Investment in border security is now, more than ever, a key priority for all free-thinking Governments.
While most holiday makers are familiar with the amount of information that must be provided pre-flight, inconsistencies between countries, the sharing of information and the co-ordination of data between departments and agencies on a national and international level is still causing problems for carriers and law enforcement agencies alike.
Remarkably, the failure to share this information in real-time is hard to countenance in an era of global communications and interoperability.
Put simply, it’s time for Governments to re-think their approach to working with their neighbours and embrace the proven international standards that could (and should) underpin a new era in border security.
Global security versus national borders
Are countries working together effectively to drive down global terrorism, or are they simply concerned with securing national borders?
There is growing global commitment to the use of the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS), with Governments looking to extend their use to capture even more passenger information. This development is in contrast to the lack of information sharing that’s occurring at the national and inter-agency level, where the long held tradition of information being routinely controlled and ‘siloed’ continues.
The key to effective border security is to verify the legitimacy of a journey before departure. This is the driver behind APIS, which cannot be effective unless it is adopted worldwide.
This requires real global commitment to co-operation and information sharing across a raft of bodies from customs to police, immigration and the security services.
Global standardisation: adoption of strong international standards
This information sharing must be underpinned by adoption of strong international standards. Today, despite the best efforts of Interpol and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as well as the International Standards Organisation (ISO), there are still significant differences in the way Governments approach the collection and retention of passenger information, from biometrics to basic journey details.
This amounts to the collection of a huge amount of information which includes APIS, entry/departure cards, visa waiver forms and ustoms declaration forms (most of which are collected on the plane in flight).
Standards are key to attaining the mass uptake of more effective border control processes, but standardisation requires co-operation and an understanding at Government level of how best to proceed.
The creation of strong internal expertise is key to gaining this understanding across Government. The US and the UK are ahead because they have internal champions within Government rather than relying on outside consultants. As a result, these Governments understand not only the continually changing border security challenges but also the technology developments and the role they can play in facilitating better security.
With strong internal industry experts on board, Governments are working alongside IT experts from the industry to negotiate the best solutions that address both national and international border security objectives and reflect the clear trend towards standardisation.
If Governments can use their strong internal border security expertise and develop a closer working relationship with the standards bodies, the vision of a unified, global model for border security will be realised far more quickly to the benefit of global security and international economies alike.
Improved intelligence gathering, enhanced passenger experience
Today, the lack of progress on international standards continues to frustrate border security experts.
From a technical perspective, information sharing is perfectly feasible today: the global communications infrastructure is in place, the middleware for database interoperability and connectivity standards are either available or being developed and ISO has created a raft of standards for secure storage and transfer of passenger information (including biometrics).
If adopted, these standards could provide the fundamental building blocks for both improved intelligence gathering and an improved passenger experience.
For example, Heathrow Airport already offers fast-tracking for passengers who have registered and provided an iris scan. Rather than stand in endless queues, these individuals simply pass through an iris scanning device at the airport and are straight through in minutes.
Gatwick is trialling a similar system (although it would surely make sense to gain consensus on such developments to aid information sharing).
Facilitating the secure, real-time sharing of information with airports at both ends of the flight will enable the passenger experience to be truly transformed. Furthermore, by removing the painstaking and difficult process of matching faces to passports and manually verifying travel information, highly trained staff will be able to concentrate on spotting those that require secondary checking, for example, making the entire border security process significantly more efficient and secure.
Cross-border information sharing: it’s perfectly possible
Technology is not the problem any longer in ensuring that data and information can be shared efficiently and effectively across continents and regions.
While the strong and growing encouragement from bodies such as Interpol, ISO and ICAO for the adoption of standards delivers another critical component of the solution. Cross-border information sharing is all perfectly possible.
It’s by adding the political will to sit around a table and discuss the opportunities for sharing information that Governments can deliver the essential building blocks in the creation of a trusted approach for global security.
Given the continued escalation of the global threat and the desire of every economy to minimise unnecessary IT spend, now is surely the time to leverage proven international standards and embark upon a new era of biometric-based validation and global co-operation and information sharing.
Peter Forrest is managing director of DPM Systems
