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TSA Master Keys

schneier.com

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Re: TSA Master Keys

#2

Post by harkyns_castle »

Seems to still be a lot being done in the name of security theater in the US, and just wasting dollars on the TSA, for what appears to be very little effect.

Who's really profiting there? Is it just for the employment of people that otherwise wouldn't have a job? Or are the majority of citizens there really made to feel more secure by having them? I'd have to say some defense contractor is getting a bit fatter off this.

Seems like a ridiculous waste of money.

Re: TSA Master Keys

#4

Post by cryoshon »

harkyns_castle wrote: post #2

Seems to still be a lot being done in the name of security theater in the US, and just wasting dollars on the TSA, for what appears to be very little effect. Who's really profiting there? Is it just for the employment of people that otherwise wouldn't have a job? Or are the majority of citizens there really made to feel more secure by having them? I'd have to say some defense contractor is getting a bit fatter off th…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Chertoff#Body_scanners

"Michael Chertoff has been an advocate of enhanced technologies, such as full body scanners.[25] His lobbying firm Chertoff Group (founded 2009) represents manufacturers of the scanners.[26][27]"

"Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security under Presidents George W. Bush and (for one day) Barack Obama, and co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act."

It isn't just a defense contractor, it's the former head of the DHS who implemented these policies and gets kickbacks from body scanner use. He set up the nationwide deployment of the scanners, then profited directly. It's corruption to the extreme.

Re: TSA Master Keys

#5

Post by brk »

I doubt these images really did all that much for people who wanted a set of TSA keys. The locks themselves are widely available and it's easy to reverse engineer a key if you have the lock (especially multiple copies of the lock to destroy and test on).

If anything, this just made it easier for casual lazy people to get a set of images for keys they'll never make :)

Re: TSA Master Keys

#6

Post by tempodox »

Not only is this another impressive demonstration of incompetence, but by disseminating the idea that people's luggage could be “secure” and “backdoored” at the same time, they're actually destroying what security has existed before. They should pivot to be the “Transport Endangerment Agency”.

Re: TSA Master Keys

#9

Post by [deleted] »

harkyns_castle wrote: post #2

Seems to still be a lot being done in the name of security theater in the US, and just wasting dollars on the TSA, for what appears to be very little effect. Who's really profiting there? Is it just for the employment of people that otherwise wouldn't have a job? Or are the majority of citizens there really made to feel more secure by having them? I'd have to say some defense contractor is getting a bit fatter off th…

[deleted]
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