Airport x-ray software creating images of phantom weapons?
My flight into Midway airport, Chicago, just sat on the runway for nearly two
hours tonight because of a potential security breach in the terminal, described
here:
http://www.nbc5.com/news/3921217/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=2265994&dppid=65194
A Transportation Security Administration representative at Midway airport
confirmed for me that the suspicious object displayed on the computerized x-ray
machine may have been a phantom image similar to the one in Miami on November
13th:
Software glitch in security scanner at Miami airport 'projected the image of a
weapon' that didn't exist
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/nat_world/111304_APnat_airport.html
Why are we replacing perfectly good analog video displays with
computer-generated displays for security-related data??
Haven't enough people learned yet that whenever you digitize something you
render it unreal and vulnerable?
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
If the devices create phantoms by design, why would they not also obey commands
to display arbitrary replacement images when some non-TEMPEST-hardened
component is blasted with RF from within the x-ray scanning chamber?
Do such transportation security technologies really benefit from technical
obscurity? Why not publish the design, specs and source code for analysis and
for all to see?
Security improvements in such devices are presently limited to those companies
that have the contracts to build and deploy them, or infosec firms that audit
and pen test them in secret.
Like electronic voting machines, this is a misguided, unnecessary, and
counter-productive “innovation for the sake of change or profit” and it makes
no sense. But of course it isn't going to stop, and the security vendor with
the best technology is as likely to win contracts in transportation security as
in any other industry. (Not)
If quality is the true objective, then perhaps we should adopt exceptions to
intellectual property laws to force into the public domain any creative work
that has the capability to impact the “security” of anything important...
Regards,
Jason Coombs
jasonc@xxxxxxxxxxx