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United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

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Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#111

Post by rayiner »

xrd wrote: post #85

What's to prevent terrorists from going through TSA, waiting in the scanning line when everyone is still going through, and then planting a bluetooth device into someone else's bag? I never open my carryon once I have packed it. This reminds me of the SNL sketch where TSA employees had no answer for someone bringing two separate bottles of 3.9 ounces onto the plane. I'm sure Sean Duffy, of Real World and now Sec of T…

Nothing. TSA is a joke. At first, the security theater arguably had a legitimate psychological purpose. The airline industry nearly collapsed after 9/11 because people were so scared of filing. But that was a generation ago—the psychological trauma in the aftermath of 9/11 dissipated ago. But we’re still stuck with the TSA because in the meantime it turned into a massive jobs program.

We’d be better off spending TSA’s $8 billion budget on paying people to dig holes and fill them back in.

Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#112

Post by justinhj »

This is like the Adam Sandler movie where he says bomb on an airplane. It's an overreaction, is it not? A terrorist is not going to call their bomb's bluetooth trigger bomb. Even if they are, are you telling me we have no idea whether there is a bomb in luggage or not?

Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#113

Post by bluescrn »

basilikum wrote: post #104
richstokes wrote: post #95

Andddd now everyone knows that an arbitrary text string in a device hostname is enough to ground a flight.

To be honest calling the police and saying you have a bomb planted on flight XYZ and want 100000$ or you'll detonate it, is probably also enough.

But bombs apparently use bluetooth now, so he can't detonate it from more than a few metres away...

Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#114

Post by cmurf »

raverbashing wrote: post #18
jychang wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a bomb speaker: https://hellottec.com/product/bomb-portable-bluetooth-speake...

Website already HN'd into oblivion it seems

I prefer the term "hugged to death" which I only ever have seen used on HN.

Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#115

Post by jacobrast »

xrd wrote: post #85

What's to prevent terrorists from going through TSA, waiting in the scanning line when everyone is still going through, and then planting a bluetooth device into someone else's bag? I never open my carryon once I have packed it. This reminds me of the SNL sketch where TSA employees had no answer for someone bringing two separate bottles of 3.9 ounces onto the plane. I'm sure Sean Duffy, of Real World and now Sec of T…

Why would a terrorist want to plant a Bluetooth device on someone else's bag when all it would accomplish is a minor delay of one flight and would result in a prison sentence after security camera review??

Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#116

Post by Skunkleton »

kube-system wrote: post #73
stefan_ wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3. The level of tech illiteracy combined with airplane security theater is an affront to all thinking people.

4. A normal level of risk aversion in one of the most risk averse industries If airlines ignored every threat that was “probably not” a real threat, they’d ignore all of them. It’s better to inconvenience a few thousand passengers than it is to kill a few hundred.

In the simplest possible terms: this is total bullshit security theatre. At no point has there ever been a bomb or even a bomb threat carried out via usb device names. There is absolutely no reason to even look at the names of Bluetooth devices on a flight.

Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#117

Post by mysterydip »

lazide wrote: post #89
xrd wrote: post #85

What's to prevent terrorists from going through TSA, waiting in the scanning line when everyone is still going through, and then planting a bluetooth device into someone else's bag? I never open my carryon once I have packed it. This reminds me of the SNL sketch where TSA employees had no answer for someone bringing two separate bottles of 3.9 ounces onto the plane. I'm sure Sean Duffy, of Real World and now Sec of T…

The same thing that is stopping them from suicide bombing the super crowded security checkpoint line before ID checks. Nothing really.

We need to put a checkpoint before the checkpoint so that never happens!

Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#118

Post by lostlogin »

richstokes wrote: post #95

Andddd now everyone knows that an arbitrary text string in a device hostname is enough to ground a flight.

The other incident mentioned is worse I think. It wasn’t a potential threat, it was stating an opinion.

“a Wi-Fi hotspot named "Free Palestine, F Zionists" prompted the pilot to issue a warning to the cabin, telling the passenger responsible that they had "30 seconds" to remove the name or the FBI would meet the aircraft.”

Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#119

Post by seattle_spring »

stackghost wrote: post #91
ValentineC wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Those new obfuscated links prevent old.reddit to work. Can't you just set the old theme in your profile? That's what I do.

I got permanently banned for the "Christianity is just worshipping a Jewish zombie who is his own father who will save you if you invite him into your head, symbolically drink his blood, and eat his flesh" copypasta, so not everyone can log in :)

I'm one ban away from a permaban thanks to the Navy Seal copypasta

Re: United Airlines 767 returns to Newark after Bluetooth name sparks alert

#120

Post by dabinat »

jychang wrote: post #14
samgranieri wrote: post #9

A 16 year boy apparently named his Bluetooth speaker “bomb” and couldn’t turn it off, as it was probably in checked luggage. Woof.

It was a bomb speaker: https://hellottec.com/product/bomb-portable-bluetooth-speake...

Calling their speaker Bomb was asking for trouble and I’m surprised this hasn’t occurred before now.

It reminds me of when RED released a camera called Weapon, and I heard of people putting tape over the name when going through the airport.

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