DC
Airport First In Nation to Catch Suspected Imposter Using Facial Biometrics, by
Aaron Boyd, 8/23/18.
After
three days of operation, Washington Dulles International Airport’s biometric
cameras identified a man allegedly attempting to use someone else’s passport to
enter the U.S.
A
D.C.-area airport’s brand new facial recognition program caught an alleged
imposter trying to enter the country on a false passport, the first such
detection at an airport using facial biometrics, according to a Customs and
Border Protection release.
CBP
officials at Washington Dulles International Airport Wednesday said the newly
implemented facial biometric program identified a 26-year-old Congolese man
attempting to enter the U.S. using a French passport.
The
man, traveling from Sao Paulo, Brazil on Tuesday, went through the new
international entry system at Dulles Airport, which brings travelers directly
to a CBP officer for document inspection. While the documents are being
scanned, a biometric camera analyzes the passenger’s face and compares it
against records associated with the passport or other travel documents.
In
this instance, the system flagged the man as a mismatch for the passport on
record and he was removed for additional screening. At that time, officers said
he became “visibly nervous” and an authentic ID card showing he was a citizen
of the Republic of Congo was found in his shoe.
Officials
said CBP is withholding the man’s name while the investigation is ongoing.
The
program was in its third day of operation at the airport, having launched on
Aug. 20. “Facial recognition technology is an important step forward for CBP in
protecting the United States from all types of threats,” said Casey Durst,
director of CBP's Baltimore Field Office, in a statement. “Terrorists and
criminals continually look for creative methods to enter the U.S. including
using stolen genuine documents. The new facial recognition technology virtually
eliminates the ability for someone to use a genuine document that was issued to
someone else.”
The
stop at IAD appears to be the first case of facial biometrics catching a
suspected imposter, a CBP spokesman told Nextgov, though the agency does not track
border stops—or “inadmissibility statistics”—by the kind of technology used,
they said.
Other
facial recognition programs advanced at 14 airports across the nation this summer,
including comprehensive systems at Orlando International Airport in
Florida and Mineta San Jose International
Airport in California.
The programs are part of an overall mandate for CBP to use biometric
technologies to improve speed and security at border crossings.
The
programs are also extending beyond customs to the entire air travel system. A
pilot program at JFK International Airport in New York was recently expanded to
integrate the system with Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment