Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Body scanners replace metal detectors in tryout at Tulsa airport

For the first time, some airline passengers will skip metal detectors and instead be screened by body scanning machines that look through clothing for hidden weapons, the Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday.

An experimental program that begins today at Tulsa International Airport will test whether the $170,000 body scanners could replace $10,000 metal detectors that have screened airline passengers since 1973. Airports in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, Albuquerque and Salt Lake City will join the test in the next two months, TSA spokesman Christopher White said.

The scanners aim to close a loophole by finding non-metallic weapons such as plastic and liquid explosives, which the TSA considers a major threat. The machines raise privacy concerns because their images reveal outlines of private body parts.

"We're getting closer and closer to a required strip-search to board an airplane," said Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Privacy advocate Melissa Ngo fears that passengers won't understand that the scanners take vivid images that screeners view.

White said each scanner has explanatory signs on how the machines work and posters showing the image they create.

Passengers at the test airports will be instructed to go through the new scanners. Anyone who doesn't want to go through will be allowed to refuse and instead go through a metal detector and receive a pat-down, White said.

People in the scanner will stand with their arms raised and their face will be blurred out in the metallic-looking image on a nearby screen. TSA screeners view the images from inside a closed room near a checkpoint and immediately delete them.

"We've struck a very good balance between security and privacy," White said.

Christopher Bidwell, security chief at the Airports Council International trade group, said the scanner "really does not reveal as much as some people might think."

The scanners aim to address problems exposed by government probes in which covert agents got liquid explosives and detonators through airport checkpoints. A 2005 Homeland Security report urged better checkpoint technology.

Security analyst Bruce Schneier, a frequent critic of the TSA, said the scanners should improve security but warned that they take longer than metal detectors — 30 seconds vs. about 15 seconds per passenger. "There will be pressure to do the screening faster, which will be sloppier," Schneier said.

The scanners bounce harmless "millimeter waves" off passengers' bodies and use no radiation.

The TSA has done preliminary tests of the scanner on passengers who had just passed through metal detectors. Those tests found that the machines excel at finding hidden objects, White said.

Based on the results of the latest test, the TSA will decide at an undetermined date whether to use more body scanners in place of metal detectors.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

2012 are you prepared!




What a coincidence the national broadcast warning messages interupts on how the Dutch are preparing for 2012....

Real ID..The End Is Near!

REAL ID is a nationwide effort to improve the integrity and security of state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards, which in turn will help fight terrorism and reduce fraud.

The 9/11 Commission recommended that the U.S. improve its system for issuing identification documents, urging the federal government to set standards for the issuance of sources of identification. The REAL ID Act of 2005 was Congress' response to this key recommendation.

REAL ID-compliant licenses and ID cards must meet minimum standards which include

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information and security features that must be incorporated into each card
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applicant's proof of identity and lawful status
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verification of the applicant's source documents
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security standards for issuance of licenses and identification cards

Why We Need REAL ID

Raising the standards of state-issued identification is an important step toward enhancing national security. Because a driver's license serves so many purposes (access to federal buildings, nuclear power plants, boarding aircraft, etc.), terrorists actively seek fraudulent state-issued identification. The REAL ID rules will make it more difficult for them, while making it easier for law enforcement to detect falsified documents.
REAL ID Current Status

REAL ID went into effect May 11, 2008. Recognizing states need more time to implement REAL ID, the Department has offered states an extension to allow time to meet the requirements; all states received an extension.

If your state has been granted a REAL ID extension, your current driver's license is still a valid form of identification for boarding a federally-regulated airplane, accessing a federal facility or nuclear power plant.
REAL ID Privacy Impact Assessment

A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), as mandated by the E-Government Act of 2002, ensures that the Department is fully transparent about how intended information technology systems may affect privacy. The REAL ID PIA examines how drivers' and identification holders' personal information will be collected, used, disseminated, and maintained.

North American Union