Using Stolen Passports Uncalled For

Using Stolen Passports Uncalled For

Using Stolen Passports Uncalled ForAccording to several media outlets, the two Iranians who used stolen passports to board the Malaysia Airlines jet that disappeared are unlikely to be linked to any terrorist groups. This is a good thing. But, I am still baffled as to how not one but two people boarded an aircraft with stolen passports, especially in the height of all the fuss over airport security.

I know when I traveled to Montreal, Canada about a month ago my passport was checked 4 times before I made it to baggage claim. And, when I was on my way back to Texas from Canada, at the airport, my boarding pass along with my passport was checked at least 4 times that I vividly recall, from security to the terminal. I understand that this is North America, but it seems that all international airports would take the time to adequately check travelers’ passports and other documents, like boarding passes.

Even if passenger documents are checked, if these documents aren’t checked against Interpol’s database of stolen and lost travel documents, travelers using them can apparently slip through layer after layer of security, as we have seen demonstrated in this tragic situation.

In fact, Interpol said that during 2013, passengers were allowed to board planes more than 1 billion times without having their travel documents checked against their Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database that was established in 2002, following 9/11 as a way to help countries protect their borders. Oh, and by the way, the database is FREE to use.

According to Interpol, the US searches their database more than 250 million times annually; the UK more than 120 million times annually; and the United Arab Emirates more that 50 million times annually, so why aren’t all countries around the world utilizing this free resource?

It would seem that with all the smartphones, tablets, laptops and other gadgets along with sophisticated technology that is used worldwide, checking Interpol’s database wouldn’t take longer than a couple of seconds. Besides, I bet there's an app for that!

Precious seconds could be all that stands in the way of preventing a horrible incident from occurring.

(Image Credit: AHMAD FAIZAL YAHYA / Shutterstock.com)

About the Author

Ginger Hill is Group Social Media Manager.

Featured

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Hanwha QNO-7012R

    Hanwha QNO-7012R

    The Q Series cameras are equipped with an Open Platform chipset for easy and seamless integration with third-party systems and solutions, and analog video output (CVBS) support for easy camera positioning during installation. A suite of on-board intelligent video analytics covers tampering, directional/virtual line detection, defocus detection, enter/exit, and motion detection.

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.