Registered Traveler Firm's Lawsuit Alleges Competitor Hacking
Verified Identity Pass—operator of the Clear Registered Traveler program—this week filed suit alleging trade-secret theft and computer hacking by a former employee who now works for competitor FLO Corp.
According to court documents filed in the Southern District of New York, Verified Identity Pass said Fred Fischer, former senior vice president of sales and current FLO senior vice president, "on his last day of employment, remotely made unauthorized access to plaintiff's computer, downloaded whole portions of plaintiff's database containing confidential and proprietary information about plaintiff's business contacts, contract negotiations, and potential customers, and shared the stolen information so that Fischer's new employer, defendant FLO and FLO's parent, defendant Saflink—competitors of Verified—could benefit." Verified said Fischer attempted eight times to access the company's computer systems after leaving the company last December.
FLO representatives did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.
"We are seeking, among other things, redress under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a criminal statute that also provides for civil remedies," Verified founder and CEO Steven Brill told employees in a memo today. The company would not comment further on the legal action.
It's not the first time the two competitors have exchanged lawsuits. FLO in May sued Verified in California Superior Court, claiming the company stole trade secrets after Verified used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a proposal FLO made during an airport bid. In court documents, Verified said FLO sought to bar the company from bidding on San Francisco International Airport's request for a Registered Traveler program. FLO filed a second suit last month in Arkansas, attempting to bar the Little Rock National Airport contract from being awarded to Verified. The suits were dismissed last month, with FLO "acknowledging that Verified's conduct has been lawful and honorable at all times," court documents said.
Meanwhile, Verified this week announced a partnership with AirTran Airways, its first U.S.-based airline, to launch its Registered Traveler provider's Clear checkpoints at New York LaGuardia's Central Terminal. Clear yesterday said San Francisco International Airport selected the company, and expects to launch lanes at the airport in September, subject to the SFO board's approval.
Verified Identity Pass, which said membership in its program exceeds 50,000, now has several airports participating in its program, including those in San Jose, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Orlando, as well as New York-JFK with various airline partners. Clear this week launched lanes at Newark's Terminal B in conjunction with Virgin Atlantic, and next month plans to launch at Little Rock, Albany and Westchester, N.Y., County.
Competitor Unisys Corp. last month launched Registered Traveler lanes at Reno-Tahoe International Airport—the first airport to go live with an offering from Unisys, which is the first competitor to Verified Identity Pass to launch lanes. Meanwhile, competitor FLO Alliance has an agreement to launch lanes at Huntsville, Ala., International Airport.
The programs promise to speed travelers who satisfy a background check through security checkpoints, and cards among all competitors are designed to be interoperable at all participating airports.
Verified said airports in Atlanta and Denver, as well as Washington, D.C.'s Reagan and Dulles, are in the midst of considering a Registered Traveler program and "have issued, or in the case of Atlanta, are about to issue requests for proposals."