Transportation

FAA issues final rule to increase airliner explosives survivability
Aircraft manufacturers will have to ensure that cockpit doors can handle small arms fire or fragmentation devices, and that the flight deck and passenger compartment are protected from smoke, fumes, and noxious gases that could be released by an explosion
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Use of cheap RFID chips make new U.S. passports vulnerable
Americans can now apply for the U.S. Passport Card, which is also known as the Pass Card; the RFID chips are cheap Class One Generation Two models, which are vulnerable to cloning
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Briefly noted
U.S. plans pilot program to bar unsafe imports… Restrictions on liquids coming to an end
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EU votes down millimeter wave scanners
Millimeter wave scanners offer a new level of security at airport checkpoints, but they also offer anatomically correct images of people’s private parts; EU votes against using them
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CBP adds food specialists to inspect imports
Worries about imported food, and about animal disease and the invasion of lakes and rivers by foreign species, increase; Border Protection adds food specialists for better point-of-entry inspection
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Better baggage security through simulation
Aussie researcher develops software which allows airport managers to examine how baggage handling operations at a typical airport would cope with upgrades to security systems
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TSA to assume responsibility for watch list matching responsibilities
There have been many — many, many — complaints about the accuracy and effectiveness of DHS no-fly watch list; TSA takes responsibility from individual airlines for matching names on the list with passengers
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Innovative shoe scanner to make travel safer, lines shorter
University of Manchester researcher develops a technology which allows security personnel to spot people with concealed items in their shoes as they walk through passport control or through traditional security checks
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Visa Waiver Program expanded
Six more countries admitted to the Visa Waiver Program: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea
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TSA meets initial screening cargo goal
Congress has mandated through the 9/11 law that 50 percent of cargo on passenger carrying aircraft be screened by February 2009 and 100 percent of cargo be screened by August 2010; TSA says it currently screens all cargo on narrow body, passenger-carrying aircraft; these account for more than 90 percent of all passenger carrying aircraft in the United States
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DHS, Michigan reach agreement on enhanced driver's license
The Michigan agreement, similar to that reached with other states, seeks to create an enhanced driver’s license — which denotes both identity and citizenship — as a compliance option to fulfill Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requirements
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TSA to require background checks of private jets' passengers
There are about 15,000 corporate jets in the United States, flying out of 315 small airports; until now, there was no security scrutiny of these planes and the hundreds of thousands of passengers who use them every year; this is going to change
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UAVs-mounted aircraft defense system demonstrated
Until now there have been two leading approaches to protecting civilian aircraft from shoulder-fired missiles: One approach proposed placing the defensive systems on the planes to be protected, the other advocated surrounding airports with a protective umbrella; a third approach has now been demonstrated: Mounting defensive systems on UAVs loitering high in the sky
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"Guilt" detector to catching smugglers
Researchers are looking to increase security at border crossings by developing a computer system that can detect guilt
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TSA to deploy remote detection machines at airports
Terrorists may not only blow up a plane, but also explode a bomb in an airport lounge or near a crowded ticket counter; TSA tests machines that can detect explosives at a distance
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