Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
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Re: Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
#2I wanna know how this kind of experiment actually works.
> Bill: "Hey Joe, we're gonna do an experiment, and we need you to smuggle a chainsaw through airport security."
> Joe: "All right. Hold my sign, I don't wanna lose it."
> TSA: "Is this a chainsaw?"
> Joe: "I'm a researcher, I swear."
> TSA: "Likely story. FULL CAVITY SEARCH, FELLAS."
> Bill: "Hmm, that didn't work. Next up, flamethrowers. Hey Frank..."
Re: Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
#3I wonder how much of a dose of radiation they exposed themselves (or their grad students) to while researching this?
Re: Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
#4The article title is false. Within the article it admits the TSA no longer uses this type of body scanner.
Re: Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
#5I wanna know how this kind of experiment actually works. > Bill: "Hey Joe, we're gonna do an experiment, and we need you to smuggle a chainsaw through airport security." > Joe: "All right. Hold my sign, I don't wanna lose it." > TSA: "Is this a chainsaw?" > Joe: "I'm a researcher, I swear." > TSA: "Likely story. FULL CAVITY SEARCH, FELLAS." > Bill: "Hmm, that didn't work. Next up, flamethrowers. Hey Frank..."
They would have used their own machine in a controlled setting to ensure it's the machine they're testing, not the temperament of the TSA agents
...the University of Michigan, and Johns Hopkins plans to reveal their own results
from months of testing that same model of scannerRe: Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
#6I wanna know how this kind of experiment actually works. > Bill: "Hey Joe, we're gonna do an experiment, and we need you to smuggle a chainsaw through airport security." > Joe: "All right. Hold my sign, I don't wanna lose it." > TSA: "Is this a chainsaw?" > Joe: "I'm a researcher, I swear." > TSA: "Likely story. FULL CAVITY SEARCH, FELLAS." > Bill: "Hmm, that didn't work. Next up, flamethrowers. Hey Frank..."
The scanners are available outside of airports. The university could easily purchase one for study.
Re: Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
#7"The only useful airport security measures since 9/11, were locking and reinforcing the cockpit doors, so terrorists can’t break in, positive baggage matching and teaching the passengers to fight back. The rest is security theater.”[0]
--Bruce Schneier
[0] http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2011/12/tsa-insan...
Re: Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
#8I wonder how much of a dose of radiation they exposed themselves (or their grad students) to while researching this?
Hi! Lead author here.
We only had a person in front of the X-ray scanner a few times, to minimize exposure. Most of the time we scanned a radiological "phantom", which is designed to look exactly like a human under the X-ray spectrum.
Re: Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
#9Hi! Lead author here.
We'll be giving a talk on this work tomorrow at the USENIX Security conference, but I'd be happy to answer questions here before then!
Re: Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Past TSA’s X-Ray Body Scanners
#10The article title is false. Within the article it admits the TSA no longer uses this type of body scanner.
"the X-ray scanners are still installed in courthouses, jails, and other government security checkpoints around the country."