New Document Verification Systems Required For Change

The Transportation Security Administration announced Monday it will purchase and pilot new technologies designed to provide TSA greater ability to identify altered or fraudulent passenger identification credentials and boarding passes in order to further enhance travel safety. TSA plans to test the technology at select airports in early 2012.

TSA Administrator John Pistole explains, “This technology will automatically verify passenger identification documents and boarding passes to further enhance security. This technology will help facilitate risk-based security, while making the process more effective and efficient.”

The technology is known as CAT-BPSS, short for Credential Authentication Technology – Boarding Pass Scanning Systems. TSA says it will eventually replace the current procedure used by security officers to verify fraudulent or altered documents. It will be incorporated into TSA’s risk-based pilot that is slated to begin at four airports in the near future.

The award of about $3.2 million includes the purchase of 30 systems from three different vendors. TSA began testing travel document authentication technology at the TSA Systems Integration Facility in July.

FMI: www.tsa.gov/ait