TSA Layers of Security

The Transportation Security Agency uses a variety of methods to help identify and block the passage of terrorists within the United States. I believe identifying terrorists among passengers would be the most important aspect of TSA's layered security.  

 

  Currently, passengers must go through TSA's methods for gathering intelligence, go through physical screenings, and be subject to random encounters with canines during their travel (Inside Look: TSA Layers of Security 2017). The difficulty of these methods is that although they minimize the threat of an attack during travel, they do not mitigate an attack after travel is completed. One method, which is currently being discussed by major airlines, is the use of Face ID technology.

 

    Face ID technology is used today with most smartphones, and prevent users from accessing someone else's data. The same technology can be used to check passengers in the terminal, and help facilitate the process between arriving at the airport and boarding aircraft. A fully implemented system can actively identify threats in the intelligence-gathering phase and the physical phase of the TSA's current system. Using Face ID technology in airport terminal cameras can also be used to cross-reference a database of known or suspected terrorists.

Picture taken from TSA.gov

 

References

Inside Look: TSA Layers of Security. (2017, August 01). Retrieved November 09, 2020, from https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2017/08/01/inside-look-tsa-layers-security

Summer Wait Times Down Despite Busiest Summer in Years. (2014, September 15). Retrieved November 09, 2020, from https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2014/09/15/summer-wait-times-down-despite-busiest-summer-years