• Efficacy of TSA's behavioral threat detection program questioned

    Between 2004 and 2008, more than two billion passengers boarded planes at the 161 U.S. airports in which TSA has deployed Behavioral Detection Officers (BDOs) under the Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program; the BDOs identified 152,000 passengers for secondary screening, which led to 1,083 arrests; none of those arrested, however, were terrorists or individuals who intended to attack the aviation system; GAO reports that since 2003, there were 16 instances in which airport screeners permitted people to get on planes who later were linked to terror plots

  • Scientists raise health questions about full-body scanners

    A group of scientists from the University of California-San Francisco wrote the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, saying they fear that the scanners may expose the skin to high doses of X-rays that could increase the risk of cancer and other health problems, particularly among older travelers, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems

  • South Africa lax attitude to airport security worries FIFA

    South Africa promised FIFA that it would tighten security at airports ahead of the World Cup games which open in three weeks; investigative reporters proved that promise hollow when they managed easily to pass security checks on ten flights — out of the twenty they tried to board — in the country with steak knives, screwdrivers, razors, pairs of scissors, and even syringes in their luggage

  • Karachi airport screeners stop man wearing therapeutic vibro-shoes

    Pakistani airport security screeners stop a man wearing therapeutic vibro-shoes; X-ray operators were alarmed to note batteries and circuitry built into the soles of his shoes, but the gadgetry is meant to deliver soothing foot massage, not to explode a bomb

  • EU to lift ban of on-board liquids by 2013

    EU airports will be required to install new technology at checkpoints capable of detecting liquid explosives; the goal is to lift the ban on liquids taken on board by 2013; U.S. TSA has begun discussions with software companies about upgrading existing screening equipment so that it can detect liquid explosives

  • Hiding explosives in plain sight: Searchers thrown off by multiple targets

    Researchers find that one strategy a terrorist might adopt is to carry explosives on his body - and liquid jell in his luggage; screeners would likely spot the jell, ask the passenger-terrorist to discard it - and, subconsciously influenced by “satisfaction of search,” move on to screen the next passenger; the research suggests that security might be improved if the screeners worked in a space where they could not see how many travelers were waiting in line and therefore did not feel pressure to hurry with the searches

  • DHS IG identifies weaknesses in airport passenger screening

    DHS IG inspects the operation of advanced passenger scanning technologies in sixteen unnamed U.S. airport, and reports: “We identified vulnerabilities in the screening process at the passenger screening checkpoint at the eight domestic airports we conducted testing”

  • Security specialist: Canada's new airport security scanners a waste of money

    An Israeli airport security experts tells Canadian lawmakers that full-body scanners can be easily fooled, and that they will not prevent explosives from being taken on board; he recommended the adoption of the Israeli approach to air travel security, which combines good intelligence, behavioral profiling, and a “trusted traveler” system

  • South Africa holds a large aviation security drill in advance of the World Cup

    In advance of the June-July 2010 World Cup tournament, South Africa this weekend is conducting a comprehensive aviation security drill; the exercise will resemble security precautions which will be put in place during the soccer event, which begins 11 June; an expansive security envelope will be established around the stadiums where the games are played, and other air travel restriction will go into place; the drill this weekend will examine how the SA security forces respond to various violations of these security rules

  • APTA seeks public transportation security funding

    A recent survey of U.S. public transit systems identifies $6.4 billion in security needs; Federal funding provided in FY2010 for public transportation security totaled only $253 million; industry group urges Congress to allocate at least $1.1 billion in the FY2011 budget for ground transportation security

  • Problems hobble new U.S. air traffic control computers

    A new, $2.1 billion computer system crucial to modernizing the U.S. air traffic control system has misidentified aircraft and had trouble processing radar information; if the problems continue they could delay the FAA’s NextGen program to replace the current air traffic control system, which is based on Second World War-era radar technology, with a new system which is based on GPS technology

  • Woman who sneaks applesauce through airport gets off

    A 58-year old woman trying to bring applesauce and snacks on board for her 93-year old mother who was flying from California to Tennessee, is arrested, strip-searched, and jailed; the woman said she was given permission to bring the snacks with her, but TSA personnel at the gate refused to let her through; a judge says the case will be dismissed if she stays out of trouble for six months

  • They screen pets, don't they?

    The Israeli security authorities are now alerting pet owners that their pets, if they look like “suspicious animals,” may be subjected to X-ray screening before boarding; if the owners refused, the pet would not be allowed on the flight; more than four million pets are flown across the world each year

  • They screen pets, don't they?

    The Israeli security authorities are now alerting pet owners that their pets, if they look like “suspicious animals,” may be subjected to X-ray screening before boarding; if the owners refused, the pet would not be allowed on the flight; more than four million pets are flown across the world each year

  • New sensor helps find parking spaces -- and make air traffic, shipping safer

    Every vehicle — a car in a parking lot or on the road, an airplane on the tarmac, a ship — slightly deforms its surrounding Earth’s magnetic field due to the vehicle’s metallic components and electronic devices; magnetic field sensors can detect these small changes; in contrast to surveillance cameras, which are influenced by fog or rain, magnetic field sensors are unaffected by weather conditions