RSSGood riddance to the Clear 'frequent flyer' program
By Angela Gunn | Published June 25, 2009, 8:11 AM
Those who subscribed to the Clear (formerly Verified Identity Pass) program, paying $199 to allegedly speed up the TSA checkpoint process, are dismayed that they're out that money now that Verified Identity Pass has abruptly folded. Amazing that they're not as concerned about all that personal data they provided the system, but were they ever?
After a considerable amount of nudging, Verified Identity Pass has confirmed that yes, they're securing the data as required by the TSA's privacy standards for Registered Traveler programs, which a security pal of mine sums up with a snort as, "We decide who gets to buy it." That's a little mean, though as you may remember it took TSA from 2005, when the Registered Traveler pilot program was launched, until July 2008 to notice that Verified Identity Pass was keeping data on thousands of passengers on unencrypted laptops. It's that laser-like focus on detail, you know, that makes TSA what it is today.
As you may have discerned, I'm enjoying the spectacle. It cracks me up that since the TSA didn't actually exempt Clear members from undergoing checkpoint screening, the members were paying hundreds of dollars, submitting themselves to background checks, and providing biometric data to unsecured systems essentially for the right to cut in line. That's a business model? What do those travelers do when they find themselves in lands where the idea of "a line" is a mystery? I have visions of Ugly Americans impatiently waving their little Clear cards on train platforms in northern India and bleating, "But I'm registered! I'm registered!"
I bashed on TSA a little up there, but to its credit, TSA has made real progress on improving the problem of long checkpoint lines without compromising anyone's privacy or security -- and they did so by using the basic self-organizing tendency of individual travelers, not by throwing money at the problem.
I speak of course of the Black Diamond system, which asks each passenger, "Really, how confused are you?" and lets everyone self-sort -- black diamond for the experienced flyer who has her shoes off and her laptop out of its case by the time she reaches the conveyor belt, blue square for more casual travelers, and green circle for the people who wear lace-up thigh-high boots to the airport and don't know why anyone would mind that they have a boa constrictor and three throwing stars in their carry-on bag. Airports that have diamond-lane sorting are by definition better than airports that do not. Even Omaha, and I do not say a thing like that lightly.
Self-sorting makes the lanes go faster and more smoothly; fast, smoothly moving lanes make the frequent flyers happy. (Though I'd like to know why I always end up sitting next to thigh-high-boa-constrictor-throwing-star dude -- I mentioned it's a guy, right? -- on the plane, but TSA probably can't help me there.)
The diamond-lane solution essentially does a pigeonhole sort on the problem of "get lots of people through this bottleneck." That's a nice algorithmic model, as opposed to... would it be too vicious to call Clear a stooge-sort solution?... an insertion sort, evaluating individual flyers and, if she or he meets certain criteria, putting her or him at the front of the line. That approach doesn't work very well if you've got a big batch of objects needing sorting -- especially if some of those "objects" are already confused by and impatient with the whole process.
Best of all, the diamond-lane speed improvements pose no fresh attack surface, no unencrypted laptop that can be stolen or opportunity for a social engineer to claim special treatment and thus sneak something by. No data is offered, let alone retained. In contrast, Clear's inefficient sorting system caused a whole lot of personally identifiable information -- PII on people who have a couple hundred bucks to throw at the "problem," no less -- to leave the control of the individuals contributing it. That information's now at the mercy of a dead company's sense of responsibility about securing and deleting it. Under those circumstances, those lost membership fees for Clear look a whole lot like a tax on security stupidity.
And now for something almost completely different: Need to bring someone -- a parent, a kid, a co-worker -- up to speed on how not to be a menace to herself or others? OnGuardOnline.gov has a set of cute online security quizzes that will do your lecturing for you. I've got beef with "P2P Threeplay," which makes some shaky claims (is it possible the federal government is unfamiliar with Windows' infernal ad hoc computer-to-computer networks?), but overall these are a nice way to get your civilians thinking more clearly.
Why do I have a pass and mourn its loss?
I'm on the "match" list. Yes, even with *several* member of congress intervening, letters and affidavits to TSA and help from the ACLU - I'm a screwed traveller.
Wanna do an on-line checkin? Forget it. Those neat kiosks to get a boarding pass? Nope. You stand in line with the vacationing hoards and endure a 20-30 minute wait while they call several offices to determine if you're worthy of sitting in the middle seat on a flight.
Now - after standing with the vacationing hoards you get to do the plastic-bin-strip-tease, but you're not likely done. Do look like you're from the mid-east? Maybe you look tense or harried (but, who wouldn't be?) - you get the bonus round of "random check"...
Let's be clear - my livelihood depends on my ability to fly and meet colleagues and clients. Things done in the name of "security" have caused real harm in my ability to earn a living.
Of course - you need to buy into the notion the retired grandma is gonna do a better job at stopping terrorists than the CIA, INS, FBI, Local Police COMBINED.
What Clear did for me was ensure I would get through at least ONE procedure at the airport with some degree of certainty it would not take 45 minutes. Since I had been cleared by TSA I have not been subject to the "random" searches as frequently.
For those who think this is simply a toy for the rich - I'll point you the to hoards on the no-fly lists and ask you recognize that any level of customer service or opportunity to have a measure of dignity in travel is welcome. I paid for it and will look for any other vendor to step up and offer the service.
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|I haven't flown through too many airports that have had it, but Orlando had it for quite some time and all it did was bypass the basic line to go through the TSA folks and have them check your id. At that particular aiport, this normally didn't take more then 10 minutes or so.
Heck, in any airport I've been in, I've never had to wait more then 15 minutes to get through security. Maybe another 5-10 minutes to check in. This is simply why you arrive an hour or so before your flight.
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|Wow. Fair enough, Big Kahuna -- I still think it's a lousy model, but I know that if anything you're understating the wretchedness and randomness of life on the no-fly list. (We could have one heck of a side conversation on that "random" check thing, trust me. Another thread perhaps :-) .)
The problem with most of TSA's efforts is that's they're theater, only theater. Wiser observers than I have pointed out that the improvement that made the skies genuinely safer after 9/11 are the improved safety measures around the c***pits, and de-sheepification of the passengers (which I will point out actually happened four planes into September 11, 2001). After an odd experience a couple of years ago I will note that I'm also a fan of having air marshals on board one's flights. But making old ladies take off orthopedic shoes, young ladies take out nipple piercings, and (if they get their way) everyone walk through full-body scanners producing images that frankly might raise child-porn issues? Hell no.
TSA is wretched, and Kip Hawley needs to fly strapped inside an Aeroflot wheelwell 'til he learns some respect for civil liberties, not to mention some common sense. (Hey, now I can join you in the "extra scrutiny" line.) And they -- we -- need some answers and some fixes for the "no fly" lists. I'm hoping Janet Napolitano gets cracking on that ASAP in fact, since the previous folk wouldn't.
In any case, it seems a grave injustice to me that you had to pay $ and turn over that much personally identifiable information to satisfy the TSA's need for theater. I'm glad the program helped you and I hope fixes are coming -- or a new plan if you want one -- but I deeply resent the TSA for the ripples of theatrical stupidity that made the Clear program a necessary, yes, evil.
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|I agree with your post and feel sorry for all Americans that are subjected to this "theater of the absurd" but I wouldn't count on Janet Napolitano to do anything. The "theater of the absurd" applies to both parties- just look at the high level political hack at CIA and the turf wars that are still going on even though we were promise that DHs would deal with this.
Just visit the TSA website to see what can or cannot be carried on board:
www.tsa.gov
I know that I would be lost if I couldn't carry on board my 3.5 oz. of spray paint or 6.5 inch screw driver and wrench. I admit I am a little lost since I can't bring my spear gun on board anymore.
the simple fact is that air marshals and cranky passengers would turn any terrorist into a dead piece of meat.
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|You must be kidding?!!? The "expert" or "black diamond" system is terrible! There are always several people who travel two times a year and consider themselves experts in the "expert" lane. Without fail, these people are always at the conveyor belt still wearing their shoes, chatting with their companion and getting a bag check because they didn't know that the 15 oz bottle of shampoo or lotion wasn't allowed. Then when they walk through the metal detector, they set it off because they have a giant belt buckle.
Having a lane that is dedicated to Frequent Fliers is fine - at least then you have to prove that you fly several times a year.
For a business traveler like me, the FlyClear program saved me substantial time at my home airport (Denver) which has notoriously long security lines. It also allows me to spend more time working instead of waiting in the line. For that privilege, I paid $200 plus I underwent a background check that was far more stringent than the average passenger. My identity documents were verified and I had to pass a criminal background check. If anything, FlyClear improved the level of security at participating airports.
I'm not going to complain about losing the money and I will have to deal with any consequences that arise out of a misuse of my personal information. I just wish that the slow travels in the security line would stop complaining about those of us that have our ducks in a row when we get to the airport.
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|Wow. Sounds like Denver's just as bass-ackwards at the TSA checkpoint as it is for passengers making connecting flights. (Seriously, what is it with DIA? Is it a low-oxygen thing? I never imagined an airport could be worse than Stapleton, and yet there it is being wretched.) I've heard elsewhere that Denver, which had multiple Clear lanes, was more aggressive than many places about making the Clear experience work. But at the terminals I see the most of -- OMA, SEA, JFK -- that just wasn't the situation. And the contrast between the SEA checkpoint that uses diamond sorting and the checkpoint that doesn't is just amazing.
And I'm afraid Clear didn't actually improve your security, for the reasons described above and mor. But I'm glad you enjoyed the security theater. I personally get enough of that from just the checkpoint itself.
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