"Unpredictable Security"
Dec 31, 2009 | 2:36 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: DL, AA
Posts: 1
"Unpredictable Security"
Hi,
The TSA says it's moving to "unpredictable security" to make it harder for terrorists to game the system. I've heard fairly little discussion on how that works or whether it's a good idea.
This article http://www.crypto.com/blog/random/ by a computer scientist / game theorist named Matt Blaze (he's big in crypto, similar to Bruce Schneider, but less famous outside) argues that it's a bad idea.
I'm a chemical engineer by trade, and I'm not sure I agree with the conclusion, but the analysis of how to approach the problem is interesting.
FWIW.
FormerDeltaMan, now flying AA
The TSA says it's moving to "unpredictable security" to make it harder for terrorists to game the system. I've heard fairly little discussion on how that works or whether it's a good idea.
This article http://www.crypto.com/blog/random/ by a computer scientist / game theorist named Matt Blaze (he's big in crypto, similar to Bruce Schneider, but less famous outside) argues that it's a bad idea.
I'm a chemical engineer by trade, and I'm not sure I agree with the conclusion, but the analysis of how to approach the problem is interesting.
FWIW.
FormerDeltaMan, now flying AA
Dec 31, 2009 | 4:07 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: DTW
Programs: Dirt Status w/ All
Posts: 5,049
Unpredictable security = "We don't know what we are doing, and even if we did, we can't do it right. Since you don't know what we are supposed to be doing, we will say we are doing what we are supposed to and you won't know any better. Its about the layers."
Dec 31, 2009 | 4:10 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 3,006
Well that summed it up nicely, good job. ^
Dec 31, 2009 | 4:30 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,004
Not sure about TSA, but the chickens do have a long history of doing what they are supposed to do.
Dec 31, 2009 | 4:57 pm
#5
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: iad/dca
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brilliant. they do't always know what they are supposed to be doing either.
Dec 31, 2009 | 6:11 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,422
I find this condescending. The TSA is so obviously aiming for damage control, and the "unpredictable" plan is a thinly-veiled cover-up. I say "condescending" because the TSA is acting as if nobody can see through their incompetence.
Dec 31, 2009 | 6:48 pm
#7
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 346
We've been doing unpredictable screening for a long time. It's nothing new.
Dec 31, 2009 | 6:58 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Dec 31, 2009 | 8:06 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Winter Garden, FL
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Posts: 13,498
No doubt. Unfortunately, Ma and Pa Kettle really do believe, all too often, that the vagaries of TSA screening are intentional. You can fool some of the people all of the time....
Bruce
Bruce
Dec 31, 2009 | 8:50 pm
#11
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 43
I knew I should have finished the GED
U.S. Department of Transportation
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Screener Employment Eligibility Requirements
December 19, 2001
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Screener Employment Eligibility Requirements
December 19, 2001
When the TSA takes over the responsibility for passenger screening operations all newly hired screeners must:
* Possess a high school diploma or general education diploma or have one year of any type of work experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position.
...
Maybe I can still get in on that one year of actual work experience thing
Seriously, it seems pretty clear there is a mismatch between the professionalism we want TSA to bring to the job, and the requirements for becoming a TSO in the first place. Of course not all TSO's - there's bound to be a college graduate in there somewhere.
Jan 1, 2010 | 1:18 am
#12
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,651
U.S. Department of Transportation
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Screener Employment Eligibility Requirements
December 19, 2001
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Screener Employment Eligibility Requirements
December 19, 2001
When the TSA takes over the responsibility for passenger screening operations all newly hired screeners must:
* Possess a high school diploma or general education diploma or have one year of any type of work experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position.
...
Maybe I can still get in on that one year of actual work experience thing
Seriously, it seems pretty clear there is a mismatch between the professionalism we want TSA to bring to the job, and the requirements for becoming a TSO in the first place. Of course not all TSO's - there's bound to be a college graduate in there somewhere.
Jan 1, 2010 | 11:33 am
#13
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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Posts: 4,831
The "unpredictable security" mantra is now a catch-all when you challenge the TSA.
In the thread on shoes in or out of the bins, I asked why there wasn't a directive sent to each airport stating the shoes are either all on the belts or in the bins and then everyone would be on the same page. A retort from a TSO said that it was designed that way for the unpredictability factor.
Right.
Because Al Qaida operatives are sitting somewhere thinking, "If only our shoes had been IN the bins, we would have succeeded in blowing up the plane."
In the thread on shoes in or out of the bins, I asked why there wasn't a directive sent to each airport stating the shoes are either all on the belts or in the bins and then everyone would be on the same page. A retort from a TSO said that it was designed that way for the unpredictability factor.
Right.
Because Al Qaida operatives are sitting somewhere thinking, "If only our shoes had been IN the bins, we would have succeeded in blowing up the plane."