In an effort to address the heightened security concerns that have arisen in the wake of the terrorist attacks on America, the Visionics Corporation has produced a comprehensive framework for end users aimed at employing facial recognition techniques to enhance airport security.

In its White Paper entitled 'Protecting Civilisation From The Faces Of Terror: A Primer On The Role Facial Recognition Technology Can Play In Improving Airport Security', the company identifies five key areas relating to the use of biometric technologies for airport security:

  • facial screening and surveillance: general surveillance of crowds at airports, preventing the issuance of travel documents to known terrorists, and detecting tampered and fraudulent travel documents;
  • automated biometric-based boarding: modify the boarding process to require an instantaneous terrorist background check on each passenger upon check-in and boarding by searching facial images against intelligence databases of terrorists and their affiliates;
  • screening of airport employees: require criminal background checks through fingerprint and facial recognition at ALL airports and for ALL airport employees;
  • physical security: improve access control systems for entry to tarmac, gates and other secure areas with the use of biometrics;
  • intelligence data mining: support the development of an infrastructure that is capable of gathering, analysing and linking information regarding terrorists and their accomplices across international, national and agency jurisdictions.

End users should note that the privacy protection principles endorsed in the White Paper are (a) public knowledge (b) maintaining database integrity (c) no match–no memory and (d) enforcement and penalty.

Copies of the document can be downloaded from the Internet at: www.visionics.com/newsroom/downloads/whitepapers