Senior executives from the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and ACI Europe have met with industry stakeholders and airport operators to endorse their continued collaboration to address open architecture for airport security systems.
According to ACI, transportation security equipment is moving toward a concept of open architecture, which is a technological framework that facilitates collaboration, shared resources and an outcome in which common goals are achieved.
Implementing open architecture principles into the security screening system will focus on open data formats, standard interfaces and the establishment of an operationally viable and cyber-secure approach to security systems. Open architecture principles will facilitate uniform standards and an agile response to emerging threats.
David Pekoske, TSA administrator, said, “Technology and innovation within transportation security is evolving at a rapid pace, and open architecture promises to improve how all transportation security agencies share data, integrate emerging technology at speed, remain cyber resilient and advance our mission. We remain committed to innovation and working collaboratively with our partners to increase the security baseline and improve the traveling experience.”
Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said, “This is a collaboration that has reaped not only meaningful synergies today, but has the potential to unlock future applications, partnerships and solutions that we cannot even yet imagine. The combination of our partners’ security pedigree teamed with ACI Europe’s guiding hand and expertise in seamless airport innovation, secures not only technological transformation but consumer protection – the cornerstones of progress. The fact that security equipment manufacturers have now joined our dialog speaks volumes for our vision and the standards we are setting.”
Over the past several months, TSA has been working in collaboration with its international partners and stakeholders to update the Open Architecture for Airport Security Systems document, initially published in July 2020.
In tandem, to ensure that the objectives and benefits set out in this original document could be achieved, ACI Europe partnered with the European Organisation for Security to establish a structure where stakeholders can collaborate to develop the necessary technical recommendations and address questions on key areas, including liability and the protection of intellectual property.
The collaboration between different stakeholders, including the security equipment manufacturers, has enabled the group to achieve significant steps forward, most notably in identifying technical options that would allow manufacturers to comply with the open architecture principles.
The partners are actively working to implement open architecture principles into the security screening system, focusing on open data formats such as Digital Imaging and Communications in Security (DICOS), standardized interfaces, and establishing an operationally viable and cyber-secure approach to accessible property screening, on-person screening and identity verification.