TSA Implements Additional Safety Measures Concerning Remote Control Toys. Are Cell Phones Next?

The Transportation Security Administration just announced that they are implementing “additional security measures related to remote control devices”. Following a National Intelligence Estimate on Homeland Security released in July (2007), the TSA is “carefully monitoring information developed in the law enforcement and intelligence communities related to methods of possible attacks.”

Furthermore, the press release where this information is from stated the following:

While not associated with a specific threat at this time, TSA is aware that remote control toys can be used to initiate devices used in terrorist attacks.

Passing the information on to passengers, the press release stated that:

Accordingly, Transportation Security Officers have been trained in this possibility and travelers may encounter additional screening when bringing remove control devices in carry-on baggage.

So, who exactly might, plausibly, bring remote control toys with them onto a plane in their carry-on? KIDS!
I’d assume it would be a safe bet to assume that most such toys would be carried onto the plane in the backpack of Little Johnny. Parents, you’re kid might be a terrorist, or atleast suspected of being one the next time you fly…

I’m not downplaying the possible threat of using a remote control for blowing up an IED, but aren’t there more common devices for achieving such an end?

That thing in your pocket, your cell phone? Yeah, that’s right. Your cell phone as been used thousands of times to blow up shit. Remember the amateur terrorists who tried to blow up a few car bombs in London? The ones that didn’t blow up because they’d wired them wrong or something? They used cell phones as the (intended) trigger.

Are they going to ban cell phones on planes next? It’s probably one of the most common ingredients of homemade bombs. Pretty much every single adult traveler has a cell phone on their person, and it’s one item not too many people would like to put in their checked baggage. (Chances of being stolen: very good…)

Is there even any conceivable way in which the TSA could prohibit taking cell phones onto planes in carry-on baggage or in person? Can cell phones ever be banned from airplanes, considering how abundant and important they are nowadays in the world?

What do you think?

Source:
TSA Statement On Information Regarding Remote Control Toys

Transportation Security Administration: Protector or Nuisance?

This post is a guide to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), covering the agency left, right and center, for better of worse. Due to the large amount of information available, I shall be updating this post all the time. Subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog or bookmark this post to view the updated versions when they arrive.

BACKGROUND & HISTORY
The Transportation Security Administration was created after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, when four planes were hijacked in the United States and subsequently flown into the two Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania.

With the Aviation And Transportation Security Act, passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 19th 2001, the airport and mass transit security measures with the United States were completely transformed as they were directed under the supervision of a sole government agency.

Before the enactment of the TSA, security checkpoints were operated by private companies. (Several airports with the United States are still operated by private security firms, approved by TSA, which still claims a right to authority over them.)

These private security companies bid for the security contracts, with the lowest bid typically winning. (A sure way to ensure working security, I assume…)

Pre-9/11, passengers travelling by air were asked three questions at baggage check:
-”Did you pack your bags yourself?”
-”Have your bags been in your possession since you packed them?”
-”Have any unknown persons asked you to carry anything onboard?”

It wasn’t until early 1973 that the FAA began to require the screening of passengers and their carry-on baggage.

Before the enactment of TSA, a boarding pass was not needed at checkpoints, and non-travellers were allowed to enter the concourses.

The Transportation Security Administration was originally located under the offices of the U.S. Department of Transportation. In March 2003, it became a part of the Department of Homeland Security.

In July 2007, TSA unveiled the new uniforms for its Transportation Security Officers (TSO). These have been quickly criticized as “police-like”, due to the officers’ badges being metal, such as those which police carry, as opposed to the old fabric badges. TSO’s are not law enforcement officials.
[More on TSA.gov...]

MISSION STATEMENT
The Transportation Security Administration is responsible for the security of transportation systems within the United States.

The two main goals of TSA are airport security and the prevention of aircraft hijacking.

The domains under TSA supervision are highways, railroads, buses, mass transit systems, ports and 450 U.S. airports. TSA works with state, local and regional partners to provide the security for these domains.

TSA currently employs some 43,000 Transportation Security Officers, down from a high of 60,000 in 2003.

PERMITTED & PROHIBITED ITEMS
If you’ve ever been to an airport in the United States, well any airport in the world when you think about it, you’ll have seen the (brief) list of general items you can and cannot bring onto an airplane. The list itself, typically accompanied with drawings or photos, is pretty self-explanatory. No firearms, no grenades or other explosives, no poisonous liquids, no knives or other sharp blades, etc…

Most normal people will be smart enough to understand that those items on an airplane are a no-no. Yet, the TSA confiscates firearms “virtually every day. In 2006, some 820 firearms were intercepted at U.S. checkpoints.”

The official list of prohibited and restricted items on airplanes can be viewed here.

Now, as the above list refers only to what you can and cannot bring onto airplanes, and as the TSA handles security operations for ALL(ish) mass transit systems within the United States, where’s the list of items for trains, busses, ferries, trams, etc…?

Do all the items also refer to other modes of transportation, or just air travel? Immense security with checkpoints and all at airports, but nothing(?) like it at train stations or bus depots?

Think back at the post-9/11 terrorist attacks in Europe. The metrolines and a doubledecker bus in London. Trains and train stations in Madrid.

How long until that happens in America, considering how the TSA’s efforts at passenger screening are focused on air passengers?

FAILURES
TSA has yet to actually catch a terrorist. Instead, it has proven itself to be very good at inconveniencing the average Joe and Jane Traveler.

Several airports have been momentarily shut down because TSO’s have let someone slip by the security screening checkpoint with “suspicious items” on their person. Please note that these people were never found.

I have a LARGE list of TSA idioticies with me, but to hit today’s deadline. I’ll get that typed up with my next update to this post.

SUCCESSES
One might argue that because there has not been a terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, the implementation of the Transportation Security Administration to watch over the security of mass transit in the United States has been a success. But consider this: there have only been two terrorist attacks, where the attackers were foreign nationals, within the United States, 9/11 and the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. (Need to actually check if that’s true… My memory might fail me here…)

Sure, there have been many terrorism alerts and scares, but the severity and the realism of these have been somewhat dubious (i.e. the incompetence of the planners of the proposed JFK Airport pipeline attack…). Most other terrorist attacks on American soil have been by homegrown terrorists (the Unabomber, school shootings with the exception of Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, the 2000 Atlanta Summer Olympics…). Are they even called terrorist attacks?

Now, if you consider TSA’s successes, remember that there have been no attacks on mass transit the birth of TSA. Then again, there have been no credible threats either. Win-win situation for TSA…

On its website, the TSA lists a few things as its successes. These include confiscating 40 million prohibited items and assisting in the evacuation of 4,500 American citizens from Lebanon and facilitating the air evacuation of some 25,000 people from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

CRITICISMS
No agency is ever without its critics and the TSA is no exception, regardless of its young age.

Here’s a short list of the criticisms that’ve been directed at TSA since its enactment:
-Invasions of privacy
-Engaging in Security Theater
-Theft of passenger possessions from checked baggage by TSA employees
-Lavish spending by TSA officials on events not related to airport security
-Sales of items collected from passengers
-TSA employees skipping security checks
-Wasteful spending in its hiring practices
-Numerous employees found sleeping on the job
-Failure to use good judgment and common sense
[Source: Wikipedia]

Gotta love that last criticism…

THE FUTURE OF TSA
Standardizing the nation’s security checkpoints within mass transit systems is an effective way to unilaterally ensure everyone’s safety across the board. On paper.

In practice, the way security is handled today in the United States, primarily at the nation’s airports, leaves a lot to be desired.

The problem with standardizing everything under one agency is that if the agency does not work as it should, the whole system suffers. Sure, all checkpoints across America have the same equipment and all the TSO’s have the same basic training. But what if the equipment and training up to the job?

If the United States continues to standardize its mass transit security under one agency, and it will, the problems must be fixed.

When faced with an enemy which is ever-changing, the system must be prepared to answer every single threat, preemptively.

Funding must be allocated so that the equipment is up to the task, and is continuously upgraded to be one step above all possible threats, not as it operates now by banning items AFTER a possible terrorist attack.

There will always be the human factor and human error. You can’t fight a human enemy with merely technology. The training and hiring of Transportation Security Officers must be improved to include personnel best suited for the job, handing particular jobs to those with the attributes and educational background to really do the job well.

There’s plenty of work to be done. Too many screw ups, too many human error situations, too much inconvenience for the average traveller.

EXPERIENCES
This part is for you, the reader. Share your own experiences with the TSA, good and bad, by posting them in the comments section below.

As a Finnish citizen who has only flown to the United States on two occasions (Nov-Dec 2004 and Jul-Aug 2006), my personal experience is limited, and I have no experience of the time before the TSA took over.

So please, share your personal experiences with others, before and after 9/11. Do you feel safer now? Or did you prefer the way things used to be? Have you experienced any amusing or annoying situations at airports, or any mass transit locations controlled by the TSA? Let us know!

Disclaimer:
Personally, I have no beef with the Transportation Security Administration. I believe the majority of the TSO’s are decent, hard-working individuals, many of then actively doing everything they can to protect the nation’s airports and mass transit systems. That being said, for an agency tasked with such an important job, there are too many shortcomings.
I’m attempting to write an unbiased report here.

[This is still a work in progress. Any feedback, comments, or corrections will be helpful. Please use the comments section at the bottom of this post. All additional information added to this post will be duly credited.]

Sources:
TSA.gov
Wikipedia articles referring to TSA

Notice: It’s What You’ve Been Waiting For!

Sorry about the headline, just trying to catch your attention…

Let’s get to the point. Most of the search terms which bring people to my blog are concerning the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Several weeks ago I promised I’d answer the thirst for knowledge which people are seemingly exhibiting.

So, I have taken it upon myself to actually write up a post covering a great deal about the TSA, it’s failures, history, and successes.

I’ve set myself a deadline for the first posting of this piece. That deadline is this Monday (13th of August).

With this in mind, the post will be found at http://hellipsis.wordpress.com/2007/08/13/transportation-security-administration/. (Obviously, if you’re reading this and it’s not Monday the 13th of August 2007, there’s really no point in clicking on that link, because it won’t get you anywhere… If it’s past the due date, click away…)

You can always find a link to the post in the Featured section of this blog, even when new posts get exhibited there…

Furthermore, if you haven’t already subscribed to my RSS feed, do so now by entering the feed address into you reader: http://feeds.feedburner.com/hellipsis/.

Please note that the post will be a work in progress, and will be updated every now and then. To keep up to date on the post, subscribe to the RSS feed, get updates by email (click the corresponding link on the right panel), or bookmark the page and keep coming back…

TSA Clowning Around, Confiscates Clown’s Makeup

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport confiscated a clown’s makeup in the interest of National Security.

The makeup had travelled in this clown’s (no really, a clown by profession) along in his carry-on (and has for 5 years without a problem) because basically if your clown makeup and costume gets lost by the airline, you’re screwed. Proper clowns don’t really wear jeans and t-shirts…

Well done TSA, yet again!

And to add insult to injury, American Airlines cancelled and rescheduled the clown’s flights, and gave no information or help, besides “try again tomorrow”.

Here’s an idea for TSA: get together a large thinktank of security experts to make a comprehensive list, detailing EVERYTHING that could PLAUSIBLY be used in a terrorist attack, or could be hazardous on an airplane.

This way, there’d be A LOT less confusion and anger towards the TSA personnel. Right now, the guidelines for what one can and cannot bring on an airplane are vague and general at best.

If it were public knowledge what exactly was allowed in your carry-on and checked baggage, the lines at airports would move A LOT faster, to begin with… Oh, and people might be a bit nicer too…

Also on Hellipsis:
Peanut Butter A Safety Risk, According To TSA

Sources:
Clown Alley: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…Part Two (Via Boing Boing)

Homeland Security Guards Not Paid Nor Trained Enough

Potential terrorist targets within the United States are not as well protected as one might assume. Ill-trained and low-paid private security guards stand by skyscrapers, unsure what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. Convicted criminals slip through the net, as background checks aren’t always enforced. Training for security guards is inadequate at best, the equipment insufficient, the directions vague and ludicrous.

After 9/11, the one industry which saw a great demand for its services in the wake of terror scares was the security guard industry. The men and women in uniform in the industry found themselves being “promoted” from rent-a-cops to protectors of the homeland.

Changes in the industry itself must have occurred simultaneously, from better training to increased enrollment and a bigger paycheck, right?

This is where business ethics and corporate rules come into play.

Remember that the men and women who work as security guards at sites designated as potential terrorist targets by the Bush Administration are not on the government payroll. They work for private security contractors, who battle with each other over government contracts to provide security for these locations.

As such, the security companies operate with typical business models.

Business rule #1: To save money, start with your employees.

Large corporations are always trying to cut costs to make more money, and a bigger bonus for the executives. And why not smaller companies too? It’s business, after all. Concerning employees, there are two ways to save money. Either you lay off “unnecessary” employees, or you pay them less. (read: minimum wage.)

Security guards are generally paid very little. Their median hourly pay in 2006 was $11.35, which is only slightly more than restaurant cooks ($10.11), janitors ($10.45) and laboratory animal caretakers ($10.13).

Security guards are typically assumed to belong to the same paygroup (because their jobs are similar in nature) as police patrol officers ($23.27), emergency management specialists ($24.26) and firefighters ($20.37).

Keep in mind that the numbers above are the median hourly income, not the industry minimum wage. There are security guards out there who make a lot less than $11.35/hour.

The middle ground pay for security guards in 2006 was $23,620/year, well below the national average income.

Business rule #2:Hire people who’ll work for less.

If there’s no law forbidding you from hiring just about anyone, why don’t you? There are a lot of people (criminals, ex-convicts, illegal immigrants, the mentally ill, etc…) who have a hard time finding jobs, due to their backgrounds or present status.

The differences in requirements for training and background checks differ vastly between states and the rules to provide for background checks within the security industry are conflicting.

Some states require FBI fingerprint checks for every applicant applying for a guard job, whilst others let the industry police itself. Some states don’t regulate the industry, such as Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kentucky, Wyoming and Idaho. Yet,the city of Boise and many Idaho communities do regulate guards. Some states require background checks for company owners but not guards, which kinda diffuses the purpose.

Security firms which go through background checks have found tens of thousands of guard applicants having criminal backgrounds, some 7.3% of applicants. This number does not include the applicants with criminal records who didn’t go through background checks.

Instead, they got jobs as security guards. I’m all for rehabilitating ex-cons and hiring them, but what about the ones who’ve been convicted of serious felonies, such as murder, arson, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and so on? What’s to stop them from continuing while on the clock?

In fact, there are reports of guards with criminal backgrounds having committed criminal offenses on and off duty in numerous cities.

Business rule #3:Cut corners at every turn to save that extra penny. Start with training and equipment.

The training of security guards is typically inadequate, usually performed by someone not trained for such a lesson. But hey, there’s plenty of manuals on the matter, just get someone to read the manual to the guards! That’ll work just as well…

Security and evacuation drills? Waste of money and time. Any more advice? “Look smart and if someone attacks the building, call the police.”

Does this seem like adequate training?:
Franklin Bullock, 51, a guard at the busy bus and rail commuter station in Kent, Wash., said he’s had no drills with police and fire responders despite terrorist bombings of trains and buses overseas. A supervisor once tested Bullock by walking him down the platform to see whether he would spot a package he could hardly miss. It had “BOM” written on it. That was the end of his useful hands-on training…

We know that “terrorists” can be idiots as is to judge from the planned attack on JFK airport, but come on, this is ridiculous.

The ineffectiveness of the guards, due to lack of training, is particularly evident in this event:
In fall 2005, an envelope with suspicious powder was opened by guards at the Washington headquarters of the Homeland Security Department. The guards carried the substance past the office of Secretary Michael Chertoff, took it outside and then shook it outside Chertoff’s window without evacuating people nearby. The powder turned out to be harmless.

Proper equipment? Private guards at military bases have complained that they were trained to use handguns and nightsticks to fight terrorists who might be equipped with assault rifles and grenade launchers.

Business rule #4: Business means money, nothing else. Make everything seem to be just fine, even when they’re not.

Security firm insiders have noted that when it is known that learn military inspectors are on the way, patrols are increased, and just about anyone in the corporate structure is made to play the part of a security guard.

The low pay of security guards reflects the cutthroat competition between private security companies, battling for the contracts by offering the lowest bids. Cheaper bids mean lower profit margins and less money for training and background checks for guards. You’d think they’d save some money by paying their employees less money, but hey, it’s business…

As the market for private security boomed after 9/11, companies which employ private guards began spending more on security, but, in the absence of further terrorist attacks, have began to cut back on spending.

There’s some hope for the security industry in the end as some companies have decided to conduct anti-terrorism training, regardless of whether their clients will cover the cost.

As the security guards and the whole industry seems to be in a bit of a pickle in the event of an actual terrorist attack, how’s about the TSA guards at the nation’s airports? Are they being paid better? It seems that there is a certain hierarchy in the whole anti-terrorism complex in the United States, dumping responsibility on those below one other.

If a terrorist attack occurs within the United States, the fingers start pointing in every direction. The Bush Administration is blamed for providing a cause celebre for the terrorists, the CIA and the FBI are blamed for not catching the bad guys before they attack, the TSA guards are blamed if the terrorists manage to get on the planes, and the private security guards get blamed if an attack occurs on their building.

You can’t expect the world of everyone individually, as the anti-terrorism game is one where everyone needs to work together.

How do you blame a private security guard for not protecting a skyscraper when someone flies a jumbo jet into it?

As a final final thought, as I was writing this post, a bit of related news popped into my RSS reader. Apparently, a private security guard at Walter Reed fired at his colleague, a whole ten shots, thankfully without injuring him. (Link: CNN.com) This is the level of training and the kind of people hired for these jobs. The two guards had been arguing and one of them started shooting at the other. Didn’t hit him though. But what if it had been terrorists? The guy fired 10 shots at his colleague without hitting him. How would he perform in the event that someone is shooting back at him?

Sources:
CBS News: Homeland Security Guards; Paid Little

Peanut Butter A Safety Risk, According To TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has exceeded itself. There are many many stories of ridiculous items that the TSA officers have confiscated at airports in America. But peanut butter jelly sandwiches?

Ohio Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan (Blog) had been trying to live for a week on the monetary equivalent of food stamps, and with two days to go in the experiment, Ryan attempted to fly home from a speech he’d given. At the security checkpoint, TSA officers confiscated his peanut butter and jelly sandwich (some sources claim it was a jar of peanut butter…)

With the exception of the usual prohibited items such as guns, explosives, poisons and endangered animals, and last summer’s liquid ban fresh in people’s minds, how far can the TSA go? What’s next on the list?

Speaking of which, when you travel by air, have you ever glanced at the restricted items list near passport control? Short and vague, huh? Just like the (longer) list on the website…

I suspect that the vagueness is on purpose? How else is it possible that every now and them you hear the wacky stories such at this one about things being confiscated? Everything’s up for interpretation, I guess…

I’m trying to find a website which lists the ridiculous items the TSA has confiscated over the last few years, but all I can find is the official TSA list of Permitted and Prohibited items and various sites focusing on parts of that list. Anyone know of such a site?

Sources:
Threat Level: TSA Confiscates Congressman’s PBJ

TSA Humor

Here’s a few laughs at the expense of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), courtesy of Schneier On Security (http://www.schneier.com/blog/).

TSA Cartoon:
http://www.clarionledger.com/misc/blogs/mramsey/uploaded_images/bilde-2-780665.jpg

Saturday Night Live TSA skit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykzqFz_nHZE