Clear led a flyer carrying ammo under a false name to TSA, sparking probe
A US government probe has found flaws in airport fast-track service Clear Secure Inc.’s process for speeding customers through security lines, leaving the company to defend its business against the agency responsible for guarding the country’s skies. The TSA investigation into Clear’s methods determined its facial-recognition system to enroll new members was vulnerable to abuse, said people familiar with the review, who asked not to be identified discussing security-sensitive information. The computer-generated photos of prospective customers at times captured blurry images that only showed chins and foreheads, or faces obscured by surgical masks and hoodies. The process — which allowed Clear employees to manually verify prospective customers’ identities after its facial recognition system raised flags — created the potential for human error. That’s how, last year in July, a man slipped through Clear’s screening lines at Reagan National Airport near Washington, before a government scan detected ammunition — which is banned in the cabin — in his possession. When police were called in to investigate, officials discovered something altogether more troubling: the man had almost managed to board a flight under a false identity. The security scare, the details of which haven’t been previously revealed, set in motion an extensive TSA investigation into Clear’s methods, which the company says it has since changed. The probe has culminated in a high-stakes face-off between the agency and the publicly listed company. The dispute could threaten Clear’s business proposition: speeding people through airports. In total, the TSA raised concerns about almost 49,000 Clear customers who were enrolled despite facial-recognition software flagging them as non-matches, and concluded its broader methods were inherently inferior to how the government checks travelers’ IDs, the people said. Enrollment photos seen by Bloomberg in some cases didn’t show a face at all and instead, for example, a shoulder and ceiling.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-07-31/general/clear-led-a-flyer-carrying-ammo-under-a-false-name-to-tsa-sparking-probe
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Clear led a flyer carrying ammo under a false name to TSA, sparking probe
A US government probe has found flaws in airport fast-track service Clear Secure Inc.’s process for speeding customers through security lines, leaving the company to defend its business against the agency responsible for guarding the country’s skies. The TSA investigation into Clear’s methods determined its facial-recognition system to enroll new members was vulnerable to abuse, said people familiar with the review, who asked not to be identified discussing security-sensitive information. The computer-generated photos of prospective customers at times captured blurry images that only showed chins and foreheads, or faces obscured by surgical masks and hoodies. The process — which allowed Clear employees to manually verify prospective customers’ identities after its facial recognition system raised flags — created the potential for human error. That’s how, last year in July, a man slipped through Clear’s screening lines at Reagan National Airport near Washington, before a government scan detected ammunition — which is banned in the cabin — in his possession. When police were called in to investigate, officials discovered something altogether more troubling: the man had almost managed to board a flight under a false identity. The security scare, the details of which haven’t been previously revealed, set in motion an extensive TSA investigation into Clear’s methods, which the company says it has since changed. The probe has culminated in a high-stakes face-off between the agency and the publicly listed company. The dispute could threaten Clear’s business proposition: speeding people through airports. In total, the TSA raised concerns about almost 49,000 Clear customers who were enrolled despite facial-recognition software flagging them as non-matches, and concluded its broader methods were inherently inferior to how the government checks travelers’ IDs, the people said. Enrollment photos seen by Bloomberg in some cases didn’t show a face at all and instead, for example, a shoulder and ceiling.<br/>
