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TSA Tests Consistently Evade Own Airport Screenings
ABC News reports on internal live-testing of TSA airport passenger screening procedures that successfully evaded detection of concealed weapons and explosives prior to boarding 95% of the time.
The series of tests were conducted by Homeland Security Red Teams who pose as passengers, setting out to beat the system.
According to officials briefed on the results of a recent Homeland Security Inspector General's report, TSA agents failed 67 out of 70 tests, with Red Team members repeatedly able to get potential weapons through checkpoints.
In one test an undercover agent was stopped after setting off an alarm at a magnetometer, but TSA screeners failed to detect a fake explosive device that was taped to his back during a follow-on pat down.
Officials would not divulge the exact time period of the testing other than to say it concluded recently.
While this report is alarming by itself, a TSA blog post from March 2013 commenting on the results of a previous test explains that the methods employed in these regular tests are deliberately designed to be unrealistically hard, and that the TSA's motivation is to drive improvements in security procedures ahead of terrorist capabilities to evade them:
The goal of the Red Team is to build tests that push the boundaries of our people, processes, and technology. We know that the adversary innovates and we have to push ourselves to capacity in order to remain one step ahead. With that said, our testers often make these covert tests as difficult as possible.
You might be wondering why our testers run tests that our Officers are prone to fail? It's because we want to see if our procedures, technology, and policies are or are not working. We also are constantly looking for ways to improve our performance. When a test is failed, we don't simply check a tick mark in a box and move on. Nor do we take punitive measures as this testing is a learning experience. The results are shared with TSA leadership at the airport and HQ, as well as the officers who were part of the test, noting areas for improvement where warranted.
Update
More news on this same story, now the Acting TSA director has been reassigned.
Just one of many news hits include: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/politics/tsa-failed-undercover-airport-screening-tests/
Washington (CNN) The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that the acting administrator for the Transportation Security Administration would be reassigned, following a report that airport screeners failed to detect explosives and weapons in nearly every test that an undercover team conducted at dozens of airports.
Original Submission
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ikanreed on Friday June 05 2015, @02:13PM
Well, it's a real problem blown completely out of proportion for the total harm.
But then again, if the US government put this kinda rights violation and money proportionally towards what kills americans, we'd all be dragged out for mandatory daily exercise at gunpoint.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday June 05 2015, @02:15PM
You've got a point. But then, I'm aging, and my knees hurt all the time. If they tried to drag me out at gunpoint, I'd probably just shoot first, thereby committing "suicide by cop".
(Score: 3, Interesting) by ikanreed on Friday June 05 2015, @02:58PM
As an aside, I used to let my knees excuse things too. I'd recommend, low impact, high intensity cardio(like elliptical machines or swimming) for not dying, and squats without weights to build the strength of your knees.
The more that's wrong with your body the harder exercise gets. The less you exercise, though, the more goes wrong with your body. Unless you're over 50, knee problems can usually be overcome.
That's my unsolicited advice for the day.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday June 05 2015, @03:35PM
"Unless you're over 50,"
Uhhhhh - yeah. The pain was manageable until I was about 50. Today, if I run, the pain manages me instead. Being on my feet for an eight hour shift is about all I can manage these days. And then I come home feeling like I'm wearing twenty pound lead weights on each foot. Today, all of my speed comes from twisting the throttle on the handlebars.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Friday June 05 2015, @08:00PM
Squats are bad for anybody. Partial squats, until the thigh is horizontal are generally reasonable, unless you have severe knee problems. Exercise doesn't help cartilage problems, but low stress exercise is generally good. Most people, even with mild knee problems, can walk. Don't jog if you're overweight, it can exacerbate your knee problems ... meaning even if you don't know you have a knee problem, you may suddenly find you do. Hills are useful if you can handle going down them. (Take them slowly, though, in both directions.) Avoid anything which jars the joints. That increases damage and doesn't do anything good for you. If you can manage a slow run where your heels never touch the ground, that's got a lot to recommend it, but don't start out aggressively. Less than a couple of minutes to start and build up slowly from there.
Well, OK, that was just what *I* need to keep in mind, but squats can damage anyone. And it's often a slowly progressive damage. Even high school kids should avoid them. Possibly even grade school kids. (OTOH, the taller you are, and the heavier you are, the worse they are for you. The damage may be proportional to the third power of the height, but I'm not sure. [For comparison, damage when you trip and fall is proportional to the fourth power of the height.])
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 06 2015, @08:10PM
That's crossfit promoted pseudoscience. It's not true.
Are full barbell squats bad for your knees [leanitup.com]
So there you have it. Perform deep, full squats and your butt, quads, and hamstrings will be toned like never before, AND you’ll put your knee joints at decreased risk of injury. Plenty of people seem to have the perception that full squats are dangerous, but this is almost always based on outdated research and endless hearsay from “uneducated bros.”
Seriously, the actual science doesn't bear out the claims made by people trying to sell you something. Please don't repeat this myth.