NEC Facial Recognition Used to Catch Impostors at DC Airport (Multi-Video)

A man trying to enter the US illegally was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport was exposed by new facial recognition technology on only the third day following deployment. Upon secondary inspection, CBP officers found the man’s authentic Republic of Congo identification card concealed in his shoe. (Courtesy of CBP)
A man trying to enter the US illegally was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport was exposed by new facial recognition technology on only the third day following deployment. Upon secondary inspection, CBP officers found the man’s authentic Republic of Congo identification card concealed in his shoe. (Courtesy of CBP)

On only the third day using its new cutting-edge facial comparison biometric system, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) intercepted an imposter posing as a French Citizen.

On August 22, 2018, a 26-year-old man presented a French passport to border protection officials after arriving in Washington, D.C., from Sao Paulo.

But a recently installed facial biometric system warned that the traveler didn’t match the presented passport and a secondary screen revealed he had his authentic identification card from the Republic of Congo in his shoe, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

(A 26-year-old man from Brazil got caught after the cameras alerted U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers that the traveler, who was carrying a French passport, did not match his passport photo. He was from the Republic of Congo, not France. Courtesy of NBC News and YouTube. Posted on Aug 23, 2018.)

Using another person’s identity document is a serious violation of U.S. immigration laws that could result in criminal prosecution.

CBP is withholding the man’s name until the investigation is completed.

“Facial recognition technology is an important step forward for CBP in protecting the United States from all types of threats,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Director of the Baltimore Field Office.

Almost a million times each day, CBP officers welcome international travelers into the U.S.
Almost a million times each day, CBP officers welcome international travelers into the U.S.

“Terrorists and criminals continually look for creative methods to enter the U.S. including using stolen genuine documents.”

“The new facial recognition technology virtually eliminates the ability for someone to use a genuine document that was issued to someone else.”

The impostor intercepted at IAD was the first impostor detected using the new technology.

That facial recognition system is powered in part by image matching software developed by NEC Corporation of America, the Platinum Award Winner in the 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program for Best Biometric Recognition System, and a Finalist in the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Awards.

“Obviously, we’re proud of it,” Benji Hutchinson, vice president of federal operations at NEC Corporation of America.

“The fact is the match worked. It said this person is not the same person. A human may not have been able to catch that.”

(Federal government is using #biometrics technology to address today’s national security challenges such as border security, homeland defense and transnational criminals. NEC has partnered with federal agencies to deploy our world-renowned advanced recognition systems solutions in a variety of ways, including improving border security and expediting entry and exit programs at some of the largest and busiest airports in the U.S. Facial recognition is setting the stage for the future of access, and identity recognition. Courtesy of NEC Corporation of America and YouTube. Posted on Aug 23, 2018.)

Less than three weeks later, IAD intercepted a second impostor trying to enter the U.S.

A 26-year-old woman, who arrived on a flight from Accra, Ghana Saturday morning, presented a U.S. passport to a CBP officer for admission as a returning citizen.

Inadmissible criminals and other foreign nationals routinely attempt various means to enter the United States, and may use stolen, purchased or “borrowed” passports.
Inadmissible criminals and other foreign nationals routinely attempt various means to enter the United States, and may use stolen, purchased or “borrowed” passports.

Utilizing the new facial comparison technology, the CBP officer established that the traveler was not a match to the passport and referred her for further examination.

A secondary examination confirmed that the traveler was a Ghanaian citizen and an impostor to the U.S. passport.

CBP is withholding the woman’s name while an investigation continues.

Inadmissible criminals and other foreign nationals routinely attempt various means to enter the United States, and may use stolen, purchased or “borrowed” passports.

“Customs and Border Protection’s facial comparison system is highly effective and efficient at detecting impostors,” added Durst.

Casey Owen Durst, Director, Field Operations for the Baltimore Field Office
Casey Owen Durst, Director, Field Operations for the Baltimore Field Office

“This is just one of many ways in which CBP is working to enhance the security of the U.S. while at the same time designing travel processes that are more efficient for the average person.”

CBP has been testing facial recognition technology to satisfy its biometric exit Congressional mandate.

The facial recognition verification process takes less than 2 seconds.

CBP uses airline manifest data to retrieve existing traveler photographs from government databases, including passports and visas, to build a photo gallery of travelers who are expected to arrive and depart the United States.

CBP then compares the “live” photographs of travelers taken with those that are already on file in DHS holdings. No new data is required.

CBP is committed to its privacy obligations and has taken steps to safeguard the privacy of all travelers.

(Learn More, courtesy of CBP, Bridget Bosch and YouTube)

Almost a million times each day, CBP officers welcome international travelers into the U.S.

In screening both foreign visitors and returning U.S. citizens, CBP uses a variety of techniques to intercept immigration violators, narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture, counterfeit consumer goods, and other illicit products, and to assure that global tourism remains safe and strong.

CBP’s border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations.

Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.

DHS is committed to implementing biometric exit in 2018, starting at the highest volume airports.
DHS is committed to implementing biometric exit in 2018, starting at the highest volume airports.

While providing a level of convenience for the traveler, facial recognition helps CBP swiftly identify impostors.

CBP’s primary mission is to protect the United States from potential threats and the facial comparison biometrics system is one part of CBPs’ strategy to deploy the best technology available to protect the American people.

After years of development, facial recognition technology is quickly finding a place at airports around the country, with applications being tested from check-in to security checkpoints to the boarding area.

IAD is one of 15 early adopter airports to launch the use of facial recognition technology to expedite the entry inspection process of arriving international passengers and began the enhanced entry process on August 20, 2018.

(Demand for fast, personalized and safe experiences is rapidly changing the face of customer engagement across many industries. From the need to provide safe experiences during travel or large scale public events to the need for secure access into corporations and government facilities, our world is changing at a rapid pace. NEC’s NeoFace® Express is a cutting-edge, integrated solution that uses facial recognition to transform the travel experience, elevates VIP access, secure national borders, increase pedestrian flow, and keep citizens safe. Courtesy of NEC Corporation of America and YouTube. Posted on Mar 26, 2018.)

NEC is at the forefront of the trend, designing cameras and software capable of capturing and analyzing travelers’ faces to verify their identity by comparing it to existing photos pulled from passports, visas or other travel documents.

In these incidents at Dulles Airport, NEC software was used to compare the image against a database, part of what’s known as the Traveler Verification Service.

“No matter whose camera, they always have to submit an image to our back end,” Hutchinson said of the company’s matching engine.

NEC camera units are currently being tested at 10 U.S. airports, including a rollout at DFW International Airport that’s currently underway.

(A simple scan of your face becomes a single, unified #biometric key that unlocks an enjoyable experience that’s secure, frictionless and personalized. NEC’s facial recognition #technology enhances safety in our airports, stadiums and theme parks – just to name a few – while providing a superior customer experience. Courtesy of NEC Corporation of America and YouTube. Posted on Aug 23, 2018.)

Calls for a system to track the arrivals and departures of non-citizens at U.S. ports of entry date back to the 1990s and were re-emphasized in legislation passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with a 2007 law calling for the creation of a biometric entry-exit system that includes exit records of individuals leaving the U.S.

The US CBP Entry/Exit Program was Recognized as a Platinum Award Winner in the 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program for ‘Excellence in Homeland Security.’

Dean Dimotsis, Assistant Port Director Tactical Operations, U.S. CBP, JFK International Airport Office of Field Operations, Michael Madsen, AST Publisher, and Leon Hayward, Acting Director, U.S. CBP New York Field Office
Dean Dimotsis, Assistant Port Director Tactical Operations, U.S. CBP, JFK International Airport Office of Field Operations (at left), and Leon Hayward, Acting Director, U.S. CBP New York Field Office (at right), accepting the CBP Platinum 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Award at ISC East in NYC.

U.S. citizens are currently not required to have their photos captured when entering or exiting the country, although they may be required to provide other means of identification, according to CBP.

Photos of travelers are stored for up to 14 days before being deleted, the agency said.

NEC’s Hutchinson said other potential applications for biometric screening at airports include check-in, luggage drop-off, security checkpoints and even airline lounges.

Beyond airports, NEC facial recognition technology is also being used at Frisco’s National Soccer Hall of Fame to customize visitor experiences and for ordering at restaurant chain CaliBurger.

“What they want to do is automate that reservation-to-destination process [at the airport] as much as possible,” Hutchinson said.

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Who’s on your team? To celebrate the opening of our new hall of fame, we’re asking fans to name the 11 most important players in our soccer history. Make the call and enter for a chance to win hundreds of daily prizes, including a trip to 2018 Induction Weekend in Frisco, TX.

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority partnered with CBP at Washington-Dulles International Airport to deploy biometric entry and exit technology using facial comparison to provide additional security and to improve efficiency for international travelers.

The new, simplified arrival process enables increased security, faster throughput, and better efficiency.

CBP is assessing the use of biometric technology as part of a future end-to-end process, from check-in to departure, in which travelers use biometrics instead of their boarding pass or ID throughout the security and boarding processes.

Testing was recently expanded to include one checkpoint at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

CBP is committed to its privacy obligations and has taken steps to safeguard the privacy of all travelers.

CBP published several Privacy Impact Assessments, employs strong technical security safeguards, and limited the amount of personally identifiable information used in the new biometric process.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry, and charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

To Learn More about CBP’s biometric entry/exit program are available at www.CBP.gov.