CT Scans Linked to Cancer. TSA Never Tested Full-Body Scans For Mass Transit, Except When It Did. Full-Body Scan Technology Deployed In Street-Roving Vans. DHS Tries To Hide Mobile Scanner Details. DHS X-ray Car Scanners Now At Border Crossings. DHS' X-ray scanners could be cancer risk to border crossers | Privacy Inc. Internal Homeland Security documents describing specifications for border-crossing scanners, which emit gamma or X-ray radiation to probe vehicles and their occupants, are raising new health and privacy concerns, CNET has learned. Even though a public outcry has prompted Homeland Security to move away from adding X-ray machines to airports--it purchased 300 body scanners last year that used alternative technology instead--it appears to be embracing them at U.S. -Mexico land border crossings as an efficient way to detect drugs, currency, and explosives.
A 63-page set of specifications (PDF), heavily redacted, obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center through the Freedom of Information Act, says the scanners must "be based on X-Ray or gamma technology," which use potentially dangerous ionizing radiation at high energies, and "shall be capable of scanning cars, SUVs, motorcycles and busses. " And the privacy concerns, too, are similar. Now Homeland Security wants more. Penn & Teller | ROAD PENN. The naked truth about scanners - Roger Simon. On the day after Christmas, readers of The Washington Post were given a real treat: pictures of naked men. The men in the pictures were fully clothed, but they were naked nonetheless, because the pictures came from airport full-body scanners. Continue Reading VIDEO: Napolitano on security The machines provided graphic pictures of the male anatomy.
True, they were no more graphic than Michelangelo’s David or Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man (that’s the naked guy with his arms and legs stuck out), but both of those were depictions, not actual people trying to heft their wheelie bags on the conveyor belt, take off their shoes and jackets, remove their laptops, take out their baggies full of fluids no more than 3 ounces in size, take the metal out of their pockets and somehow get through security before their planes take off. Officials say 98 percent of people go through the machines rather than request a pat-down, which is not surprising: First, who likes to be touched by a stranger? Lawmaker sails home to avoid TSA screening - Ben Smith. Ron Paul: TSA 'abusive,' involved in 'all kind of sexual activities' - Alexander Burns.
Claire McCaskill: TSA pat-downs 'get ugly' - Burgess Everett. Now that she’s sold her private jet, Sen. Claire McCaskill is airing her grievances about flying commercial. The Missouri Democrat told Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole on Wednesday that she is an “expert” on commercial air travel, and that with her artificial knee, she tries her hardest to avoid what she calls “unbelievably invasive” pat-downs in favor of the Advanced Imaging Technology scanning machines. Continue Reading McCaskill keeps an eye out for one TSA agent in particular. “When I see her, I tense up. Because I know it’s going to get ugly,” the senator said at a Commerce Committee hearing, noting she often arrives at checkpoints to see the machines unstaffed. “When you have the traveling public tell you these pat-downs are unacceptable, they are not exaggerating,” said McCaskill, who called on Pistole to consider hiring more women at the TSA.
Her story — along with a tale from Sen. But because it is a limited pilot program, Sen. ‘Jersey Shore’ star: TSA mistreated me - CLICK. November 14, 2011 (Photo Credit: AP) One of the stars of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” is calling out the TSA for what she perceived to be unfair treatment over the weekend. Jenni Farley – better known by her nickname JWOWW – told her side of the story on Twitter: “Fargo ND airport just treated me like a criminal.. "I've been patted down a bunch n don't mind but after I'm getting on a plane seems odd and deliberate to me," she wrote. Addressing Farley's complaints, a TSA spokesperson told POLITICO, "As part of TSA’s layered approach to security, passengers may be subject to various random screening measures at the checkpoint or the gate.
Rand Paul detained by TSA - Tim Mak. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was blocked from boarding a flight Monday by the Transportation Security Administration in Nashville, Tenn., after refusing a full body pat-down, POLITICO has confirmed. “I spoke with him five minutes ago and he was being detained indefinitely,” Paul spokesperson Moira Bagley said. “The image scan went off; he refused patdown.” Continue Reading Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), tweeted out news of the incident, saying that there had been an “anomaly” with a body scanner. “My son @SenRandPaul being detained by TSA for refusing full body pat-down after anomaly in body scanner in Nashville. The TSA disputed this characterization of the incident. The Kentucky senator triggered an alarm during routine airport screening and declined to finish the process, said a TSA official, but was “not detained at any point.”
“Passengers, as in this case, who refuse to comply with security procedures are denied access to the secure gate area. “Just got a call from @senrandpaul. The TSA Blog. Microsoft confirms UEFI fears, locks down ARM devices - SFLC Blog - Software Freedom Law Center. At the beginning of December, we warned the Copyright Office that operating system vendors would use UEFI secure boot anticompetitively, by colluding with hardware partners to exclude alternative operating systems. As Glyn Moody points out, Microsoft has wasted no time in revising its Windows Hardware Certification Requirements to effectively ban most alternative operating systems on ARM-based devices that ship with Windows 8. The Certification Requirements define (on page 116) a "custom" secure boot mode, in which a physically present user can add signatures for alternative operating systems to the system's signature database, allowing the system to boot those operating systems.
But for ARM devices, Custom Mode is prohibited: "On an ARM system, it is forbidden to enable Custom Mode. Only Standard Mode may be enable. " [sic] Nor will users have the choice to simply disable secure boot, as they will on non-ARM systems: "Disabling Secure [Boot] MUST NOT be possible on ARM systems. " FOIA Documents Reveal Homeland Security is Monitoring Political Dissent. Cupcakegate. This will be short and “sweet.” Like many of you, when I think of a cupcake, I don’t think of it being in a jar. However, the photo below shows the “cupcake” that was prohibited from being taken into the cabin of a plane last month.
I wanted to make it clear that this wasn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill cupcake. If you’re not familiar with it, we have a policy directly related to the UK liquid bomb plot of 2006 called 3-1-1 that limits the amount of liquids, gels and aerosols you can bring in your carry-on luggage. In general, cakes and pies are allowed in carry-on luggage, however, the officer in this case used their discretion on whether or not to allow the newfangled modern take on a cupcake per 3-1-1 guidelines. Every officer wants to finish their shift and go home with the peace of mind that they kept potential threats off of airplanes. Here are two very real liquid related incidents from the past. DHS Monitors Social Media For 'Political Dissent' Carnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System. Carnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System Samidh Chakrabarti Aaron Strauss 6.806: Law and Ethics on the Electronic Frontier Abstract To improve the efficiency of airport security screening, the FAA deployed the Computer Assisted Passenger Screening system (CAPS) in 1999.
Table of Contents 1 Introduction. 4 2 Defining CAPS. 7 2.1 Government Guidelines. 7 2.2 CAPS Architecture. 8 2.3 Special Treatment 10 3 Defeating CAPS. 10 3.1 Carnival Booth Algorithm.. 11 3.2 Cells vs. 3.3 Algorithm Assumptions. 13 4 Evaluating Carnival Booth. 15 4.1 Probabilistic Analysis. 15 4.2 Computer Simulation. 19 5 Case Studies. 21 5.1 Ressam’s 1999 Terrorist Attempt 22 5.2 The El Al Standard. 23 6 Legal Implications. 25 6.1 Administrative Search Exception. 26 6.2 Stop-and-Frisk Exception. 27 7 Policy Recommendations. 28 On the morning of , nineteen terrorists boarded four separate commercial airplanes across the northeastern seaboard of the . 2.1 Government Guidelines 3.2 Cells vs. Transit Police. The MBTA has been conducting random security inspections regularly since October 2006.
Passengers are selected on a random basis through the use of a computer generated sequence of numbers. These inspections involve the brushing, with a swab, of the exterior of a carry-on. This swab is then placed in explosive trace detection equipment. The entire process should take approximately 10-20 seconds if no positive reading occurs. These inspections are part of an overall layered strategy to deter and prevent a terrorist attack on our transit system. Security Inspection Sign MBTA Transit Police Department 240 Southampton Street Boston, MA 02118 Emergency: 617-222-1212 Business: 617-222-1000 Office of the Chief: 617-222-1100 Deaf or Hard of Hearing: 617-222-1200 TTY TEXT Line 873-873 Did you know you can send crime tips to the MBTA Transit Police and remain 100% anonymous? *For emergencies please call 617-222-1212 Transit Police Feedback Amber Alerts There are no current alerts.
What's the Best Way To Deal With Roving TSA Teams. TSA gathering info about radiation measurement devices for its airport screeners. TSA is looking for vendors that could help it measure the levels of ionizing radiation that its security screeners are exposed to at U.S. airports. “The measurements will assist the TSA in determining if the Transportation Security Officers (TSO) at selected federalized airports are exposed to ionizing radiation above minimum detectable levels, and whether any measured radiation doses approach or exceed the threshold where personnel dosimetry monitoring is required by DHS/TSA policy,” says a request for information (RFI) document made public by TSA on Dec. 29, 2011. The agency is required by federal safety regulations to undertake periodic examinations of its radiation-emitting equipment. In response to an inquiry by Government Security News, TSA spokesman Mike McCarthy said on Jan. 4 that the recently-issued RFI did not reflect any heightened concern by the agency about radiation levels that might be excessive or pose a risk to either TSA screeners or members of the traveling public.
Radiation scan. House Republicans say TSA hasn't made skies safer - Burgess Everett. The Transportation Security Administration is a top-heavy, intrusive bureaucracy that is ineffective in protecting the nation’s skies from terrorists, House Republicans said Wednesday during the week of its 10th anniversary. “We’ve spent nearly $60 billion funding TSA, and travelers are no safer today than they were before 9/11,” said Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, who joined House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica in calling for reforms. Continue Reading Mica (R-Fla.), whose committee issued a report Wednesday outlining criticisms of the agency, said TSA has strayed from its chief mission. “It was meant to be a very lean, adaptive security agency that would set standards,” Mica said from a bustling terminal at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, as TSA screeners and passengers watched.
A TSA spokesman forcefully rebutted the report in a statement to the media. 2011-11-16-TSA_Reform_Report.pdf (application/pdf Object) What happens to items left at security checkpoints? Troy Thompson The Pennsylvania Department of General Services sells items -- such as these knives -- left behind at aiport security checkpoints. By Harriet Baskas, NBC News contributor Betty Spencer doesn’t travel much, but she’s curious about what happens to items confiscated or surrendered at airport security checkpoints. “There are so many stories of people having to give up items,” Spencer, a patient accounts counselor in Spokane, Wash., wrote to Overhead Bin. “I wondered if any of the items could be donated or recycled.
The Transportation Security Administration does indeed end up with a lot of stuff: Since 9/11, the TSA has detected approximately 50 million prohibited items, including 4,600 firearms, during airport checkpoint screening. Hazardous materials are disposed of, and dangerous or illegal items such as guns and explosives are turned over to law enforcement. More often than not, travelers end up surrendering their items at the checkpoint. More on Overhead Bin. Congressional report calls for drastic changes at TSA. By Rebecca Ruiz, NBC News A report released today by the Republican leaders of a Congressional committee calls for the Transportation Security Administration to slash its work force, minimize its role in screening passengers and make public its performance results, among other recommendations. The report, "A Decade Later: A Call for TSA Reform," was published by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which is chaired by Rep.
John L. Mica (R-Fla.). Mica played a role in helping to create the TSA nearly 10 years ago, but has become an outspoken critic in recent years. The report argues that the TSA should focus on its role as a federal regulator of transportation security and "get out of the human resources business. " Despite the TSA's massive work force, more than 25,000 security breaches have occurred at U.S. airports in the last decade, according to the report. The report also slams the TSA's use of federal funding. Related stories: House approves new TSA rules for U.S. military. By Joy Jernigan, TODAY Members of the U.S. military flying on official orders while in uniform may soon see faster security screening while traveling through the nation's airports.
The U.S. House of Representatives today voted 404 to 0 to approve H.R. 1801, also known as the ‘‘Risk-Based Security Screening for Members of The Armed Forces Act," which will now be sent to the Senate. If passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Barack Obama, the Transportation Security Administration within six months will be required to implement expedited security screening for members of the U.S. military and any family members traveling with them. “With all the contention and political gridlock we’ve witnessed over the past several months, what’s most important is that we come together to agree where we can,” said Rep.
Rep. The legislation is a step toward a more risk-based, intelligence-driven security screening system, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Other stories you might like.