Smarter Borders

2015 has seen a sharp increase in challenges to the security of national and regional borders. With Hungary constructing physical barriers to stem the flow of migrants from the Middle East into their country, and the eu-LISA program trialling 'smart' technologies at European borders, to both facilitate and secure crossings, the concern over the security of national borders is reaching fever pitch.

It is due to this concern that senior Home Affairs decision makers, Heads of Border Enforcement and Control, and senior Policy Directors of major airports from across the globe are gathering in London this November for the 2015 Smarter Borders Symposium.

Now in its 3rd year, Smarter Borders will see participation from Border Agencies, policymaking institutions (at the National and EU level) and immigration ministries. These representatives will be discussing the direct challenges posed by the recent increase in migration and the plans to implement technological solutions for border management and to increase intelligence sharing between EU member states and beyond.

The symposium will address several core challenges:

• Preventing terrorist travel through the use of biometric and biographic watch lists, use of CCTV/facial recognition & exit checks
• Biometric control points and analysis of gathered intelligence in a rapid and effective fashion, for a variety of law enforcement purposes
• Transformation of IT services and systems supporting the work of front-end border forces
• Sharing of data and intelligence both internally to a nation and at the EU level - the legislative and technical way-forward
• Balancing these control pressures against the desire to maintain and improve the passenger experience