Lawmakers Eye High-Tech Terror Solutions

Federal lawmakers are moving on several fronts to push rapid government adoption of high-tech identification systems to prevent terrorism. The systems being considered are designed to authenticate a person’s identity based on biological characteristics, such as fingerprints.

The efforts are largely focused on airport security and immigration control, but can be applied in many situations involving truck transportation that require background checks on job applicants and controlled access to sensitive areas.

One reason interest in so-called biometric technology is high is because U.S. authorities had pictures on file of at least two of the Sept. 11 hijackers, some of whom also used false ID cards to disguise their identity while in the country, but authorities lacked the instant ability to link new clues to a potential threat.

For the full story, see the Nov. 26 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.