Andy Smith

Director, Industry & Innovation
SITA, UK

Joining SITA in 2007, Andy has focused on driving innovation and collaboration for airlines, airports, and government & industry bodies.

Since 2012 Andy has represented SITA’s Border Management business. In addition to promoting the effective use of passenger data, pre-clearance, risk assessment and biometric solutions, Andy continues to champion the collaboration of all stakeholders within the industry. After 5 years focused on Europe, Andy moved to a global role as Subject Matter Expert with particular focus on Digital Travel and Risk & Threat Management. Andy has now moved to the Innovation & Strategy team, engaging with industry bodies & partners, and driving innovation around Digital Travel and the use of Digital Identities at and beyond the border, as well as enhancing the capabilities of all SITA Borders’ solutions through new and emerging technologies.

Sessions

OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) at the Border
How do we disrupt or prevent travel of bad actors?
Information sharing between some governments is good, but any gaps will be exploited. Interpol and ICAO are starting to provide greater access to what were previously government access only systems. But is there a role for non-government actors, including industry, to deter or prevent travel of criminals, victims of modern slavery, traffickers and terrorists.
The use of OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) is not new and has been used by the military and national intelligence agencies for many years, but advances in AI, communications technology and the growth in the use of social media and communications apps, means that publicly available data can not only help border law enforcement begin to map out and identify linkages in the wider criminal networks behind smuggling and trafficking. But it can also now provide actionable insights to border agents in real time.
How can border and intelligence agencies and their partners in industry cooperate in delivering optimum results from OSINT.