Tom Bossert, CEO of CDS Consulting, was against the implementation of the proposed new PreCheck practices. ( Daniel Hersh/MNS)
WASHINGTON – The PreCheck line at your airport might be more crowded in the near future.
In September, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it wanted to expand the number of ‘trusted travelers’ in its Private Sector Vetting Initiative, asking industry experts to provide ideas for how to safely increase the number of eligible PreCheck passengers.
A panel of experts was split Tuesday on the issue of expanding the express lane PreCheck program by using data mining to enroll travelers through third party companies.
Four years after the start of PreCheck for air travelers, some 800,000 people have signed up for the program.
The panel, led by Christian Beckner, deputy director of Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University, discussed how to make commercial travel safer while potentially expanding the number of passengers using PreCheck.
The program was introduced in 2011 in an attempt to speed up the airport screening process. Currently, travelers have the option of signing up, paying a fee of $85 and getting in a special PreCheck security lane where passengers do not have to remove their belts, shoes or light outerwear.
The expansion idea includes hiring a private-sector company to determine whether a passenger is or is not a threat by using data mining with commercially available information. Passengers not using PreCheck would not have any pre-screening done. This would allow passengers to enroll in PreCheck through a third party, although their information would still be evaluated by a “second-line government check,” according to Beckner.
“It would be different from the current process where it’s entirely managed within the federal systems and activities,” Beckner said after the discussion.
The roundtable, held at George Washington University, focused on how the PreCheck program should evolve. Panelists were divided on the issue.
“It is a reduced security posture that this plan will put us in,” said Tom Bossert, president of CDS Consulting Co-op. “That’s a bad idea.”
Bossert went on to question the ability for digital profiling to determine the negative.
“What I mean by that is the ability of digital profiling to determine no or low risk,” Bossert said. “On the other hand, I accept the notion that more information, more digital profiling, more background checks and so on might generate flags that help us to detect higher risk travelers..”
Patricia Rojas-Ungar, vice president of government relations for the US Travel Association, said that the suggested change is a win-win for both the passenger and the government.
“If you ask the American traveler what they prefer, I think that they would say they would 100 percent prefer a voluntary option to provide information to the government,” she said. “I think that’s key. It’s not that the government is saying ‘You must be a member of PreCheck.’”
Aviation and airspace security have become a hot topic in Washington after a small drone was found on the lawn of the White House early Monday morning. Though it was reportedly flown for recreational purposes, it has ignited public debate.
Along with the roundtable discussion, a report authored by Beckner offered recommendations to the TSA. They highlighted the need for a public conversation and congressional oversight over any expansion of the program.
“[PreCheck] has helped to improve TSA’s image, to deliver efficiencies and cost-savings without undermining security in an immediate way,” Beckner said.
