Questions raised about scanners for screening airport workers DALLAS (AP) =97 Two major U.S. airports are using special ID scanners and=20 software to weed out job applicants with bogus identification documents,=20 such as driver's licenses and passports. The company behind the=20 technology, Bedford, N.H.-based Imaging Automation, is also trying to=20 persuade the federal Transportation Security Administration to buy the=20 toaster-sized scanners to perform the same checks on air passengers' ID=20 cards. But Imaging Automation faces questions about how well its system=20 can work, and competition from the slew of high-tech startups that covet=20 government dollars earmarked for homeland security. "They're obviously=20 salivating at the prospect of a TSA contract," said Chris King, a=20 technology analyst with META Group. Imaging Automation considers itself unique because its ID verification=20 system can have biometrics capabilities, such as checking photographs and=20 fingerprints embedded on IDs against those on government watch lists for=20 terrorists and criminals. But experts are skeptical of such claims,=20 particularly the facial recognition technology. They say it would be=20 difficult to match the carefully posed pictures on IDs against the=20 government's often-clandestine photographs of terrorists. "Terrorists=20 don't pose for really good pictures," said security technology expert Bruce= =20 Schneier. Thus far, none of Imaging Automation's clients uses the=20 biometric features. Imaging Automation's document checker, in use at Dallas-Fort Worth=20 International Airport and Boston's Logan Airport, compares drivers=20 licenses, passports and other IDs against a database that indicates what=20 the document should look like. It also checks a document's invisible seals= =20 and scans magnetic strips and bar codes on drivers licenses to ensure that= =20 the information is in the correct format, a common stumbling block for=20 counterfeiters, said the company's vice president of engineering, Dennis=20 Kallelis. Information gleaned from IDs is also compared against public=20 records such as voter registration rolls, driver licenses and vehicle=20 registrations. Imaging Automation said it has sold thousands of the devices to the Canada= =20 Customs and Revenue Agency, the Swedish National Police, the Hungarian=20 Border Police and the Finland Frontier Guards. For proof that the scanners= =20 work, the company points to Hungary's six-fold increase in border violation= =20 arrests since deploying the technology. At Logan airport, spokesman Phil Orlandella said the scanner caught several= =20 forgeries during a five-month trial on 225,000 international passengers in= =20 2002. He declined to provide details, but said the people were turned over= =20 to U.S. Customs. It has yet to catch any workers using fake IDs. Orlandella said Logan plans to buy another of the machines, which cost=20 $6,000 to $10,000. DFW Airport has been using two of the devices since=20 October to screen airport workers. But the devices would not have=20 prevented an embarrassing incident for the airport in November, when=20 federal authorities arrested 63 workers accused of using false Social=20 Security numbers on applications. Before their arrests, the workers had=20 received special badges that allowed them in secure areas. The workers=20 were employed by contractors and not the airport itself. Because of that,=20 DFW lacked the authority to verify the Social Security numbers, Social=20 Security Administration spokesman Mark Hinkle said. Imaging Automation is targeting the TSA's proposed "trusted traveler"=20 program, which would allow passengers who have passed background checks to= =20 skip security measures such as random searches, said Rick Carter, Imaging=20 Automation's security director. The TSA declined to comment on talks with= =20 specific companies. Imaging Automation is also marketing its devices to=20 the Immigration and Naturalization Service, in hopes that they'll be used=20 to verify border-crossers' IDs. While Schneier, the security technology=20 expert, said the company's scanning device may prove useful, he warned=20 against considering the device foolproof. Schneier said exceptional forgeries might beat any machines. He also=20 pointed out that two of the Sept. 11 terrorists used authentic Virginia ID= =20 cards. Others warn that public records databases on which the technology=20 relies might contain outdated or incorrect information that could wrongly=20 flag someone. Other critics say the data gathered by devices like Imaging= =20 Automation's scanners could wind up being used without authorization for=20 other purposes, perhaps by the government or marketing firms. Those=20 worries should be directed at the users of the technology, not the=20 manufacturers, Carter said. "Our technology allows you to get the data and= =20 pass it along," he said. "How and what that data is used for is really in=20 the hands of the customers." *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) : escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.hilofoodstores.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************