Update: The TSA has verified that a laptop was discovered by Clear officials yesterday at San Francisco International Airport. The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the laptop discovered is in fact the very same laptop reported missing earlier this week.
TSA suspends Clear signups after laptop theft.(IMG:J.Anderson)
Allison Beer, senior vice president for corporate development of Clear, told the Chronicle that, "...the computer contained no Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, fingerprints, facial images or other biometric information." She also told the paper that the laptop was not compromised.
According to the sheriff's office, the missing laptop was found Tuesday in the same airport office, but not in the same location from which it had been discovered missing.
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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has suspended Verified Identity Pass, Inc. (VIP) from enrolling new people to its Registered Traveler (RT) program -- a.k.a. 'Clear' -- after a computer went missing at San Francisco International Airport. The TSA said the suspension is due to the loss of an unencrypted laptop with about 33,000 records containing traveler information.
According to the TSA's explanatory statement, the suspension “will protect consumers waiting to enroll in RT and allow VIP to bring its procedures into compliance,” while submitting to regular audits.
The laptop went missing from San Francisco International on July 26, and it was later discovered that VIP was using no encryption on the computer, which was storing specific RT information.
VIP’s Clear program is something that has been debated in the past. Most argue that it offers nothing more than a faster pace to move through security checks at the airport, while offering no real security.
What an RT program such as Clear does is offer travelers a chance to pay an annual fee and submit to a background check and personal-threat assessment. After that, the traveler then offers up biometric information, such as iris scans and fingerprints. From there, they are then “Cleared” and allowed to move through a separate line when at the airport.
The missing laptop is said to have contained information on VIP customers, including names, addresses, birth dates and driving license information.
While several news sources are reporting on what information was lost, the fact is there is no definitive information from either VIP or the TSA as to exactly what has gone missing. Neither the VIP Web site nor the TSA press release mentions any such details.
According to CBS and the Associated Press, VIP said the laptop was protected by two levels of password protection.
"TSA has instructed SFO to ensure that VIP immediately notifies the individuals impacted. In addition, SFO and all other airports using Clear have been instructed to ensure that VIP: suspends enrollment, ceases use of any unencrypted computers, and secures the devices until encryption can be installed," the TSA's release outlines.
"TSA requires RT service providers and sponsoring entities to encrypt all files containing participants' sensitive personal information. Noncompliance with such requirements can result in actions including suspension of a program and possible civil penalties."
Current Clear customers will not be affected by the suspension, the TSA said, and will not experience any disruption when using Registered Traveler. For the rest of us however, it is disruptions and long queues as per usual.
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