A Stitch in Haste

An update, via Wired, to my previous post on the monstrous — and now dead — CAPPS II project to screen air travelers:

The government will take over from the airlines responsibility for checking passenger names against terrorism watch lists and will begin testing its system within two months… The new system, called “Secure Flight,” will verify domestic travelers’ identities by comparing passenger information supplied to the airlines against government databases.
…
Secure Flight replaces a much-maligned previous TSA proposal known as CAPPS II, for Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System. Critics said it had insufficient privacy protections. Unlike CAPPS II, the new system will not seek to identify anyone other than known or suspected terrorists.

Sounds eminently reasonable. Another demonstration that security and privacy do not always have to be mutually exclusive.

Similar Posts:

• CAPPS Capsized
• “Secure Flight” Revisited
• Think Twice Before Ordering a Special Meal
• The Politics of the Warm Fuzzy Feeling Flight Status Notification
• Mandatory Bankruptcy Insurance?

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