• Cruise ships may be required to hand over passenger reservation data

    Security experts worry about a waterside attack using a waterborne improvised explosive device; such an attack could conceivably come while the ship was in transit or docked at port; to address this worry, DHS will require cruise ships departing and entering the United States to provide Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with passenger reservation data

  • 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

  • California train line unveils crash-resistant cars

    Southern California commuter train system showed off new crash-resistant passenger cars; the railway will spend $229 million to buy 117 cars from a division of Hyundai in South Korea

  • 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

  • Lawmakers say focus on airline security overshadows passenger rail safety

    Two million people get on planes every day in the United States, and 35 million get on ground transit; yet, the resources invested in air travel security dwarf those allocated to ground transportation security; lawmakers want to know why

  • TSA joins NYPD in subway baggage screening

    TSA joins BYPD in a trial for screening passengers’ baggage on New York subways; TSA says it does not know how long the agency would run the program, but that mass transit riders should anticipate a TSA presence underground “for the foreseeable future”

  • 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