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Northwest Airlines Wants Eye-Scan Check-in
Headius writes: "According to the Associated Press, Northwest Airlines is testing out a check-in system that uses eye scans to identify customers, and provide a faster way to check in. The article is here locally, and probably making its way to other news sites as well." Bruce Schneier posted a while ago this neat summary of some of the limitations of biometrics, worth re-reading. One question I have, how long will you eyes stay on record?
The questions I always had about retinal scans is what happens in the situation of someone who has a glass eye?
Do the scans ignore it, or do they try to recognize it as a real eye? If so, does it pass or fail the system?? I imagine it would fail, since there is no retina to scan.
And what happens when they change their glass eye to a new one, that might be slightly different looking; would they no longer be recognized as the same person?
If anyone knows, please respond, I'm curious!
a terrorist need only establish themself as "trusted" - fly on a few flights without problems
Or, else, crack the retina database. Computers never lie, right?
it might work to make some people feel safer in their own country, but really this whole airline security thing is getting out of control. there's a couple of really easy solutions that will not interfer with my rights to privacy:
1. put armed soldiers on every flight. you want to secure the air traffic, soldiers will get the job done.
2. here's a wacky one... let passengers carry guns on the planes. guns, knives, whatever. who's going to try to overtake the controls of a plane when there is a good possibility that others on the plane have guns and will use them against you. you can take firearms on a grayhound bus, or an amtrack train, why not the airlines?
3. remove access from the cockpit to the cabin. why does the pilot need to get into the back of hte plane, and conversly, why do passengers (or coffee deliverers) need direct access to the controls?
this whole national id system, retina scans, etc, etc in the wake of 9/11 is really really getting out of control. i think what we need to do is to take one step back in order to get 4 steps ahead.
Do contact lenses interfere with this technology in any way?
I don't like the idea of new technologies wanting to beam things or point any kind of a laser at my eyes. What are the long term effects? Is my generation going to be known as "back when they used the old kind of laser that used to damage people's eyes". (like lead paint, asbestos, and silicon implants)
I'm buying from a different airline...
These technologies are dangerous to us whether they work or they fail.
We are afraid of being attacked by uniformed thugs at airports and soon, bus stations and shopping malls because the biometric system came up with yet another false positive. Like to be mistaken for bin Laden and have your shopping trip be interrupted by a SWAT team?
We are concerned about our privacy being invaded (ever been stalked?) for personal or political reasons. America is now a land where the government can take anyone, declare that person a "terrorist", and detain that person indefinitely without a trial or even an attorney. Should we want that government to know where we are at all times?
We are concerned because we know that this stuff is NOT ready for prime time but is being sold to PHB types who can easily be scammed and to journalists who don't have the tech skills or knowledge to be know when they're being snowed as a "solution" to protect us from terrorists and criminals. The biometrics companies aren't doing this out of interest in public safety, they are doing this in hopes of an IPO and a quick cash-out..
Which category do you fall into? PHB? Tech-illiterate journalist? Or are you a shill for a biometrics company?
Easy ways to defeat biometrics
Face/iris scanner failures.
Tech Public Policy stuff
Many people are suggesting that terrorists won't be caught simply because they may already be trusted (have used the airlines multiple times in the past w/o problems) or may have valid IDs. Obviously that isn't the point. The issue is the correlation of data between the scanners and databases of known suspects. If the agencies do not find a way to communicate and share information instead of hoarding it, then this system would be useless. Rarely are these kind of people completely unknown to authorities. How many of the 9/11 hijackers already under some watch list? If this system were to be universally set in place, then the system could conceivably bring up red flags when it identifies several people from the same organization or watch list boarding at the same time. Databases and archives may be able to help track collaborators, if not after the fact. Once you find the person involved, look for patters such as others with whom the suspect traveled.
However it all seems to be a moot point when all the security in the world may make air travel more safe, it will to little if anything to stop terrorism. How hard would it be to find a woody area outside some airport, set up a few guys with normal, high powered hunting rifles or assault weapons and take out a landing aircraft. No one would hear it nor figure it out until days or weeks after it is too late. There is so much security at some events like the Super Bowl, but what about things such as the playoffs where just as many people are around and watch the event live. Maybe even a small plane flying into an airport would work as well. Ever sit on the tarmac for an hour with a dozen other planes waiting for take-off? I'm off on a tangent, and this will likely be moded accordingly, but the point is little can be done to really stop the competent, determined person or group. I'm all for this kind of system as it will provide additional tools to law enforcement. They can already track people using electronic ticket trails, it just takes more time. This just allows for more timely information at the critical times in which it is needed.
Cave, wreck, and deep diver.