31–40 of 44 posts
Hi! 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!
Have you tried concealing things under a couple of inches of a biological material and wrapping that to the body (beer gut, pregnant lady)?
Specifically, I'm thinking a a few large chunks of ham, coupled with some transglutaminase to aid in the forming of a "meat shield".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It sucks, but you really have very few alternatives, only 1 of which will actually get you onto the plane so you can get to where you're going and most of which will ensure you'll never get on a plane again. The procedures may be stupid, but people do weight the options and can be surprisingly rational given that set of choices. Given a choice of "get scanned and get on the plane" or "instigate an armed overthrow of…
You can always opt out. You'll get a pat-down instead and they'll make you wait 5-10 minutes, but I always do that unless I'm running very late. If enough people do, they usually get fed up and open the metal detectors.
Don't know if this was a coincidence (I don't fly that often), or if they hoped that trouble-makers would chose that lane, and save them from having to do too many pat-downs...
I 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..."
You could read the article, it's all there.
Hi! 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!
Hi, Have you tried concealing things under a couple of inches of a biological material and wrapping that to the body (beer gut, pregnant lady)? Specifically, I'm thinking a a few large chunks of ham, coupled with some transglutaminase to aid in the forming of a "meat shield".
We didn't try meat due to the mess, but it would almost certainly work as well!
(Technically, in this X-ray energy spectrum, the amount of backscatter is related to the "effective Z" of the material, where Z is the atomic number of the elements involved. Materials made from lighter elements like carbon and oxygen? Backscatters well. Heavy elements like iron? Absorbs x-rays.)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hi, Have you tried concealing things under a couple of inches of a biological material and wrapping that to the body (beer gut, pregnant lady)? Specifically, I'm thinking a a few large chunks of ham, coupled with some transglutaminase to aid in the forming of a "meat shield".
Yes we did! Any organic material shows up pretty well under backscatter X-ray, and so can be used to cover darker contraband. You can see this done with Teflon in our gallery: https://www.radsec.org/gallery.html under "Concealing a Knife by Masking". We didn't try meat due to the mess, but it would almost certainly work as well! (Technically, in this X-ray energy spectrum, the amount of backscatter is related to the…
For millimeter wave, I'm pretty sure the teflon wouldn't work though, since the millimeter wave machines are likely tuned for organic makeup rather than just backscatter.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What were some of the challenges of carrying out these tests? And I imagine procuring the machine may have been an issue if the manufacturers knew you were exposing their shortfalls.
You'd be surprised how difficult it was to bring it on campus and actually turn it on! Over the course of the project, we worked with our IRB, radiological safety experts, regulatory compliance, and campus public safety before we put someone in front of the device. We set the machine up in a lab with a concrete wall to backstop the radiation, and had a 2 meter safety zone around it while it was actually emitting X-ra…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You'd be surprised how difficult it was to bring it on campus and actually turn it on! Over the course of the project, we worked with our IRB, radiological safety experts, regulatory compliance, and campus public safety before we put someone in front of the device. We set the machine up in a lab with a concrete wall to backstop the radiation, and had a 2 meter safety zone around it while it was actually emitting X-ra…
You're saying that compliance with university radiation safety protocols was difficult -- for a machine that has been installed around the county and used to expose millions of passengers? I think that's a big part of the story.
The 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."
The article title is false. Within the article it admits the TSA no longer uses this type of body scanner.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It sucks, but you really have very few alternatives, only 1 of which will actually get you onto the plane so you can get to where you're going and most of which will ensure you'll never get on a plane again. The procedures may be stupid, but people do weight the options and can be surprisingly rational given that set of choices. Given a choice of "get scanned and get on the plane" or "instigate an armed overthrow of…
There is the third option of "comply so that I can get onthe plane, but vigorously campaign (or at least write a single letter to my elected representative) to change the policy".
Well sure, but this above statement makes me think you want to see people do a more immediate demonstration against the system.