Source: securityboulevard.com – Author: Richi Jennings
Prepare to have your face scanned at airport security. Although facial verification might be a better way to describe it.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is piloting a way to match scans of your face with the ID you present at security. The idea is to speed up the process and make it more accurate.
But there are privacy concerns—are they justified? In today’s SB Blogwatch, we kick the tires and light the fires.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: Winning money on gameshows.
Your Tinfoil Hat is Under Your Seat
What’s the craic? Rebecca Santana and Rick Gentilo report—“TSA is testing facial recognition at more airports, raising privacy concerns”:
“Improve the accuracy”
It’s … a pilot project by the Transportation Security Administration to assess the use of facial recognition technology at a number of airports across the country. … TSA says the pilot is voluntary and accurate, but critics have raised concerns about questions of bias in facial recognition technology and possible repercussions for passengers who want to opt out.
…
As various forms of technology that use biometric information like face IDs, retina scans or fingerprint matches have become more pervasive in both the private sector and the federal government, it’s raised concerns among privacy advocates about how this data is collected, who has access to it and what happens if it gets hacked. … While the agency says it’s not currently storing the biometric data it collects, what if that changes in the future?
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TSA says the goal of the pilot is to improve the accuracy of the identity verification without slowing down the speed at which passengers pass through the checkpoints. … The pandemic greatly accelerated the rollout of various types of this “touchless” technology, whereby a passenger isn’t handing over a document to an agent.
Where can I experience this modern marvel? Jada Jones joins in—“Here’s what that means for you”:
“Pitfall in the technology”
If you’re traveling through an airport in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, and a handful of other U.S. airports, you may notice a new biometric measure TSA is using. … After passengers insert their driver’s license or passport into the TSA card reader, their faces will be processed by a camera that compares them to the picture on their identification.
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Facial recognition software is notorious for disproportionately misidentifying individuals with darker skin. This pitfall in the technology’s capabilities can have severe consequences for millions of people.
What’s the big idea? u/IamRasters has insider knowledge:
I work at an a company that develops this solution. It is indeed voluntary and the concept is to allow a passenger to go from check-in to boarding, using their face as their identity. Confirm and register your facial identify at a kiosk, drop your own bag off, go through security screening, board at the gate—all without needing to pull out your boarding pass and passport “open to the picture page.”
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Yes, Covid accelerated “no-touch” initiatives. Airports, airlines, security, the government: They all know who you are already. This just uses FR to make your travel options easier. Also, this isn’t FR meant to identify you from the human population—you just need to match your ID, be unique from other passengers in the terminal, and have the same face up to departure.
FR? Surely FV? groobly explainifies:
Face verification … not face recognition. Face recognition is hard. Face verification is much easier: All that is required is to decide whether you are who you say you are—not figuring out who you are among the 8 billion people on earth.
But but but … mah pryvasee? u/IAmDotorg sounds sanguine:
Given CBP already is doing biometrics, and it’s a key part of things like Global Entry, it’s not like it’s a new thing. If you’ve got a Real ID license or a passport, they’ve already got the data. It, if anything, seems stupid to not use it, especially if it streamlines the cluster**** of checkin and security.
Get over yourself. Roger W Moore welcomes the TSA to the party:
This is already in use pretty much everywhere in Europe and Canada. I just flew back from Europe on Saturday and my passport was electronically scanned and my picture taken by the passport booth in Amsterdam. When I got to Canada the same happened: I scanned my passport and filled in the customs declaration all electronically.
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It makes immigration and customs much faster and since they already have all your data electronically, I don’t see it raising any more privacy concerns beyond those that exist already. Of course this only works … for those who have an electronically readable passport.
Here’s an interesting take on the “slippery slope” argument. It’s u/ExoticDumpsterFire:
When I was in China, they scan your face at customs. … We took a domestic flight, and I walk up to the big TV array with all the flights to check our gate. Suddenly, one of the TVs switched to a view of my face, and next to it my exact flight and gate—i.e., they scanned my face, and used it to look up my flight and show it to me for convenience.
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Simultaneously cool and freaky. I wonder how often they scanned/tracked my face just walking around town.
Any other potential downfalls? SGTRena sounds slightly sarcastic:
Then the database gets hacked because the government can’t secure ****. And the hackers have your PII and biometrics. Yay progress!
Nothing to hide: Nothing to fear? u/cidonys explains the dangers:
This is the sort of data that is dangerous. … The sort of data that makes it easier for Texas to hurt people who leave the state to get abortions. … The sort of data that makes it easier for abusive police officers to stalk their victims. … Once it’s in airports, it’s gonna spread to government buildings, DMVs, courtrooms – places where you must visit in order to be a functioning member of society.
Meanwhile, bugs2squash spots something missing:
I notice that they don’t say they plan to use tech to improve the traveler experience.
And Finally:
You have been reading SB Blogwatch by Richi Jennings. Richi curates the best bloggy bits, finest forums, and weirdest websites … so you don’t have to. Hate mail may be directed to @RiCHi or [email protected]. Ask your doctor before reading. Your mileage may vary. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Do not stare into laser with remaining eye. E&OE. 30.
Image sauce: Annika Gordon (via Unsplash; leveled and cropped)
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Original Post URL: https://securityboulevard.com/2023/05/tsa-facial-recognition-pilot-richixbw/
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