Biometrics and Border Control

2024

How France, through the fault of Atos, failed the project to introduce a biometric border system

In early December 2024, it became known that the European Union was unable to commission the EES (Entry/Exit System) biometric border system on schedule. The French IT corporation Atos is said to be to blame for the disruption of the project. Read more here.

Singapore airport fully switches to passport-free mode with biometrics

At the end of October 2024, Singapore Changi Airport completely switched to passport-free immigration control. Now its passage takes an average of 10 seconds, since only data registered in the system is used to identify Singapore citizens biometric. Foreign guests are still required to present a passport upon arrival, but only biometric data is enough when leaving. Previously, the average paperwork time for each passenger was 25 seconds, according to the airport. More. here

2021: Introduction of a facial recognition system to automate pre-flight procedures at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports

In February 2021, it became known about the introduction of biometric control at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports. The new technology will allow you to fully automate the passage of pre-flight procedures. Read more here.

2020: Facial recognition system replaces boarding pass at Beijing airport

In August 2020, the Smart Path biometric system developed by SITA was launched at Shoudou International Airport in Beijing. Thanks to this technology, contactless passage of pre-flight checks for passengers was implemented. Read more here.

2019

Airports need to use customer biometrics

At the end of October 2019, it became known that Aeroflot was interested in using biometric data by Russian airports to use them when registering passengers. This was reported by TASS Information Agency of Russia with reference to the Deputy General Director of the air carrier for ITKirill Bogdanov. Read more here.

US Customs and Border Protection data breach

On June 11, 2019, it was reported that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a data breach that resulted in attackers accessing photos of travelers and license plates.

The leak occurred as a result of hacking the network of the subcontractor of the department where the data was downloaded. The incident affected data from fewer than 100,000 people, according to a CBP statement. We are talking about photos of cars crossing the US border, but not photos from airports. Other personally identifiable information was not affected.

CBP noted that the contractor violated the terms of the contract by uploading photos to its network without the knowledge of the border service.

As emphasized in the department, evidence of data leakage to the Internet or darknet was not found. The border service did not say who was behind the cyber attack. The name of the contractor company was also not disclosed Ошибка цитирования Отсутствует закрывающий тег </ref>

2018

Los Angeles Airport Facial Recognition System

In early December 2018, Gemalto, a digital security company, announced the introduction of biometric technology during boarding at Terminal 4 at Los Angeles International Airport (USA). Read more here.

Passenger and baggage check-in for flight through facial recognition earned at Shanghai airport

Since October 15, 2018, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport has launched China's first fully automated system for registering passengers and baggage for a flight using facial recognition technology.

An automated procedure, including self-registration of a passenger and baggage, pre-flight control and departure to the aircraft, is carried out using special kiosks.

Passengers at Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai switch to self-service

According to The South China Morning Post, as part of the project, which took three years to implement, eight self-service devices were installed in the airport terminal. With their help, passengers scan their IDs and undergo an identification procedure using facial recognition technology. The whole process takes about 12 seconds.^[1]

In the future, it is planned to improve the service and bring the terminal capacity during peak hours to 2 thousand passengers per hour, Dai Xiaojian, vice president of Shanghai Airport Group, said in a press release.

It is worth noting that facial recognition technology is also used in other air harbors in China to speed up passenger check-in for a flight, but the system at the Shanghai airport was the first in which the entire process is fully automated. The new technology is not yet available to foreign tourists - only passengers holding a Chinese ID card can use the automated system, The Associated Press reports.

In an interview with the agency, Zhang Zheng, general manager of the ground services division of Spring Airlines, the first airline to test the system, said that passengers willingly switch to self-service. On October 15, 87% of the more than 5 thousand passengers of the air carrier who flew that day underwent an automated procedure.^[2]

At 14 American airports earned facial recognition system

On August 20, 2018, the system was launched at 14 American airports. Customs and face recognition Border Protection (USA U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, CBP) spoke about its effectiveness. More. here

Car facial recognition system launched at US-Mexico border

In June 2018, it became known about the launch of a facial recognition system on the border between the United States and Mexico. She is able to identify people, even if they are in a car.

According to The Verge, within a year the Vehicle Face System will be tested at the Anzalduas state border checkpoint in Texas and checked for cars traveling from and to Mexico.

The United States is launching a system for identifying persons at the border. Recognizes even in a car

During the experiment, "smart" cameras will test "for the ability of a high-quality image of the face of each person in the vehicle" and "for the accuracy of biometric matches," the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told The Guardian.

The data collected by the system will be compared with those stored in databases of passports, visas and other documents that CBP has access to.

As part of the testing, the cameras will handle at least 1,400 vehicles in three days. After analysis, these images will be removed, assured the representative of the American Customs and Border Protection Jennifer Gabris.

The project has drawn a wave of criticism from human rights activists, who believe that an overly broad video surveillance system using "controversial technology" undermines the constitutional rights and people's right to privacy.

It is an example of a growing trend of authoritarian use of technology to spy on and harass immigrant communities. This is an absolute violation of our democratic rights, and we will undoubtedly fight back, "said Malkia Cyril, executive director of the Center for Media Justice.

Facial recognition systems can misidentify blacks, women and young adults more often than older white men, so such technologies cannot be used to combat immigrants, he said.^[3]

2016

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation wants to take prints from all entering foreigners since 2017

Since 2017, the mandatory fingerprinting procedure may become mandatory for all foreigners who will enter Russia. Such an initiative was made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

All foreigners arriving in Russia from 2017 may be required to undergo fingerprint scanning. The initiator of the innovation was the law enforcement agency. It is planned that the issue will still be discussed by representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian Foreign Ministry with colleagues, including from the CIS countries.

Today, Russia has a mandatory fingerprint registration system for labor migrants, in which more than 7 million people have already been registered. At the same time, only those who apply for a patent or a work permit are obliged to undergo the fingerprinting procedure, for the rest - at will.

The proposal to introduce a mandatory fingerprinting procedure for foreigners was previously expressed by State Duma deputies, believing that such a measure would serve as an additional barrier against terrorism^[4] of the Russian^[5].

Mandatory fingerprinting will be introduced in Kazakhstan from 2021

All foreigners in Kazakhstan will be fingerprinting from 2021. This practice is already used in other countries of the post-Soviet space.

Citizens of Kazakhstan, as well as foreigners arriving in the country, will be required to submit fingerprints from 2021. Mandatory paid fingerprinting is already being carried out in Tajikistan for citizens of the republic who receive any identity card, and in Russia from 2017 they will take prints from all entering foreigners, apparently the Kazakh side plans to be guided by the same messages.

Deputies of the lower house of the parliament of Kazakhstan approved in the first reading the bill "On fingerprint and genomic registration," according to which mandatory fingerprint registration is introduced in the republic for foreigners, as well as for citizens when issuing a passport, identity card or identity card for a sailor. Children from 12 to 16 years old, upon receipt of a passport, will be fingerprinted at their request, under 12 years old they will not undergo fingerprint registration.

As the Minister of Internal Affairs Kalmukhanbet Kasymov noted, "fingerprint information will be used for purposes strictly defined by law, to confirm or establish identity at the request of courts, law enforcement agencies, enforcement agencies, inquiries and investigations." All collected information will be stored in encrypted electronic form in a secure database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic. Commenting on the timing of the start of the law, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the implementation of such a project is costly and technically difficult, so the introduction of the law is scheduled for 2021. Collection of payments from citizens for fingerprinting by state officials has not yet been mentioned^[6].

2012

Biometric passports interfere with CIA agents

The United States, the European Union and many other countries of the world are now actively introducing biometric passports. Usually, such a passport contains a chip where a photo of the owner, last name, first name, patronymic, date of birth, passport number, etc. are digitally recorded. It can contain fingerprints, an iris scan and other biometric information that uniquely identifies its owner. Forging such a passport is much more difficult than usual. It's not about holograms, watermarks and other methods of protection - there are no problems with this, it's about biometric information.^[7]

The new system seriously worries representatives of the special services. Wired magazine published an article in the spring of 2012 about the unpleasant situation in which the CIA and their colleagues from other countries, especially from the Israeli Mossad, got into, because with an Israeli passport it is impossible to enter almost any country in the Middle East.

If earlier agents traveled the world changing passports like gloves, then with verification biometrics , leaving the country becomes a one-way ticket: you will never be able to return under a different name. Thus, the standard schemes of the CIA, MI6 and other services through traditional agent routing points in the UAE, Jordan India and European cities are disrupted.

Although the CIA is trying to influence the situation, even they cannot cancel the introduction of biometric passports in dozens of countries around the world. In fact, intelligence agencies are now the main opponent of this technical innovation. So when in some country at the last moment they decide to cancel the mandatory fingerprinting or recording biometric information on the chip in the passport, it is almost always clear who is behind this decision.

So far, even U.S. intelligence agencies don't have the technology to replace the iris to pass off the agent as another person.

Wired whistleblowers reported that biometric passports are a major issue now facing intelligence services. Naturally, even former agents categorically refuse to comment on this topic, but on condition of anonymity, some confirmed this information. They said that now work with fake passports has been put on stream: an agent can get any passport that he needs. Usually he enters the country with one passport, settles in the hotel with another, and, if necessary, takes additional passports without any restrictions. What will happen after the introduction of biometric identification - no one knows, because both the hotel and the car rental agency will all check passports and check information with the immigration database. This is usually done to identify illegal immigrants with expired visas. But if it turns out that this person never entered the country, they will immediately call the police.

According to documents declassified at the end of 2014 by Wikileaks, the CIA is extremely dissatisfied with the prospect of introducing mandatory biometric data for unofficial persons entering the Schengen countries without a visa - that is, the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein^[8].

"The European Commission is considering mandatorily requiring travelers entering the Schengen area to submit biometric data at the point of entry, which increases the threat of identity disclosure for all travelers from the United States," reads the document entitled 'CIA Advice for US Government Operations Infiltrating Schengen.'

The European Commission in 2015 plans to launch a new border control system, under which all entering, including unofficial persons, will have to hand over a digital fingerprint at airports. So, in October of this year, the corresponding equipment was installed at the airport of Zurich, one of the largest German cities.

The project "clearly fulfills the current requirements of the Schengen Customs Code and is designed to meet future standards," reads an official press release from the Zurich police. Thus, a similar system can soon be found throughout the EU, which seriously worries US intelligence.

Interestingly, in the United States itself, such a measure has been in effect for a long time. By law, when entering the United States, all tourists, without exception, are required to submit fingerprints for "national security reasons." Thus, CIA spies faced in Europe with the help of which they themselves quite successfully tracked down their foreign colleagues.

About the need to adopt reliable biometric identification standards

Biometricnewsportal.com published in 2012 the opinion of DPM System CEO Peter Forrest on the need to adopt reliable biometric identification standards that could usher in a new era in border security.

International Security and State Borders

The question is whether countries are ready to maintain effective cooperation in the fight against terrorism, or whether they pay more attention to the security of their own borders? Governments in various countries are increasingly showing a willingness to use the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) and are seeking to expand its application to collect more detailed passenger information. Despite this trend, there is virtually no information exchange at the state and interagency level, where conventional ways of monitoring and streamlining information are still traditionally used. The key to addressing effective border security is checking the legitimacy of the trip before the passenger departs. It is for this purpose that the system APIS (Preliminary Passenger Information System) is used, which cannot function effectively until it is adopted internationally. This requires the desire of all countries to cooperate and exchange information with the participation of all bodies - from customs to the police, as well as immigration and law enforcement agencies.

International standardization

Information exchange can be optimized by adopting strict international standards. Currently, despite the best efforts of Interpol and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as well as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), there are still significant differences in approaches to the collection and storage of passenger information in various countries - from biometric data to detailed information on the trip.

This process is associated with the collection of a huge amount of information, including data obtained using the APIS system, boarding passes, documents filled out for obtaining visas, customs declarations, most of which are collected already during air travel. Standards are extremely important for the mass adoption of technologies that improve the effectiveness of border control, but standardization requires cooperation between governments and their understanding of the best ways to solve this problem.

Conducting departmental expertise is a key factor in achieving mutual understanding between governments. The United States and the United Kingdom have made the greatest progress in this area, since there are many supporters of these technologies in the government structures of these countries and they do not have to engage outside consultants. As a result, these governments not only understand the complex challenges of border security in an ever-changing environment, but are also familiar with technological developments that play a big role in improving security. With the help of such experts, governments work closely with information technology professionals in the industry to consider the most effective solutions that address border security issues at the national and international level and take into account the pronounced trend towards standardization.

If governments can draw on the expertise of their border security experts and establish cooperation with standards organizations, the concept of a single global border security system will be implemented much faster, which will help strengthen international security and the global economy.

Value of these technologies for passengers

Border security experts remain concerned about the lack of progress in implementing international standards. It should be noted that all technical capabilities are available to ensure the ideal exchange of information. There is a global communication infrastructure equipped with intermediate software to ensure database compatibility, standards are in place or being developed to enable connection of different systems, while the ISO has developed a number of standards for the safe storage and transmission of passenger information, including biometric data.

In the event that these standards are adopted, they will be able to provide basic building blocks to improve data collection by security services and improve the quality of passenger service. Heathrow Airport, for example, is already using a system to quickly track passengers who have already checked in and had an iris scan. Instead of standing in endless queues, these passengers can simply walk past the iris-scanning device at the airport, with the whole procedure only taking a few minutes. Gatwick Airport is testing a similar system, however, the implementation of these technologies should be agreed to improve the exchange of information.

Providing secure real-time information exchange between departure and arrival airports will make it possible to truly improve the quality of passenger service. Moreover, a time-consuming and complex identification process will be eliminated by comparing the photo in the passenger's passport with his face and manually checking his documents, so that highly qualified employees can focus on other aspects, for example, identifying persons requiring additional verification, which will significantly improve the effectiveness of the entire border security process.

Conclusions

All necessary technologies are available to ensure the effective exchange of information between different continents and regions. At the same time, measures taken by organizations such as Interpol, ISO and ICAO to encourage the adoption of standards in this area also play an important role in solving this problem. There is every opportunity for the effective exchange of information between different countries.

Governments should exercise the political will to organize negotiations to discuss information-sharing opportunities, which will lay a solid foundation for establishing a trusting relationship in the process of ensuring international security.

Given the constant increase in threats to international security, as well as the desire of all national economies to minimize unjustified costs for the introduction of information technology, it is now absolutely necessary to start using reliable international standards, which will usher in a new era of biometric identification and international cooperation in the field of information exchange.

See also

• Electronic passport of a citizen of Russia
• Biometric passport of Russia
• System for the manufacture and issue of passport and visa documents of a new type (biopasports)
• Mir System - Release of New Type Passports (HS PVDNP)
• Information Security - Biometric Identification
• Biometrics and Border Control
• Electronic Military ID
• Electronic passport of the facility
• Electronic Passport (Rostec)
• Systems of electronic passports of vehicles in the countries of the Customs Union

• Electronic passport of a Finnish citizen
• Estonian e-citizenshipID card in Estonia
• Digital ID of Malaysia
• Digitalization of the British Passport Office (Her Majesty's Passport Office, HMPO)

Notes