Aviation and Airport

U.S. air traffic vulnerable to "serious harm" from cyber attacks
New FAA report: “{U}nless effective action is taken quickly, it is likely to be a matter of when, not if, ATC [air traffic control] systems encounter attacks that do serious harm to ATC operations”
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BAE in $13 million deal to provide U.S. military with IFF transponders
In an effort to reduce incidents of friendly fire on the battlefield, the U.S. military orders 500 identification friend or foe (IFF) digital transponders and spares for the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy; BAE has already delivered more than 4,000 common transponders
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FAA to impose safety rules on medical, rescue helicopters
Emergency medical services helicopters perform many risky stunts in order to reach people in trouble and evacuate them to safety; this makes these rescue vehicles even more prone to accidents; the FAA is set to impose new safety requirements next year
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U.S. 100% screening law in doubt
In 2007, Congress passed a law requiring 100% screening of U.S.-bound air cargo; in February, TSA reached the 50% screening milestone, but the agency says 100% screening is not likely anytime soon; other countries do not mind, saying unilateral U.S. moves on screening violate their sovereignty
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Mexico police seize anti-aircraft weapon near U.S. border
A day before President Barack Obama is to visit Mexico, the Mexican police finds a truck-mounted anti-aircraft weapon on the U.S.-Maxico border
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Pilot association says new Israeli air security system flawed
Israel is trying a new air security system built for it by Elbit; on Saturday, a Delta Airlines plane approaching Israel’s air space failed to adhere to the security system requirements, and was intercepted by Israel Air Force’s planes; pilot association questions the safety of the system
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IAF's fighter jets intercept Delta Airlines plane for lack of communication
A state of emergency declared at Ben-Gurion Airport after Delta Airlines airplane headed to Israel failed to contact control tower due to technical problem
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U.K. border security agency to exchange fingerprints with U.S. and others
U.K. Border Agency (UKBA) said that by December 2008 it had enrolled more than 3.6 million sets of fingerprints from visa applicants, finding more than 5,200 cases of identity swaps; the agency now wants to exchange fingerprint information with the United States, Canada, and Australia
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Manchester airport recalibrate facial recognition machines to shorten lines
Five facial recognition machines at Manchester airport produced many false negatives, causing long lines of irate passengers; to shorten lines, the machines’ sensitivity was recalibrated from 80 percent to 30 percent; experts say the machines are now useless: tests show that at 30 percent, the machines cannot distinguish between Gordon Brown and Mel Gibson — or between Osama bin Laden and actress Winona Ryder
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Full-body imaging systems deployed to airports
Millimeter wave and backscatter technologies may be a popular alternative to searches, but privacy remains an issue
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TSA's Cleared List reaches 80,000
TSA’s Cleared List — that is, a list of people who found their names on the Terrorist Watch List and who successfully appealed to have their named removed from that list — has reached 80,000; critics of the Watch List say this proves that it is just too easy to have a name added to the Watch List
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Air France begins trial of biometric boarding cards
Air France begins trials with biometric cards as a replacement for boarding passes; the RFID-equipped cards store the passenger’s fingerprints and may be re-used up to 500 times
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IDO Security shoes-on inspection device adopted by several airports
Taking your shoes off for airport security checks is a hassle; a shoes-on inspection devise is gaining popularity
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GAO: TSA may not meet deadline for cargo checks
Passenger planes carry about 7.6 billion pounds of cargo a year; all suitcases have been screened since 2002, but cargo has been subject to much looser inspection requirements, raising concerns that terrorists could slip a bomb into a package; TSA was given an August 2010 deadline or guarantee that all cargo carried on passenger planes is being screened
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Terrorist Watchlist reaches 1 million entries (representing about 400,000 individuals)
U.S. Terrorist Watchlist reaches 1 million entries; since many individuals on the list have several entries owing to the different ways in which their names may be rendered, the number of individuals on the list is about 400,000
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