WASHINGTON -- Time to ditch that fake ID you used in high school: The Transportation Security Administration has started testing new scanners designed to identify altered or fraudulent identity documents.
The TSA announced Friday that at Washington Dulles International Airport, it has begun tests of new technology to detect fake passenger identity documents and boarding passes at the gate. The detection units, awkwardly dubbed the Credential Authentication Technology-Boarding Pass Scanning Systems, will also be tested in coming weeks at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport and San Juan, Puerto Rico's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.
The unit scans a passenger's boarding pass and photo ID to verify that the names on the documents match and to make sure the boarding pass is real. The technology also uncovers altered or fraudulent photo IDs by analyzing and comparing security features embedded in the IDs.
For now, each airport testing the system will receive six detection units, two each from BAE Systems Information Solutions Inc., Trans-Digital Technologies LLC and NCR Government Systems, which were awarded limited contracts for the tests.
The new scanners are the latest addition to TSA's rollout of intelligence-driven passenger screening, aimed at gradually supplanting the one-size-fits-all approach to security instituted after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"The piloting of this technology is another milestone in TSA's ongoing risk-based security initiative," said agency Administrator John Pistole. "The ability to efficiently and effectively identify fraudulent identity documents and authenticate boarding passes has the potential to not only improve security but also the checkpoint experience for passengers."