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Verified Identity Pass Shuts Down "Clear" Operations

Posted by timothy on from the will-you-also-clear-the-database dept.

torrentami writes that Verified Identity Pass, operator of the "Clear" program, which allowed pre-screened passengers faster access to US airport gates, "sent out emails to its subscribers today informing them that as of 11 p.m. PST they will cease operations. Clear was a pioneer in speeding customers through security at airports and had planned on expanding to large events. The service, where it was available, offered a first class security experience for travelers willing to fork over $200 a year and their biometrics. Customers are now left holding their Flyclear cards with encrypted biometrics. The question now becomes, what happens to all that information? This is not the first time Clear has been in the news. A laptop containing customer records was reportedly missing from the San Francisco International airport recently but then turned up shortly thereafter. Another casualty of the recession's downturn in business travel."

18 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. What happens? by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 5, Funny

    The question now becomes, what happens to all that information?

    Simple. It gets sold on eBay along with their servers.....

    --
    "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    1. Re:What happens? by hairyfeet · · Score: 4, Informative

      Or, if it was like the desktops of a certain teleco that were tossed a couple of years back it all ends up on the curb where you can have it for free!

      True story, a buddy of mine was working a few blocks from their office and gives me a "you ain't gonna believe this shit. bring your pickup truck" call, so I go there and there are all these 1.5-30Ghz boxes dumped out on the curb on a Sunday. So I help him load them up and we get them to his place(I of course get to pick out a few for bringing the truck) and hook them up to see if there is an OS on any of them. Not only are they all loaded with XP Pro, complete with the stickers on the side, but they hadn't bothered to wipe a damned thing. Nothing at all. SSN records,CC records, accounts, they just left it all right there on the machines they tossed. They were just lucky they were picked up by a couple of guys interested in the parts and not the data or we could have had an ID theft field day with all that info.

      There really should be a hotline or something similar to call to get companies in trouble when they do totally dumbass maneuvers like that. I'd say this was much worse than the morons that left the unencrypted tapes in their Honda, as how many folks have a tape drive? With these all you had to do was plug them in and start copying. It just amazes me how completely careless these companies are with the data they collect.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    2. Re:What happens? by similar_name · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There really should be a hotline or something similar to call to get companies in trouble when they do totally dumbass maneuvers like that.

      Would you have called and had all those machines taken from you as evidence?

  2. Most people won't care, but at Orlando... by BenEnglishAtHome · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is too bad for a few folks. One of the training companies used extensively by my employer is headquartered in Florida. All of their staff signed up for Clear and said it was either unavailable or pretty much worthless everywhere EXCEPT Orlando. There, seasoned travelers frequently found themselves in line behind hundreds of Disney-vacationing families with little kids, families unused to flying and doing everything wrong while still trying to herd the ankle-biters. It was supposedly a nightmare. For that airport and that airport alone, those guys thought Clear was a godsend.

    Everywhere else? Their attitude was...meh.

    1. Re:Most people won't care, but at Orlando... by Ioldanach · · Score: 3, Funny

      Could the TSA's own advances in screening have killed off the company's business model?

      Clearly, the gubmint should step in and stop the TSA from getting efficient, frail business models need to be protected, right?

    2. Re:Most people won't care, but at Orlando... by metlin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      As a seasoned traveler, I could have told you that Clear wasn't going anywhere. Forget Orlando - New York on Monday mornings or O'Hare in winter make Orlando look like a walk in the park.

      The problem with Clear is that they are not available at more than a couple of gates and terminals at any airport. So, you would end up going to that particular gate or terminal to get through Clear, as opposed to the one you are flying out of. Worse yet is that in some airports, they only have it available to passengers flying a certain airline (e.g. in Cincinnati, you can only go through Clear if you are flying Delta -- most American, US Air and United customers would have to go through good old TSA since the Delta terminal is not connected with any other terminal). Hell, they are not even available at all airports, which sort of defeats the complete purpose for a frequent flier.

      Secondly, as a frequent flier, I simply go to the priority access lanes. If you've any kind of airline status, or if you're flying business/first, you get to go through a much shorter line, and do not have to stand behind muggles and grandma with her 500oz hair shampoo. These lines are shorter, and move much faster because seasoned and frequent fliers pack as little as they have to. For example, I can pretty much pack all that I need for a week in a laptop bag, including workout clothes and gym gear, books, emergency snacks etc. Throw in a garment bag and you've plenty of space for a vacation for a month. So, frequent flier lanes are also much faster because these people don't spend their time arguing with TSA to let them take their hair gel or water bottle through.

      I must also say that I've seen a remarkable difference in TSA attitudes in the past couple of years. That helps, too.

    3. Re:Most people won't care, but at Orlando... by uncqual · · Score: 3, Funny

      I call B.S.

      The entire government in California is run by chimpanzees - there can't possibly be enough left over to run even one DMV office in Florida, let alone the whole organization.

      (Although, California is running out of bananas - some of their government chimpanzees may be migrating East soon -- be afraid, be very afraid).

      --
      Why is there an "insightful" mod and why isn't it "-1"? If I wanted insight, I wouldn't be reading /.
  3. There goes my argument... by T-Bucket · · Score: 5, Informative

    I was always amazed that they could put together a program like that for anyone who wanted to pay $200 but couldn't come up with a way to clear flight crews through without doing the whole "scan all your crap in front of the uneducated TSA goons who will then ask you 20 stupid questions about your approach chart holder" thing... (No kidding, one of them once asked me why I was carrying a "giant razor blade".)

    1. Re:There goes my argument... by TommydCat · · Score: 4, Funny

      I've always wondered about the sanity of fully screening flight crews after an episode I witnessed a few months after 9/11...

      A few flight attendants cut in line in front of me just before the x-ray machines at the terminal security (which they are entitled to do, no complaints if they're cute) and the last one through set off the metal detector and had to be wanded. She asked the TSA guy "uhhh, what exactly are you looking for, anyway?"
      He replied, "anything you may have on your person that you could use to attempt to gain access to the cockpit." That seemed like a logical and fairly intelligent response from someone moments away from digging through my skivvies on my carry-on to find the suspicious USB cable.
      That is, until she pulled the key that was on a laniard around her neck into the open, and remarked, "Oh, you mean something like THIS?"

      *facepalm*

      --
      This comment does not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the author.
    2. Re:There goes my argument... by spuke4000 · · Score: 3, Funny

      A friend of mine is a commercial pilot. Immediately after 9/11 he had his nail clippers confiscated when going through security. He mentioned to security that not only is there a fire ax in the cockpit, but he's the pilot and can just steer the plane into the ground if he wants to crash it. They didn't seem to get understand.

      --
      This post cannot be rebroadcast without the express written constent of Major League Baseball.
  4. Heathrow T5 by pzs · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They still have something similar at the new BA Heathrow terminal. If you're a business or 1st class passenger you get your own special lane in the security checks where (presumably - I'm just an economy pleb) the line moves faster (fewer unwashed masses) and maybe the staff are less rude to you. I guess it's just another part of the "aspirational" nature of flying, where you wish you could afford to fly business because it might be a slightly less depressing and dehumanising experience.

    The cynic in me says that this is a natural and welcome part of security theatre. Like forcing everybody to rebuy their bottled water every time they fly, this practice seems to have a lot more to do with making companies associated with flight security a pile of money than it does making anybody safe.

  5. Never signed up by ToAllPointsWest · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Right now I'm so glad I never signed on for that BS.

    --
    They came for the Communists, and I didn't object - For I wasn't a Communist; They came for the Socialists, and I didn'
  6. Private companies selling public space by EsJay · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Priority lines at the airport bug me. First class passengers are not paying me or the airport, the airline is collecting the cash. So why should they get special treatment and make the wait worse for the rest of us? Maybe I should set up a toll booth on my street. Or go to the DMV and set up velvet ropes to one station, and sell the "right" to that quicker line for $50/head.

  7. Re:Color me unsurprised by Pahroza · · Score: 4, Funny

    How about not having to get to the airport -- what is it now, 36 hours? -- before your flight?

    Sitting down at the gate and waiting is quite a bit different than waiting in line with all the cows that have never been to the airport.

  8. Re:Security Theater by Queltor · · Score: 4, Informative

    All the people who complain about having to buy water make me laugh.

    The prohibition is on the liquid, not the container. If you want to have a bottle of water on the plane then carry an empty bottle through security. I've carried reused plastic bottles, Nalgene hiking-type bottles, and even a metal Kleen Kanteen through security without any problems. Once you're through security, find a water fountain and fill up!

    Just remember to vent the bottle once on the plane. The pressure changes can leave you with a leaking bottle.

  9. Re:A lot of business travel is unnecessary by MoeDrippins · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Unfortunately, "when this economy turns around" is precisely when what is wasteful vs. not will CEASE to be recognized.

    --
    Before you design for reuse, make sure to design it for use.
  10. I'm a Clear customer, but not out in the cold yet. by joedoc · · Score: 4, Informative

    I signed up for Clear last year. I live in northeast Florida but work in DC, so I fly to and from Jacksonville to Reagan in DC or BWI up in Baltimore. Reagan and Dulles had Clear lines, BWI does not.

    In Jacksonville, the service was there prior to Clear. Called Preferred Traveler, it's operated by a company called Vigilant Solutions. They always accepted my Clear credential. I contacted their office this morning via email and was informed that they are still operating and will continue to accept Clear's card at their gates. If you look at the list of their participating airports on their site, you'll see a long list. I don't know if these are their exclusive locations or ones that include Clear's lines, since I know Clear accepted their credentials as well.

    The Clear shutdown news was a shock...I thought the email I received last night was a joke or spam, until I verified the news at their website.

    Fortunately for me, I can still use my card where I need to most frequently: flying out of Jacksonville on Monday mornings. The regular security lines there can be brutally long, and using the Preferred Traveler line saves me more than 30 minutes of waiting. I can sleep later, the wife can sleep later, and I'm getting to my gate with no pressure. Worth every penny.

    My hope is that some enterprising company steps in and take over Clear's operations. The service is really great.

    --
    Joe Dougherty, Florida, USA
    The words I thought I brought, I left behind. So, never mind.
  11. A funny security theater story (OT) by pongo000 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    [Bruce] Schneier took from his bag a 12-ounce container labeled "saline solution."

    "It's allowed," he said. Medical supplies, such as saline solution for contact-lens cleaning, don't fall under the TSA's three-ounce rule.

    "What's allowed?" I asked. "Saline solution, or bottles labeled saline solution?"

    "Bottles labeled saline solution. They won't check what's in it, trust me."

    They did not check. As we gathered our belongings, Schneier held up the bottle and said to the nearest security officer, "This is okay, right?" "Yep," the officer said. "Just have to put it in the tray."

    "Maybe if you lit it on fire, he'd pay attention," I said, risking arrest for making a joke at airport security. (Later, Schneier would carry two bottles labeled saline solution--24 ounces in total--through security. An officer asked him why he needed two bottles. "Two eyes," he said. He was allowed to keep the bottles.)

    Well, I thought it was funny.

    http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security/2