FlyerTalk Forums - The Inquirer: "TSA "security" measures are internally inconsistent"

More press from a widely read IT rag. I've personally met this reporter (Charlie Demerjian) at a convention (even competed against him and lost:)) and he's a pretty sharp guy. He's also a very frequent flyer too. ^

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36636

Here are a few snippets.

[quote=The Inquirer=ONE OF THE more interesting things I noticed while unpacking my bags in a TSA security line for the 73rd time this year was that the new 'security' features are not even internally consistent. No, not a way to sleaze around them, just the simple fact that they don't do what they say.

The two dumbest reactionary 'security' measures enacted recently are the remove all shoes and x-ray them and no fluids/gels. The first one may have a precedent, Richard Reid did try to blow up a plane with explosives in his shoes. The liquids/gels thing was comprehensively debunked, someone needed a press distraction, but even I forget what for. Basically, it never happened.

In any case, the TSA put in place placebos to make us quake in fear, cheese us off, and generally do nothing for our security. If you look at what they do, it flat out does not work, much less do what they say.[/quote]

On shoes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Inquirer

The purported purpose of removing your shoes is so you don't smuggle explosives in, and possibly so you don't hide a knife or other sharp object in there. Sounds good, right? Well, last time I checked, and I have enough chemistry under my belt to choke a horse, plastic explosives don't show up on x-rays. Duh!

If you want to smuggle a knife through the security, it sure will be seen by the x-rays no question there. It will also however be picked up by the metal detector you walk through after you put your carry-ons though the x-ray machine. If the knife won't set off said detector, there is no incentive to hide it, put it in your pocket.

On liquid explosives:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Inquirer

Lets pretend that there was an actual plot to blow up a plane with liquid explosives, which there was not. What does putting the items in plain sight do again? What does x-raying them do again? Nothing. Really. If you want to bring prohibited items on board, you simply do so now, and they get x-rayed for no particular reason.

There are explosives detectors in all security checkpoints, they are right behind the x-ray machines. If the TSA is worried about people bringing in explosives, shouldn't they use the machines designed to do just that? They are there, they detect bondo, I can personally attest to that when I brought a costume mask made out of it to Defcon, what a laugh riot that turned out to be. What the TSA is saying is that they may be expensive, slow and annoying, but they won't detect explosives.

His general opinion"

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Inquirer

What it comes down to is that the TSA seems to react to every headline in the dumbest possible fashion. What they implement does not do what they want, or at least what they say it will. That would be fine if they realised this and backed away when it was obvious that they were spending millions of dollars hiring people to ask if you have any liquids or gels in your bag. I personally would prefer my share of this went to equip our troops properly in order to actually fight terrorism.

For some unknown reason, once these ineffectual annoyances get put into place, they never get rolled back even when it is clear they do nothing. I have long past the point of appealing to governmental common sense, and am not sure what if anything can be done to fix these abject stupidities. Anyone got any thoughts? µ

Note: This was written in the Indianapolis (almost) International Airport.

I'm going to link him this thread and FT in general.