Naked image scanners to be removed. Cartoon image scanners though to stay. http://www.startribune.com/business/187460721.html TSA to drop X-ray airport scanners by June because of privacy concerns; other scanners staying Those airport scanners with their all-too revealing body images will soon be going away. The Transportation Security Administration says the X-ray scanners will be gone by June because the company that makes them can't fix the privacy issues. The other airport body scanners, which produce a generic outline instead of a naked image, are staying. The government rapidly stepped up its use of body scanners after a man snuck explosives onto a flight bound for Detroit on Christmas day in 2009. At first, both types of scanners showed travelers naked. The idea was that security workers could spot both metallic objects like guns as well as non-metallic items such as plastic explosives. They also showed every other detail of the passenger's body, too. The TSA defended the scanners, saying the images couldn't be stored and were seen only by a security worker who didn't interact with the passenger. But the scans still raised privacy concerns. Congress ordered that the scanners either produce a more generic image or be removed by June. On Thursday Rapiscan, the maker of the X-ray scanner, acknowledged that it wouldn't be able to meet the June deadline. The TSA said Friday that it ended its contract with Rapiscan. The agency's statement also said the remaining scanners will move travelers through more quickly, meaning faster lanes at the airport. Those scanners, made by L-3 Communications, used millimeter waves to make an image. The company was able to come up with software that no longer produced a naked image of a traveler's body. Rapiscan parent company OSI Systems Inc. said it will help the TSA move the scanners to other undisclosed government agencies. Scanners are often used in prisons or on military bases where privacy is not a concern. OSI said it will maintain a scanner contract with the TSA, but would take a one-time charge of $2.7 million. The contract to change the software on the scanners came under scrutiny in November when the TSA delivered a "show cause" letter to the company looking into allegations that it falsified test data, which the company denied. On Thursday it said final resolution of that issue needs approval by the Department of Homeland Security. The agreement with the TSA is an indication that OSI Systems will be cleared of the issues raised by the agency, Roth Capital Partners analyst Jeff Martin wrote on Friday. OSI shares jumped $2.79, or 4.1 percent, to $70.44. Besides the scanners being dropped by TSA, Hawthorne, Calif.-based OSI Systems makes other passenger scanners used in other countries, as well as luggage scanners and medical scanners.
I don't care...I walked through them. The only thing I care about is to get through security quickly.
I care because the two CEOs of the two companies that sell the scanners were both Homeland Security directors. I care because there haven't been long term studies on the adverse effects of frequent travelers such as myself. I care because I don't want a dude that makes $10 bucks an hour (many of which are criminals) looking at my junk. I care because the TSA is a joke, and airport security theater. But that's just me.
The TSA hasn't stopped one terrorist. The underwear bomber and the shoe bomber were subdued by passengers, just like countless other crazy passengers after 9/11. Terrorists won't attack planes again, because people will no longer be bystanders. I travel constantly, I see lacks in the supposed security constantly. The biggest joke in airport security? The boarding pass system. They check your ID in the line, but once you get to the gate they never check it again. You can easily print the same boarding pass twice and alter the name, and have two people go through security on one ticket. Hell, there are websites that generate fake boarding passes, and smartphone apps that fake them. When you "opt out" most airports let you bypass the metal detector through a gate before the pat down. Why in the world would they do that? Because it is a stupid "procedure." Airport security is a joke... if you think these machines make you safe, you need to wake up.
Svpernaut, I agree with you about the TSA and all you said. I just decide not to get worked up about it anymore, unless they are really rude or I have to wait ages.
... and I almost used the Fry "note sure" meme. Darn! No need to 3D print firearms when airport perimeters aren't actively monitored.
I thought (please correct me if I am wrong) that TSA only patrolled US airports, not overseas. Those 2 came from other airports and as far as I can remember, they were not checked by them. The 2001 shoe bomb plot was a failed bombing attempt that occurred on American Airlines Flight 63 a Boeing 767 flying from Charles De Gaulle International Airport in Paris, France, to Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, United States, with 197 passengers and crew on December 22, 2001. Underwear bomber - Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, United States. In addition, the undies bomber boarded the plane because proper protocol was not followed. He got to board even though he did not have a passport.
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. I'm saying they are low-paid employees that receive lousy training and have even lousier oversight. Most don't care about their jobs for these very reasons, and that is a reason many of them are corrupt and/or lazy (many ≠ all). These are people that are "supposed" to be our last line of defense from terrorists. You get what you pay for in every aspect of life. We pay these people nothing, so we get nothing in return. I have hundreds of interactions with these people every year and while most are polite, many are clearly inept. The entire airport "security" system is a joke from the top down... they're just a cog in that machine. TSA - Saving me from my own hair gel since November 2001.
