"Palm Beach Test Shows Over 50% Error Rate For Facial Recognition -- Despite Problems, Use Of Biometrics Likely To Increase For Airport Security"

Wednesday, May 22, 2002

Palm Beach Test Shows Over 50% Error Rate For Facial Recognition --
Despite Problems, Use Of Biometrics Likely To Increase For Airport
Security
Airport Security Report


A recent facial recognition experiment at Palm Beach International
Airport (PBI) found that the technology failed to correctly identify
volunteer employees more than 50 percent of the time. Such a low success
rate could be a serious blow to the suppliers of face recognition
technology as the U.S. government considers using biometrics to tighten
airport security. 

Using Visionics Corp.'s FaceIt facial recognition system, Palm Beach
County's Department of Aviation discovered that eyeglasses, lighting,
motion, photographic quality and angle contributed to the large error
rate. The system failed to identify airport employees entered into a
database 503 out of 958 times, or 53 percent of the time. 

"Facial recognition is a clunker that holds little promise to make us
safer," said Randall Marshall, legal director of Florida's American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "Even with recent, high-quality
photographs and subjects who were not trying to fool the system, the
face recognition technology was less accurate than a coin toss." 

The test was conducted from March 11 to April 15 at Concourse C's
security checkpoint. The test compared 15 airport employees against a
database of 250 airport workers. 

During a normal day, about 5,000 passengers and employees passed through
this checkpoint daily. That kind of traffic volume, combined with such a
high incidence of false identification, would cause major delays. 

Other facial recognition systems actually in use have not demonstrated
their usefulness. For example, a facial recognition system used by the
Tampa police department has yet to match anyone to its criminal
database. And a FaceIt system used at Keflavik International Airport
(KIA) in Iceland has yet to identify anyone as matching the facial
profiles of terrorists and drug smugglers provided by Interpol and other
international law enforcement agencies. Nearly 4,000 faces are scanned
daily, but no one has been caught yet, Johann Benediktsson, Keflavik's
police and customs commissioner told ASR. 

While not finding suspected criminals is obviously not proof that the
systems are not working, the demonstrated high error rate during the
Palm Beach test suggests that these systems might not be functioning as
claimed. 

NIST's Biometrics Probe 

The problematic results at Palm Beach could be the tip of the iceberg
for facial recognition systems, some experts warn. The National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is spearheading an effort
this summer to evaluate the use of automated facial recognition systems
for screening U.S. visa applicants. The NIST work is being performed on
behalf of a half dozen government agencies, including the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA). Despite these problems, the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) last month extended Visonics'
contract for its "Human ID at a Distance" system. 

Face recognition is getting better reception in systems that combine
different security technologies. The Department of Transportation (DOT)
this year will conduct pilot projects in at least 20 airports with "new
and emerging technologies," including biometrics, said Rick Lazarick, an
aviation security researcher at the Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic
City, NJ. The DOT has received $23 million in funding for demonstration
and pilot programs. 

Among the most important items for DOT is the possibility of using
biometrics for transportation employees, passenger, and flight crew
identification and for terrorism/criminal surveillance. The agency is
examining the establishment of a national transportation worker
identification card, which would eliminate the need for transportation
workers to carry multiple ID cards. A national system could include a
biometric identifier on the individual's card and require another
identifier to confirm the worker's identity. 

"Our goal is to fashion a nationwide transportation worker
identification solution that verifies the identity of transportation
workers, validates their background information, assists transportation
facilities in managing their security risks, and accounts for personnel
access to transportation facilities and activities of authorized
personnel," Rear Admiral James Underwood of DOT's Office of Intelligence
and Security told a U.S. House hearing in February. 

Most of the biometrics attention in aviation security is focused on
"trusted traveler" programs, an idea supported by two policy think tanks
that point to biometrics as a way to quickly process passengers through
security. The Brookings Institution issued a homeland security report
supporting the government creation of an "EZ-pass" system, where
individuals could submit personal information and undergo additional
security background checks or other procedures in return for faster
clearance through immigration and customs checkpoints. The report
recommended that customs officials tighten the issuance of visas,
produce tamper-proof visas and passports and ensure that the document
holder and the document match. The process involves many agencies
sharing information in databases. 

"Ideally, a single database would contain relevant information from each
agency, including some biometric identifier that would allow an accurate
match of the person, the document held by the person, and any database
information about the person," the Brookings report contended. Adding a
biometrics identifier on all travel documents could increase security
while reducing wait times, although the infrastructure would have be in
place at every point of entry into the United States, the report
concluded. Facial recognition, fingerprinting and iris and retinal
scanners are all effective and efficient biometric identifiers, it
added. 

The Brookings report called for $3.3 billion per year for airport
security funding, which is only half of the $6.4 billion the TSA is
about to receive for this fiscal year. The report cited Congressional
Budget Office (CBO) estimates that hiring and training screeners and law
enforcement officers could cost $4.5 billion over a three-year period.
The CBO also estimated that the TSA would need to purchase 150 explosive
detection systems (EDS) per year for the same period at a cost of $600
million, according to the report. But if TSA decides to purchase EDS
machines for mid-sized and small airports as well, the costs could
double. These money issues could prove troublesome if Congress fails to
appropriate the necessary funds for TSA in the future. This could slow
the rollout of further security equipment and technologies, the report
warned. 

The Progressive Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, recommended that
biometrics be used to beef up aviation security. "Smart ID cards" and
"smart visas" with biometric identifiers that must be confirmed at point
of entry and facial recognition technology can be used to detect and
prevent terrorism in the United States, the report said. 

Existing Biometric Programs 

Several programs already exist that utilize biometric identifiers,
including the INSPASS program managed by the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS). Begun in 1993, the INSPASS program can be
used by citizens of the U.S., Canada, Bermuda, as well as legal
residents of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Pilot Program
(VWPP) who take at least three business trips annually. Kiosks to
process INSPASS passengers are installed at eight U.S. and Canadian
airports. About 100,000 individuals are enrolled. 

Various biometric technologies have been used for many years
successfully in the aviation system - especially for airport and airline
employees. 

The most common technologies use one or more physiological identifiers:
fingerprinting, iris recognition, hand geometry and facial recognition.
Live scanning machines that capture, read and transmit fingerprints were
used at airports before Sept. 11. But sales of those machines
skyrocketed last fall after Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Administrator Jane Garvey decided to require background checks of every
employee needing access to secured areas in airports. This is to be
accomplished by November 2002. The fingerprint scanning machines cost
only a few hundred dollars, and are relatively small and easy to
operate. More than 100 U.S. airports currently use fingerprint scanning
systems for employees. 

Biometric systems have their limitations, Joseph Atick, Visionics
president and CEO, told a Biometrics conference audience in February.
None of them is 100 percent accurate; they sometimes grant access to a
person who is not authorized. Databases must be linked to share
information between federal, state and local government agencies, he
stressed. Biometric standards and platforms must be developed and agreed
upon internationally, as well, he said. Human backup must be present in
case a biometrics technology fails. 

But the effectiveness of biometrics systems outweighs their limitations.
Most biometrics systems are highly accurate, process transactions within
seconds and work with large databases that can be updated daily, Atick
said. Industry professionals agree that biometrics is not the Holy Grail
of security and that several biometric technologies should be combined
in airport security systems. 

"We have to accept that technology has its limitations, so we must build
systems that take [those limitations]into account," Atick said. 

Common Physiological Biometric Identifiers for Aviation Security
Biometric Technology: Fingerprinting How It's Used: Fingerprinting has
been used for more than 100 years - making it the longest-used
biometric. Today, the messy ink and paper method has been replaced with
electronics. Capturing fingerprints on a reader is quick and accurate,
allowing for law enforcement officials to collect huge databases that
can be quickly searched. More than 100 U.S. airports use live scanning
technology to capture the fingerprint of potential employees. 

Biometric Technology: Iris recognition How It's Used: This is the
highest level of authentication among biometrics. No two individual iris
structures are alike. Identification works by analyzing the unique and
personally distinct iris patterns using software and a camera.
Charlotte-Douglas and Frankfurt airports use iris recognition for
employee access control. Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport has a
'trusted traveler' program using this technology. 

Biometric Technology: Hand geometry How It's Used: Already widely used
in the aviation industry, hand geometry systems recognize individuals by
hand size and the length of fingers and matches the measurements with
information stored in a secure database. Systems can adjust to changes
in people's hand characteristics. More than 8,000 systems are used
worldwide, including for trusted traveler programs at San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Kennedy, Newark, Miami, Washington Dulles, Vancouver and
Toronto airports. 

Biometric Technology: Facial Recognition How It's Used: Identifies
people by the patterns and structure of their faces using digital
cameras and software. Many companies have had difficulty achieving high
levels of accuracy using this technology. But it is being used in trial
programs at several international airports. The technology works best as
a security tool when combined with other biometrics or with passports
and travel documents. 

Sources: International Biometrics Industry Association and Cross Match
Technologies.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID8

*****************************************