Chris Lee MIS 304 9/30/08

What is FAST: A system designed to detect “hostile thoughts” in people walking through border posts, airports, and public places. Remotely monitor crowds for the behavioral signs of a terrorist, using a computer system that scans their pulses, body language, breathing rates, and facial temperatures. Being developed by the Department of Homeland Security

Continued: Currently running at 78% on mal-intent detection and 80% on deception Production of the FAST system is approximately 3 years away from completion. The body polygraph is part of a five-year project in which the department is trying to devise ways to thwart terrorism. Another part is the Transportation Security Administration’s program — Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT).

Problems: Critics are concerned that the program could reveal physical conditions like heart murmurs, breathing problems, and high stress levels – a blatant privacy invasion. False alarms To much information being collected: FBI’s “Next Generation Identification” system, currently still in development, seeks to catalogue almost every major identifying characteristic about the U.S. criminal population, including fingerprints, retinal prints, and tattoo/scar markings.

Business Applications: DHS researchers are designing FAST with mobility in mind, and over the long term would like to roll out portable vehicles for use in concerts, sporting events, and other public gatherings: once the technology is perfected, FAST trucks could be as common a sighting at public gatherings as “mobile toilets and catering trucks.”