Using biometric technology to identify and screen passengers is growing worldwide. “What we're working on is a platform from check-in to boarding with risk assessment on passenger data and the use of biometrics moving to a more traveler-friendly process,” Ormiston says. Passengers would be identified biometrically and the boarding pass would be done away with, “but this is not going to happen overnight.”

Biometric technology has been used in Israel for several years, as a complement to the human side of security. At airports, travelers are subjected to probing personal questions as screeners look them in the eye for signs of deception. Searches are meticulous, with screeners often scrutinizing every item in a bag. Advanced technology is an add-on.

Recently developed is Unipass, which combines advanced biometric identification with automatic passport authentication. It was a joint effort by Israel Airports Authority and Bendertech Technologies.

More advanced Israeli-developed biometrics include the technology developed by IDesia Biometrics, acquired in August by Intel. IDesia, founded by CEO Daniel Lange and Yossef Gross, uses an electrical signal generated by the heartbeat to create an “electro-biodynamic signature” unique to every individual, establishing a biometric identity that cannot be forged. The product only requires contact between the finger of the person being checked and a small metal sensor, and can be used at airports and border crossings as well as to access personal electronic equipment.

Another solution claimed to provide rigorous security scanning without physical checks is under development by WeCU Technologies Ltd. of Israel. This detects whether a person has malicious or deceptive intentions. WeCU technology can screen an individual in seconds, without his or her knowledge. It can identify subjects who are not carrying suspicious objects, do not demonstrate suspicious behavior and do not fit a predefined social or other profile, and with no a priori information as to the subject.

WeCU seeks to identify concealed intentions by uncovering an associative connection between the subjects and defined threats. WeCU is claimed to be able to identify people who have involvement in a defined threat, in a screening that takes only 15-30 sec. Based on a unique probing method that uses knowledge from the behavioral sciences with advanced biometric sensors, the system performs a fast and covert test procedure, which does not interfere with routine activities and crowd flow at the protected site.