Airport security — what works, and what does not?

by Scott Carmichael on

With so much talk about new explosive detection equipment and the upcoming full body scanners, we decided to look into some of the current technology in place at airports around the world. What works, and what does not?

Will the future of airport security involve everyone stripping down to their underpants? Or will technology evolve to the point where computers can detect terrorists from a distance?

Metal detector

The airport metal detector is a piece of equipment that works absolutely perfectly – for finding metal. It won’t detect explosives, ceramic knives or anything else that is not metallic. And it isn’t designed for that – its sole purpose is to detect metal objects.

Anyone who has left their belt on, or had some loose change will know how sensitive these things are.

Why they don’t always work: Can only detect metal. Can’t sense explosives, ceramic blades or liquids.

The x-ray machine

At the airport, baggage is checked at two places – at the security checkpoint, and at the checked bag drop-off. These machines are pretty good. But they have a fatal flaw – they can’t detect anything without the presence of a human operator. And lets be honest – someone that has to sit in front of a monitor looking at bags move past them will never reach a 100% accuracy. Things will slip through the cracks.

Why they don’t always work: The human element is the weak spot. Unable to “sniff” for explosives.


Passenger puffer machine

The “puffer machine” was supposed to be the ultimate in airport security. You step into the machine, it blows puffs of air on you, and “smells” for explosives. It all sounds like the perfect solution. These machines were in place at several airports on a trial basis before they were all removed due to “unforeseen technical problems”.

Millions were invested in the devices, which are now probably collecting dust in a storage facility. High profile research labs are still working on better solutions, and there are several very promising technologies in the very early stages of development. Sadly, without some really serious government money, those machines won’t be at your local airport any time soon.

Why they don’t always work: Citing “technical difficulties”, they are no longer in use at US airports.

Swab explosives detector

Anyone who has been pulled aside for a secondary search (the dreaded “SSSS” on your boarding pass” will have seen the screening expert “swab” their bag and place the sample inside an expensive looking machine. The machine sniffs for explosives, and can detect the smallest trace of stuff that can blow up a plane.

Why they don’t always work: only passengers selected for secondary screening are pulled aside for a swab detection. Easy to get a false positive.

Full body imager

The full body imager (or whole body imager / millimeter wave scanner) is supposed to be the holy grail of airport security. After the Nigerian underpants bomber was pulled off his plane, these new machines popped up in the news and within days, the first ones were being ordered for European airports.

Tests have been conducted on the machines, and there is a very big chance that the underpants bomber would not have been caught had he passed through one. Then there is of course the issue of privacy. We all want to fly on a plane without any terrorists wearing bombs wrapped around their groin, but apparently we draw the line at letting security staff stare at our naked bodies on a TV screen. To make matters worse, we were promised that none of the US based machines could store or send our images, but CNN already discovered that was was a lie.

Why they don’t always work: Only at select airports, only passengers pulled aside for secondary screening are asked to voluntarily go through the machine, possibly not 100% reliable.

Passenger no-fly lists

The super secret passenger no-fly lists collect data from several sources. It isn’t necessarily filled with the names of the worst terror suspects in the world, and the list has been proven to be terribly inaccurate. Worst of all, those people that have a name that matches something on the list have had a hell of a time getting through airport security.

The Nigerian underpants bomber was on one list of terror suspects, but apparently was not considered dangerous enough to warrant adding to the no-fly list. At the same time, 8 year old kids are stopped because their name matches someone dangerous.

Why they don’t always work: Too much data, but not enough ways to find the bad guys.

Pat-down

Pat-downs have been proven to be ineffective – and for one simple reason; fear of embarrassing travelers. The underpants bomber would have successfully passed a pat-down because screening staff don’t do a comprehensive search. The only kind of search that will work, is the kind used in prisons.

You can’t find explosives attached to someones private parts if you don’t physically search that area. Is a full effective pat-down embarrassing? You bet it is. But it is a heck of a lot more effective than just waving a wand up and down your legs.

Why they don’t work: You can’t perform a full search, without performing an actual FULL search,

(Images courtesy of Flickr users Daquella Manera and jcortell – click images for direct source)

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UK passengers not allowed to refuse full body scan peep show

by Scott Carmichael on

As the UK prepares to introduce its first full body scanning machines at Heathrow airport, the government has decided that passengers selected for screening in one of the machines has no right to refuse.

In the US, the scanners are being tested at several airports, and are only used when the passenger is selected for a secondary screening. Those passengers do have the right to refuse, and are then offered a regular pat-down.

The UK government ignored opposition from various human rights groups who claim the scanners breach privacy rules, especially when children are scanned.

In selecting passengers for a full body scan, the government has ruled out religious or ethnic profiling, opting for “behavioral profiling” instead. This means passengers who travel without bags, paid for tickets with cash or who behave erratically may be selected. Of course, this just means that terrorists will know exactly how to prevent drawing attention to themselves.

The European response to the failed terror attack back in December has been pretty swift, all airports with flights to the United States will soon have scanners in place.

Full body scanner operators complain about “pervert” accusations

by Scott Carmichael on

The introduction of full body scanners at the airport checkpoint has created quite a lot of controversy. Passengers are obviously worried about having to show their naked body to a random stranger, and others worry that images of young children will make their way onto pedophile networks.

Now, a new group has come forward complaining about the scanners – the security screeners themselves. The screening staff at Heathrow airport are furious that people assume they’ll get a kick out of seeing blurry images of our genitals.

One airport scanner had the following to say:

“The idea that we are going to get kicks out of seeing a blurry gray image of people’s bodies is frankly offensive. It’s about as sensible as saying the act of patting down a passenger is perverted. We are here to do a job. We have bombs and knives on our minds and that’s it.”

Honestly, I had never thought of it that way – but it still doesn’t put me at ease. Sooner or later, somewhere in the world, one screener will violate our trust, and naked photos of a celebrity or child will make their way onto the Internet.

In the US, the full body imaging equipment has been set up in a way that the security operator can not see the person standing in the imaging machine – he or she will only see their naked image. The TSA assured travelers that images can not be stored or sent, but CNN already discovered documents that prove otherwise.

Image credit: AFP/Getty Images

Say cheese! Tulsa airport starts screening with full body scanners

by Scott Carmichael on

It was only a matter of time – the first airport in the nation has switched to full body scanners as a replacement for the usual metal detector at the checkpoint.

The scanners use electromagnetic waves to create an image of you – sans clothes. The image is viewed by a TSA agent in a nearby room, which should at least mean you don’t hear their chuckles as you pass through the scanner.

A TSA screener who operates the machine reported that the images “are not pornographic at all”, and that she merely sees them as “a thing that could have something on it”.

But make no mistake – the 3D images will show all your parts to the screener, right down to the size of your breasts and genitals.

The trial aims to determine whether the full body scanners can be a true replacement for metal detectors, and whether the use of the scanners increases, or decreases efficiency at the checkpoint.

During the first day of operation, only 2 out of 1039 passengers declined to use the scanner. Of course, this could simply be because the general public is not fully aware what these new machines are, and just what the images reveal.

Personally I don’t really care what they see, I’m in favor of anything that will help me get from one end of the checkpoint to the next as fast as possible. If this technology is what it takes, then I’m all for it.

After Tulsa, the next airports scheduled to receive the new scanning technology are San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Albuquerque.

(Via: USA Today)

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