Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
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Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
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Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
#2Hi All, author of the article here. Happy to answer any questions you may have about the laptop ban, aviation security, TSA assholery, Trump's travel-related civil rights abuses (incl. the "Muslim ban"), or other such topics of interest.
And, thanks for the support... HN is always one of the first communities to upvote my work and help me share it with the world. As a computer scientist turned almost-lawyer, I definitely appreciate!
Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
#3Hey look, a security crisis that can only be fixed by requiring that we prove our devices are functional, most likely by turning them on, logging in, and showing that there are a few documents present. And in some cases, extra manual evaluation will be required, entailing taking that logged-in laptop into a back room for further inspection. They won't copy everything onto a disk of their own---honest!
Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
#4Hey look, a security crisis that can only be fixed by requiring that we prove our devices are functional, most likely by turning them on, logging in, and showing that there are a few documents present. And in some cases, extra manual evaluation will be required, entailing taking that logged-in laptop into a back room for further inspection. They won't copy everything onto a disk of their own---honest!
VeraCrypt (f/k/a TrueCrypt) is your friend!
Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
#5So instead of creating new measures in order to fix the security problem, they chose to flood the system with false positives...
Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
#6The premise is flawed. X-ray inspection equipment is easy to find - it's regularly offered for sale on EBay and you'll find a number of teardown videos of various models on Youtube. The stolen X-Ray equipment is not being reported probably because it isn't particularly interesting.
Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
#7>So why was the stolen x-ray equipment kept a secret? I asked my source if there was some security reason for keeping the stolen x-ray equipment from the public, and was told, unequivocally, no. “It’s because the mom from the midwest planning to fly her kids to Disney would freak out. They are worried that people would stop flying if they knew.”
Kind of ironic, because I've already stopped flying - not because I'm afraid, but because these sorts of measures have gotten to the point where traveling through an airport is an awful experience that I actively avoid.
If I absolutely must travel, I take a train or drive. The only reason I ever fly is if I have to cross an ocean or if I face an emergency that requires me to be present somewhere far away, very quickly.
And in the case of an ocean, honestly, renting a stateroom on a cargo ship seems like a very relaxing way to go if you have the time. I've got a HUGE backlog of books and games and writing and projects to design and you get the idea.
Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
#8The premise is flawed. X-ray inspection equipment is easy to find - it's regularly offered for sale on EBay and you'll find a number of teardown videos of various models on Youtube. The stolen X-Ray equipment is not being reported probably because it isn't particularly interesting.
Well, not exactly. Very basic x-ray equipment is easy to find on eBay. The more modern equipment that the TSA uses is not available on eBay...
https://securitytoday.com/articles/2008/07/30/tsa-to-expand....
"Advantages of AT X-ray include a greatly enhanced image with the ability to target novel threat items resulting in fewer bag checks and faster throughput, and the ability to upgrade the system with enhanced algorithms."
...and that article describes the 2008 edition of the technology!
For a more technically-specific perspective, I can say that the newer machines take images from multiple angles and are closer to a medical CT scan than a old-school x-ray. Owning one would allow you to practice placing your items in a direction and location that would be least able to be seen by the operator.
Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
#9Q for the author: how valuable would an actual proprietary airport X-ray be, in terms of designing devices (as compared to another X-ray of similar spec)? Does having access to the actual X-ray for purposes of product testing really make that much of a difference to a technically gifted bomb-maker?
Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS
#10As lithium batteries are opaque to X-Rays, perhaps a ban on laptops with batteries should be considered. This will surely push for standard swappable batteries and standard power supplies so the laptops could be used on board without batteries.