CAPPS II Trials Begin in March

corporal_clegg writes "According to this story on FoxNews, in March Delta Airlines will begin using a federal database that incorporates credit history and bank records in an effort to identify potential security threats. The federal system - CAPPS II (Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System) - will assign a "threat level" to passengers based upon information in the database and other criteria, such as whether the individual is on government watch lists. 'CAPPS II will collect data and rate each passenger's risk potential according to a three-color system: green, yellow, red. When travelers check in, their names will be punched into the system and the boarding passes encrypted with the ranking.' The scary thing is that no one really knows which databases the government will use or how long the records will remain. Slashdot covered this story in September 2002, and it now seems that the first airline is ready to give it a try. In addition to the links in the previous Slashdot article, a good background on CAPPS II can be found here." Actually, the last story we did on passenger profiling was just a week or two ago.

Also, Poindexter's contracts are still going out

[Anonymous Coward]

Contrary to popular rumour, millions of dollars have been let in contracts to do the groundwork for TIA. Any USC students out there? Did you know your alma mater is going to help build the surveillance state known as the USA? TIA lives [zdnet.co.uk]

Ah ... note the first line is commented out.

[Anonymous Coward]

In case you didn't catch it ...

All passengers will be considered a threat.

and it doesn't even work

[lightray]

Carnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System [mit.edu] is as relevant as ever. These profiling systems actually decrease our security.

The colored terror warning levels probably also decrease our actual security by creating a false sense of security -- level green just indicates to terrorists that it's a good time to catch us off guard.

I am a terrorist

[NullProg]

- I have a beard.
- I am mistakenly listed as a vegitarian on BA.
- I carry lots of hardware when I travel.
- I am a smart ass towards people who ask stupid questions (most security/airline employees).

But seriously, I have already written to the congressmen and senators I helped put in office. If they vote for this they will no longer receive a vote from me.

Enjoy,

Re:One more reason to get my BFR done

[MacAndrew]

Etymological note: Actually it should be biennial flight review. Biannual means twice a year, though it's been perverted to mean both (rendering it ambiguous). This is the kind of thing you talk about when bored and hanging around a hangar.

If you want to stay private, you'll have to get the training but not the rating. I'm a (rusty) CFII/MEII and what's that knocking at the door? I'm sure I'm in some damn national security database.

I refuse to believe anything they're doing would have stopped the 9/11 crowd, except perhaps enforcing existing immigration laws accurately (are they even doing that?).

CAPPS makes terrorism easier

[Vryl]

Because it leaks information, giving you an oracle you can test against.

This article, http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue7_10/chakrab arti/ [firstmonday.dk]
demonstrates how:

"Abstract

Carnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System by Samidh Chakrabarti and Aaron Strauss.

To improve the efficiency of airport security screening, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) deployed the Computer Assisted Passenger Screening system (CAPS) in 1999. CAPS attempts to identify potential terrorists through the use of profiles so that security personnel can focus the bulk of their attention on high-risk individuals. In this paper, we show that since CAPS uses profiles to select passengers for increased scrutiny, it is actually less secure than systems that employ random searches. In particular, we present an algorithm called Carnival Booth that demonstrates how a terrorist cell can defeat the CAPS system. Using a combination of statistical analysis and computer simulation, we evaluate the efficacy of Carnival Booth and illustrate that CAPS is an ineffective security measure. Based on these findings, we argue that CAPS should not be legally permissible since it does not satisfy court-interpreted exemptions to the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment. Finally, based both on our analysis of CAPS and historical case studies, we provide policy recommendations on how to improve air security."

Racist law or racist customs?

[VON-MAN]

Well, it already working, sort off. Here's a nice list of two Canadians, one Irish and a Greek who had to deal with it. Sorry to say, it looks like an extreme racist law and the morons (=customs) who enforce it are only too happy to play along. Thank you Tom Tommorrow for the links! And like Tom is saying: "Sad to say, if you're dark skinned and Canadian, you might want to avoid travelling through American airports."

Here's the case of the nationalized Canadian citizen who was deported "back" to his homeland of Syria and has not been heard from since:

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PE story/TGAM/20021014/UDEPON/International/internati onal/internationalAmericasHeadline_temp/4/4/6/

Bernadette Devlin McCaliskey, the world-renowned Irish civil rights leader was refused entry into the United States of Ashcroft. At Chicago's O'Hare, she was told that she presented a danger and wouldn't be permitted to step foot on American soil. She begged them to recheck their computer. She insisted there had to be a mistake. She told them she came in peace. They said that Tony Blair's British government had told them by fax a different story. They said she was a risk. Yes, this is the same Devlin who at 21 became the youngest MP elected to Parliament. Deported:

http://www.ruminatethis.com/archives/000946.html

a Canadian citizen who was deported to India:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16 89.htm

Last week, Eugene Angelopoulos arrived at JFK enroute to New York University, where he had been invited to speak at a conference on Philosophy and Politics. The Greek academic was instead detained at the airport, shackled and interrogated. He was asked to explain his views about an American war on Iraq, and immigration officials demanded to know if he was "anti-American." Ultimately, he found his way back to Athens, but his NYU stint was not to be, and he was shaken to the core.