Kip Hawley's Journal
November 16, 2007
This week, TSA has been the subject of two different congressional committees to talk about covert checkpoint testing [here and here], and the headlines would grab anyone's attention. Assuming that you missed the actual hearings and viewed only the headlines or the videos, below is my summary of the hearing I wish I had:
TSA has a very good story to tell that you would have missed if you only saw the videos and the headlines. Here it is:Q: Are there vulnerabilities in TSA's checkpoint security -- specifically related to IED's?
A: Yes, there are vulnerabilities to any and every security measure.
Q: Is that dangerous?
A: Only if you don't identify the vulnerabilities and don’t do something about them.
Q: What vulnerabilities have you identified?
A: For carry-on bags, our current x-rays don't automatically identify all kinds of explosives so we have to depend on the Transportation Security Officer (TSO) at the x-ray to identify potential threats, call for a bag search and resolve the issue. This is of course subject to human error -- there are something like ten million images a day we examine.
For shoes, magnetometers and the old "shoe profile" don't necessarily identify all threats.
For people, magnetometers alone don't necessarily identify all threats.
Q: What have you done about it?
A: For carry-on bags: complete workforce re-training by professional bomb techs supported by 300 full-time bomb techs deployed at checkpoints for hands-on help and training. Checkpoint IED drills using bomb components and simulated explosives, every lane, every shift, every day, every airport. New Advanced Technology x-ray equipment will be deployed during 2008 (about 500) as well as explosive liquids detectors (about 200).
For shoes: we X-ray all shoes, which is very effective at identifying shoes that have been tampered with.
For people: We are conducting random and selective explosives detection on passengers using Explosives Trace Detection as well as pat-down procedures. We are testing Backscatter and Millimeter Wave whole body imaging portals.
For the unknown evolving threat, we’ve added extra layers of security, better technology, a strategy of flexible, unpredictable security measures, and constantly train and test our TSOs. We could reduce risk further by eliminating carry on bags all together, but that would cause additional inconvenience for the people we are trying to serve.