Ministry of the Interior is testing new border control software

PRESS RELEASE:

MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR
1 November 2011

Until the end of January 2012 Estonian authorities will be using border control software offered by the US company Raytheon. This software allows to analyze information on people travelling between Estonia and any third countries. This software solution is designed to detect illegal immigration and persons that may be related to organized crime.

“Today, when criminals act all around the world, investigators must also work globally. For instance, in connection with drug or human trafficking special attention must be paid to third countries. Advance analysis of data on passengers is of great help in performing risk assessment”, says Ken-Marti Vaher, the Minister of the Interior. “In today’s open world the internal security specialists are constantly looking for new and more effective border control solutions to help fight illegal migration, terrorism and organized crime”, adds the Minister.

On Tuesday, 1 November, the US ambassador to Estonia Michael C. Polt organized a reception to celebrate cooperation between the US company Raytheon and Estonian authorities.

During the pilot project internal security analysis is based on the passenger information (PNR reservation information and API passenger information) currently in possession of airlines and travel agencies. Raytheon border control software allows to speed up data analysis and improve its quality. It will help in saving resources and will make border crossing even easier for passengers. The pilot project will not result in passengers performing any additional actions.

PNR (Passenger Name Record) or the reservation information software and API (Advance Passenger Information) software allow to focus on passengers in high-risk groups. Ken-Marti Vaher explains: “For instance, there may be a situation, when we know that some drugs come in Estonia from a specific region, either inside or outside the European Union. We also know that the drug trafficking is organized by a group of men of 18 to 26 years of age, but the authorities do not know the names of the criminals. PNR and API solutions allow investigators to analyze passenger data and identify the drug traffickers”.

The European Union is discussing the draft directive on the use of PNR for prevention and detection of terrorist attacks and other serious crime. Several member states are currently preparing for implementation of the PNR system. France, Belgium, the UK and Sweden, however, are already using the passenger data analysis system to enhance their internal security. Similar systems are employed in the US, Canada and Australia.

The Estonian pilot project is coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior; the necessary technical support is provided by the IT and Development Center of the Ministry of the Interior. Implementation of the pilot project will not result in any additional costs for Estonian budget.