• Plotters had no control over where cargo bombs would go off

    The plotters behind last week’s unsuccessful mail bombings could not have known exactly where their Chicago-bound packages were when they were set to explode; the communication cards had been removed from the cell phones attached to the bombs, meaning the phones could not receive calls, making it likely the terrorists intended the alarm or timer functions to detonate the bombs; each bomb was attached to a syringe containing lead azide, a chemical initiator that would have detonated PETN explosives packed into each computer printer toner cartridge; both PETN and a syringe were used in the failed Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner linked to an al Qaida branch in Yemen

  • U.K. airlines support Broughton's criticism of U.S. security requirements

    Martin Broughton, the chairman of British Airways, said some parts of the U.S.-inspired aviation security program are “completely redundant” and Britain should stop “kowtowing” to the United States every time the United States wants something done; Broughton said people should not be forced to take off their shoes or have laptops checked separately when checking in for flights; nor was there any need to pander to the Americans especially when it involves checks the U.S. government does not impose on U.S. domestic routes

  • Biometric-driven airport gates gain ground

    Biometrics-driven border controls in the United Kingdom are now well advanced, with a trial at London Stansted so successful, that the technology is now being rolled out at Heathrow Airport; still, biometric-driven airport gate technology is still in its infancy, with only around 1,000 gates in active use worldwide

  • Australia's airports easy prey for terrorists

    New report says Australia’s airports Aussie airports are “wide open” to terror attacks with lax security vetting of staff, poor perimeter protection, and no strategy to counter car bombs; security protocols and standards at Australia’s airports developed to keep the 2000 Olympic Games safe ceased to exist six months after the closing ceremony

  • U.K. railways threatened by changes in rainfall patterns

    Some of the U.K.’s railway infrastructure was built in the nineteenth century on unprepared foundations, before engineers understood soil mechanics; rail embankments are structures made of soil and rock, which are always be affected by climate — particularly rainfall patterns

  • Six years later, U.S. pilot's licenses still not secure

    In 2004 Congress told the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to come up with a pilot’s license that included the pilot’s photo and could contain biometric information like fingerprints or iris scans; critics charge that today, the only pilots pictured on FAA licenses are flight pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright, and the licenses lack biometric data

  • End to limits on carrying liquids on board in sight

    New bottled liquid scanners unveiled; researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory developed a magnetic resonance device to read liquids’ molecular makeup, even when the substances are in metal containers; the device is so sensitive it can tell the difference between red and white wine, and between different types of soda; satisfactory test result may spell the end of limitations on carrying liquids on board

  • GAO: CBP's shipping security analysis should be improved

    The Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements call for collection of ten pieces of information on U.S.-bound cargo containers, including their country of origin, and two additional pieces of information on ships carrying the cargo; the GAO says that a Customs and Border Protection assessment of the requirements fails to specify why the federal office had chosen to collect the specific pieces of information over other proposals considered

  • TSA agent pulls a woman's blouse down, exposing breasts

    An Amarillo woman is suing the U.S. federal government for intentional infliction of emotional distress; the woman says she was frisked by a male TSA agent, who then pulled her blouse completely down, exposing her breasts to everyone in the area

  • FSU spin-off contributes to U.S. ports protection

    With 2.5 billion tons of cargo worth more than $2 trillion passing through U.S. seaports each year, the maritime transportation industry is critical to the U.S. economy, and security is a constant concern; a massive training curriculum is designed by Florida State University (FSU) researchers to promote the security of the nation’s 350 commercial ports is about to enter the marketplace.

  • Final phase of TSA's Secure Flight program taking effect

    As of 1 November, all domestic airlines will collect passengers’ names, dates of birth, and gender of passengers at the time of booking a flight; international carriers will do the same by the end of the year; passengers who do not enter all information at least seventy-two hours prior to departure will not be able to print out boarding passes

  • DHS announces $98 million for advanced X-ray technologies

    Next-generation advanced technology (AT) X-ray systems screen carry-on baggage for explosives or prohibited items at checkpoints; currently, TSA employs more than 940 AT X-ray units at airports nationwide; $98 million will fund the deployment of additional units

  • New cargo security business alliance announced

    The association’s mission is to provide a platform where leaders in the intermodal shipping industry can share ideas and discover synergies to complement the rapidly expanding intelligent supply chain market

  • TSA: international trainees to be vetted only once annually

    TSA says it will require foreign pilots to submit to a vetting process only once annually, regardless of the number of training events or variety of training organizations used; the change should reduce the bureaucratic burden on the pilots, training outfits, and the TSA itself

  • New upgrades will make full-body scanners less privacy-offensive

    New software upgrade to full-body scanners would replace the images of a passenger’s naked body with an avatar and alert authorities to a potential hidden threat, eliminating the need to keep an employee in a remote room