The Department of Homeland Security quickly responded to the events of 9/11 by implementing processes and procedures to randomly select and screen individuals boarding airplanes. Recently, the Transportation Security Administration introduced a program that will allow them to pre-screen passenger information against federal watch lists for domestic and international flights. TSA is taking over this responsibility from aircraft operators who, up until now, have been responsible for checking passengers against government watch lists.  Because each aircraft operator conducts its own matching process, the system can be very inconsistent. This is why the same passenger will often have trouble obtaining a boarding pass, or be told they are on a watch list, by one airline and not another.

By assuming the responsibilities of the watch list matching process, the TSA hopes to accomplish the following:

• Decreases the chance for compromised watch list data by limiting its distribution
• Provides earlier identification of potential matches, allowing for expedited notification of law enforcement and threat management
• Provides a fair, equitable, and consistent matching process across all airlines
• Reduces instances of misidentified individuals
• Offers consistent application of an expedited and integrated redress process for misidentified individuals

Most of our readers are probably wondering exactly how this process works. While the information provided by TSA is limited, we know that Secure Flight will compare the name, date of birth, and gender information for each passenger against government watch lists. The purpose of this process is to:

• Identify known and suspected terrorists
• Prevent individuals on the No Fly List from boarding an aircraft
• Identify individuals on the Selection List for enhanced screening
• Facilitate passenger air travel
• Protect individuals’ privacy

After matching the passenger information, the TSA will transmit the data back to the airline operators so that they can act upon the information appropriately(basically approve or deny your access to a boarding pass). The following is a graph of what the process entails:

Hopefully this process will help to speed up the traveling experience for all of us and provide consistent results when screening passengers. We at SmartSecurityPeople.com certainly appreciate all the efforts of Homeland Security and more importantly the good people at TSA. If you still have questions or would like to learn more about Secure Flight, the TSA has produced the following video clip and below the video are some very helpful links to additional information. Enjoy!

Helpful Links regarding Secure Flight

• TSA’s Secure Flight Begins Vetting Passengers
• Press Release Announcing Secure Flight Final Rule
• Secure Flight Final Rule
• Advance Passenger Information System Pre-Departure Final Rule (PDF, 4.5 MB)
• Secure Flight - Privacy Impact Assessment (PDF, 222 KB)
• Secure Flight - System of Records Notice (PDF, 555 KB)
• TSA Meets Secure Flight Milestone (9/9/08)
• DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP)
• Airline Registration
• Passenger Tips for Traveling

Homeland security has been a hot topic ever since 9/11. It has been the focus of a number of books, movies and congressional funding debates over the course of the past 7 years. Conspiracy theorist are still “uncovering” little known facts about 9/11 and are chiming in with their opinions regarding homeland security.

Given all of this attention, it was only a matter of time before the media sources found a different way to profiteer from the public interest in homeland security. ABC is the first to introduce a reality tv show entitled Homeland Security USA.  It debuted this last Tuesday evening and will continue for the next 13 weeks. It is estimated that it will do quite well. However, ratings are expected to take a hit when Fox begins airing season 8 of American Idol on January 13th and 14th.

Those of us at SmartSecurityPeople.com that saw the previews for Homeland Security USA, quickly discounted it as another reality tv show gone bad. We made no plans on watching it. However, given a boring night  of tv and no real competition in that time slot, curiosity won over and we watched the new series. I can honestly say that we were intrigued.

The show did a fine job of representing the men and women that work on our borders every day and the challenges that they face. Nothing appeared to be embellished or exaggerated and the situations were very serious and quite unlike what you would expect. It is just amazing the amount of drugs, illegal aliens, and unauthorized materials that are attempting to cross the borders and into our country every day. Homeland Security USA only provides coverage on the ones we catch, so who knows how much goes by without notice.

You can watch the show on Tuesday nights and decide for yourself if it is worthy of evolving into one of your regularly watched shows. As for us at SmartSecurityPeople.com, we will probably TIVO it and peruse the episodes in our free time (of which there is usually very little).