Secure Flight
Encyclopedia
Secure Flight is an airline passenger pre-screening
program to be implemented starting in August 2009 by the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA). Secure Flight will match passenger information against blacklist
s maintained by the federal government. The initial implementation phase of Secure Flight will result in the complete transfer of responsibility for passenger watch list matching to TSA from aircraft operators whose flights operate within the United States. The second phase of Secure Flight will result in the transfer of responsibility for passenger watch list matching to TSA for flights into, out of, and over the United States.
Secure Flight will serve to prevent individuals on the No Fly List
from boarding an aircraft, as well as to subject individuals on the Selectee List to enhanced screening to determine if they are permitted to board an aircraft.
(IRTPA) of 2004 requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assume from aircraft operators the function of conducting pre-flight comparisons of airline passenger information to federal government watch lists for international and domestic flights. The final report of the National Commission on the Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission Report) recommends that this watch list matching function “should be performed by TSA and it should utilize the larger set of watch lists maintained by the Federal Government” (See 9/11 Commission Report p. 393).
To fulfill this recommendation, TSA published the Secure Flight Final Rule on October 28, 2008. The Final Rule went into effect on December 29, 2008.
TSA's Office of Threat Assessment and Credentialing is the lead for the program. Contractors supporting the program have included IBM, Accenture, ESR, InfoZen, and Deloitte. Infoglide Software
provided the underlying identity resolution
technology.
TSA's met its goal to vet 100 percent of all domestic commercial flights by early 2010 and 100 percent of all international commercials flights by the end of 2010.
Secure Flight has many similarities with CAPPS II
and the No Fly List
, and therefore raises the same validated concerns about civil liberties
and due process
. Specifically, Civil Libertarians argue that under the Secure Flight program, there are insufficient redress mechanisms for innocent citizens on watch lists. Additionally, the content and quantity of the watch lists has fallen under scrutiny.
, in the public domain
.
Sampling (statistics)
In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....
program to be implemented starting in August 2009 by the Transportation Security Administration
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....
(TSA). Secure Flight will match passenger information against blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
s maintained by the federal government. The initial implementation phase of Secure Flight will result in the complete transfer of responsibility for passenger watch list matching to TSA from aircraft operators whose flights operate within the United States. The second phase of Secure Flight will result in the transfer of responsibility for passenger watch list matching to TSA for flights into, out of, and over the United States.
Secure Flight will serve to prevent individuals on the No Fly List
No Fly List
The No Fly List is a list, created and maintained by the United States government's Terrorist Screening Center , of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the United States. The list has also been used to divert away from U.S. airspace aircraft not...
from boarding an aircraft, as well as to subject individuals on the Selectee List to enhanced screening to determine if they are permitted to board an aircraft.
History
The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention ActIntelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act
The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 , , is a 236-page Act of Congress, signed by President George W. Bush, that broadly affects US federal terrorism laws. In juxtaposition with the single-subject rule, the act is composed of several separate titles with varying subject...
(IRTPA) of 2004 requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assume from aircraft operators the function of conducting pre-flight comparisons of airline passenger information to federal government watch lists for international and domestic flights. The final report of the National Commission on the Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission Report) recommends that this watch list matching function “should be performed by TSA and it should utilize the larger set of watch lists maintained by the Federal Government” (See 9/11 Commission Report p. 393).
To fulfill this recommendation, TSA published the Secure Flight Final Rule on October 28, 2008. The Final Rule went into effect on December 29, 2008.
Benefits
Currently, individual aircraft operators conduct watch list matching using lists provided by TSA. By assuming watch list matching responsibilities from the airlines, TSA will:- decrease the chance for compromised watch list data by limiting its distribution
- provide earlier identification of potential matches, allowing for expedited notification of law enforcement and threat management
- provide a fair, equitable, and consistent matching process across all airlines
- reduce instances of misidentified individuals
- offer consistent application of an expedited and integrated redress process for misidentified individuals via the Department of Homeland Security's Travel Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP), a method by which misidentified travelers can file an inquiry to have erroneous information corrected in DHS systems
Implementation
Secure Flight began implementation with select domestic aircraft operators at the beginning of 2009 and completed implementation for all covered domestic and international airlines in December 2010 .TSA's Office of Threat Assessment and Credentialing is the lead for the program. Contractors supporting the program have included IBM, Accenture, ESR, InfoZen, and Deloitte. Infoglide Software
Infoglide Software
Infoglide Software Corporation provides identity resolution and entity analytics software and services for commercial and government markets.The company's products support various entity resolution and analysis solutions including airline passenger screening, insider trading discovery, banking...
provided the underlying identity resolution
Identity resolution
Identity resolution is an operational intelligence process, typically powered by an identity resolution engine or middleware stack, whereby organizations can connect disparate data sources with a view to understanding possible identity matches and non-obvious relationships across multiple data silos...
technology.
TSA's met its goal to vet 100 percent of all domestic commercial flights by early 2010 and 100 percent of all international commercials flights by the end of 2010.
Privacy
TSA has stated it will not collect or use commercial data to conduct Secure Flight watch list matching. It has also released a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA). The TSA policy, however, makes no mention of any limitations on what the airlines themselves, who collect the sensitive (birth date, etc.) information, may do with this.Secure Flight has many similarities with CAPPS II
Computer Assisted Passenger PreScreening System II
The Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System was a program of the United States Department of Homeland Security instituted to increase security at airports by assessing the risk level of passengers before they're allowed to board...
and the No Fly List
No Fly List
The No Fly List is a list, created and maintained by the United States government's Terrorist Screening Center , of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the United States. The list has also been used to divert away from U.S. airspace aircraft not...
, and therefore raises the same validated concerns about civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
and due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
. Specifically, Civil Libertarians argue that under the Secure Flight program, there are insufficient redress mechanisms for innocent citizens on watch lists. Additionally, the content and quantity of the watch lists has fallen under scrutiny.
See also
- Airport securityAirport securityAirport security refers to the techniques and methods used in protecting airports and aircraft from crime.Large numbers of people pass through airports. This presents potential targets for terrorism and other forms of crime due to the number of people located in a particular location...
- No-Fly ListNo Fly ListThe No Fly List is a list, created and maintained by the United States government's Terrorist Screening Center , of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the United States. The list has also been used to divert away from U.S. airspace aircraft not...
- Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information ExchangeMultistate Anti-Terrorism Information ExchangeThe Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange Program, also known by the acronym MATRIX, was a federally funded data mining system originally developed for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement described as a tool to identify terrorist subjects....
- Travel technologyTravel technologyTravel technology is a term used to describe applications of Information Technology , or Information and Communications Technology , in travel, tourism and hospitality industry...
Sources
This article incorporates text verbatim from this website, a publication of the US Transportation Security AdministrationTransportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....
, in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
External links
- Secure Flight Home Page
- Official DHS Press Release
- Secure Flight FAQ (The Identity Project / PapersPlease.org)
- ACLU Response to Secure Flight Final Rule Announcement
- USA Today Coverage of Secure Flight Final Rule Announcement
- Secure Flight Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)
- Secure Flight System of Records Notice (SORN)
- DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP)
- The Final Rule
- Carrier Data Interfacing to Secure Flight