Biometric airport security

April 29, 2004 1:30 PM

Buying biometrically into big brother? Privium is an IBM-backed pay service at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport that allows passengers to identify themselves by iris recognition and thus speed their way through security checks. This being the privacy-respecting Netherlands, the biometric information is not stored in a central database, but only on a card you carry with you; other countries may not be so enlightened. This could well become a standard form of identification. In the meantime, could the failure to buy this service qualify someone as a security or insurance risk?
posted by liam (6 comments total)

After getting hit for secondary screening five times out of my last five flights (in the past two weeks), I found myself wishing that there was a way where I pay $100 or $200, a full background check is performed, and I get through security without hassle.

Sure, somebody would keep a log of my travel, but there's already a log of my travel at American Express. If the records are going to exist, I might as well get something good from them.
posted by mosch at 1:56 PM on April 29, 2004

I was wondering what the heck that "privium" line was for... now I know.

There was once a somewhat similar, voluntary system for Canadians who travelled often to the US, called "Canpass". I'm not sure what happened to that -- that line at the border crossings always seems closed.
posted by clevershark at 2:12 PM on April 29, 2004

I'm sure they've already thought of this but how hard would it be to forge the card with the info, change out the iris biometric info for Mr. I-Wanna-Blow-You-Up's iris info and then he'd be able to walk right past security?

I think I'd feel alot safer if there were both a database and the stored iris on the card. That way, the scenario above couldn't happen and the terrorist would easily be singled out for the BCS with a cattle prod.
posted by fenriq at 2:57 PM on April 29, 2004

Sounds like the Ident-i-Eeze is finally here.
posted by milovoo at 5:01 PM on April 29, 2004

All of the other information I use is stored in central databases somewhere. If I wanted to use my iris as an identification tool, I'm not sure why it should bother me that this would be stored somewhere.

But if they can do it, make it sufficiently hackproof, and not store anything in a permanent database, then I'm ok with that too.
posted by obfusciatrist at 11:09 PM on April 29, 2004

fenriq: That's what digital signatures are for.
posted by fvw at 5:29 AM on April 30, 2004