller" scheme. Under this, they would forward their details to the US embassy to be vetted. If successful, they would receive a document allowing "fast- tracking" through the US immigration system.

A pilot scheme will start within a few months between the US and the Netherlands, allowing Dutch visitors to use a Trusted Traveller card to enter the US without being subjected to further questioning or screening.

Britain is one of 27 countries whose citizens do not need visas to enter the US if they intend to stay less than 90 days. The American government has said it wants 27 to issue new passports by 26 October this year containing a computer chip and a digital photograph.

Mr Chertoff said compatability and the checking system was intended purely to track down "terrorists and criminals" and the main aim was to provide a "fair and reasonable system".

US diplomatic sources stated later that Washington did not wish to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries.

"When we screen based on names, we're screening on the most primitive and least technological basis of identification - it's the most susceptible to misspelling, or people changing their identity, or fraud," he said.

The scheme will also, say diplomats, ease confusion over who exactly constitutes a suspect. The most high-profile case was that of Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, who was barred from entering the US because his activities "could be potentially linked to terrorism". The British government is insistent that Mr Islam had no such links.

However, this is the latest controversy to surround Britain's proposed combined identity card and passport due to be introduced in three years' time. Rising costs have pushed the cost up to £93 each after the overall estimated 10-year cost of the project grew from £3.1bn to £ 5.8 bn.

There have also been problems over the effectiveness of the biometric technology which is supposed to safeguard the security of the cards. There were also verification problems with 30 per cent of those whose fingerprint was taken during an enrolment trial of 10,000 volunteers.

Behold the Future Real ID