Body Scanner Resolution Rooms Conduct & Privacy

Happy new year! Over the holidays, I read an article titled “The TSA Is Laughing at You” talking about what happens in the resolution rooms where body scanner images are viewed. We’ve talked about this many times in the past, but information is often spread through uninformed sketchy third-hand sources. So, I just wanted to post on privacy issues again.

First off, I want to make it clear that since the implementation of new software on our body scanners, many of the rooms are no longer in use. Instead, a generic image is used for millimeter wave scanners. You can read more about the software here. This is what the image looks like: 

Millimeter Wave Image

These resolution rooms are still used in locations where backscatter machines are in place. For units that do not yet have the new software, TSA has taken all efforts to ensure passenger privacy. The officer who assists the passenger never sees the image the technology produces and the officer who views the image is remotely located in a secure resolution room and never sees the passenger. The two officers communicate via wireless headset. The resolution room is used only for the viewing of the images and is not a gathering place or break room for other officers as the officer viewing the images has to be focused in order to prevent any dangerous items from entering the airport.

Advanced imaging technology cannot store, print, transmit or save the image, and the image is automatically deleted from the system after it is cleared by the remotely located security officer. Officers evaluating images are not permitted to take cameras, cell phones or photo-enabled devices into the resolution room. Initially, it was feared by the traveling public that these images would be leaked and posted online. This has not happened. To further protect passenger privacy, backscatter technology has a privacy filters that blur images.

This is the image our officers see from the viewing room. 

Backscatter Image

You can read even more about the body scanners here: http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/advanced-imaging-technology-ait

Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team

If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us by clicking here.

New Technology Will Check Travel Documents

You might remember me blogging about a new piece of technology last year called the CAT/BPSS. Its real name is “Credential Authentication Technology/Boarding Pass Scanning System.” That can be a mouthful, so I simply call it the travel document scanner.

We just started testing the technology at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and will also test at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in the coming weeks. Each airport will receive 6 units total.

This technology will scan a passenger’s boarding pass and photo ID, and automatically verify the names provided on both documents and then match and authenticate the boarding pass. The technology also identifies altered or fraudulent photo IDs by analyzing and comparing security features embedded in the IDs.

What should passengers expect? Passengers will hand their ID to the TSA Travel Document Checker (TDC) who will scan it while the passenger scans their own boarding pass using a built in scanner that's part of the technology. Once the scan is complete, the technology automatically and permanently deletes the information from the system. Here's a link to the Privacy Impact Assessment for the technology.

If testing is successful, TSA could deploy the technology to airports nationwide. Our officers at airports that are not part of the operational testing will continue to verify travel documents with the aid of lights and loupes, as one of many layers of security.

Learn more about ID requirements.

Blogger Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team 

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

CAT/BPSS - Automatic ID/Boarding Pass Checker

You're probably wondering what exactly CAT/BPSS stands for, right? It's been making the news over the past week, but if you haven't read about the technology, it stands for Credential Authentication Technology/Boarding Pass Scanning System. I prefer to call it the ID Thingamabob.

Short Story: It detects fake documents and IDs.

Slightly Longer Story: This is a seriously cool piece of technology that enhances security and increases efficiency by automatically and concurrently comparing a passenger's ID and boarding pass to a set of security features. It verifies that neither have been falsified and that the information on both match. The system also verifies the IDs of airline personnel and can screen a wide range of travel documents.

Just last month, we purchased a total of 30 systems that will be deployed at select airports for further operational testing early next year. The airports included in our TSA Pre✓™ program (DFW, MIA, DTW, ATL) will be among some of the first recipients of the systems.

What should passengers expect once we begin to test these in airports? Passengers will hand their ID to the TSA Travel Document Checker (TDC) who will scan it while the passenger scans their own boarding pass using a built in scanner that's part of the technology. Once the scan is complete, the technology automatically and permanently deletes the information from the system. Here's a link to the Privacy Impact Assessment for the technology.

If testing proves successful, TSA could deploy the technology to airports nationwide. Our officers at airports that are not part of the operational testing will continue to verify travel documents with the aid of lights and loupes, as one of many layers of security.

Read more about IDs  Here

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team


If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

Tenth Anniversary Report Card on 9/11 Commission Recommendations

I blogged recently on how far TSA has come and what we’ve done to meet the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations. If you haven’t read that post, take a few moments to review it and you’ll see just how much we’ve accomplished in all areas of aviation security.

New Technology, In-Flight Security, 100% Screening, Professionalized Workforce, Information Sharing and Detection…

There is no doubt that aviation security is safer than it was on 9/11. You’ll never eliminate the threats though… They’ll continue to evolve, and we are equipped to evolve with them.

A Bipartisan Policy Center report released yesterday somewhat echoes what I said in my post and cites specific TSA successes in the areas of information sharing, pre-screening and matching all passengers against government terrorist watch lists to keep travel secure.

In addition, TSA has made significant enhancements to improve technology and to protect passenger privacy. What we do have is a solid lineup of state of the art world class security technology that when used in conjunction with constantly improving processes and a well-trained staff, provides a safe and solid layer of security at our airports.  In fact, TSA has certified 10 Explosive Detection Systems and is a global leader in setting the standards for technology that safely screens passengers, luggage and air cargo. Advanced imaging technology (AIT), intelligence, behavioral detection officers, canine teams, and federal air marshals are also key parts of our layered approach. And with the adoption of automated target recognition software for AIT screening devices, we continue to improve passenger privacy.

Alone, each layer enhances security. Together, they provide a formidable defense that detects threats and deters potential attackers to keep the traveling public safe. And we’re always testing new technologies and procedures to enable us to evolve with the threats while improving passenger security and privacy.

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

TSA 10 Years After 9/11

The 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is quickly approaching and it's been nearly a decade since the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in response to the attacks. As somebody who started in the beginning, it is incredible to look back and see how far we've come and how much more secure aviation is today. 

The one year anniversary of 9/11 was my first day with TSA at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). I joined TSA for the same reason many of my colleagues did: I was appalled by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and wanted to help in any way I could. We’ve had plenty of questions over the past ten years, but one of the most common questions we hear is, “How has TSA made travel safer?” 

Well, here are just a few of the many steps we’ve taken, including those we have taken to address specific 9/11 Commission recommendations over the past ten years: 

• In-Flight Security – Hardened cockpit doors, Federal Flight Deck Officers, the Crew Member Self Defense Training Program and an expanded Federal Air Marshal Service, better protect the flight deck against an act of criminal violence or air piracy. 
• 100% Screening – Through Secure Flight, 100% of passengers flying to, from, and within the U.S. are prescreened against government watchlists. TSA screens 100 percent of checked baggage for dangerous items including explosives, and 100% of all air cargo transported on passenger aircraft that depart U.S. airports is screened.        a-e-i-o-u .
• Professionalized Workforce – The Transportation Security Officers (TSO) working at 450 airports today are hired through a rigorous vetting process and extensive training that did not exist for the contract personnel who worked the security checkpoints on 9/11. TSOs have an average of 3.5 years of experience on the job, compared with the average of 3 months of experience for screeners prior to 9/11. Prior to 9/11, turnover in the industry was over 125 percent – today, TSA’s turnover rate is 6.4 percent. 
• New Technology – Today through Advanced Imaging Technology and Automated Target Recognition, we can detect metallic and nonmetallic threats including weapons and explosives concealed under layers of clothing on passengers without physical contact. And, using Advanced Technology X-ray, Bottled Liquid Scanners and Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) Technology, we can more efficiently and effectively screen luggage and belongings for potential threats. 
• Information Sharing and Detection – Through Secure Flight, Travel Document Checking and collaboration with our international partners, we can identify passengers who pose a risk to security, verify someone is who they say there are, and better protect the entire global aviation system.

Threats to airline safety are constantly evolving and TSA must evolve with them. We deploy an array of unpredictable and visible deterrents, and use a layered security approach to keep the traveling public safe.

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

TSA Testing DNA? No way!

***Update 3/4/2011*** Even though we posted on this Saturday shortly after the rumors started to spread, many have still been incorrectly reporting that TSA was going to collect DNA samples from passengers this summer. Media Matters took this story on, and as of this morning, FOX news issued an on-air apology for misreporting the story. ***

 TSA is not testing and has no plans to use any technology capable of testing DNA.


An article was posted to "The Daily" today with the misleading headline "Genetic Patdown." Even more misleading, the first sentence leads off with the mention of airport scanners. So obviously, even though the rest of the article says nothing about airports or TSA, some readers naturally assumed this was a new technology that would be heading to the airports and the tweets went wild. It didn't help that "tsa-scanner" was included in the URL.


The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is doing preliminary testing with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) who already uses DNA testing in some cases to establish familial relationships in refugee processing.


DHS S&T expects to receive a prototype DNA analyzer device this summer to conduct a preliminary evaluation of whether this kind of technology could be considered for future use. At this time, there are no DHS customers, nor is there a timeline for deployment, for this kind of technology - this is a simply a preliminary test of how the technology performs.


Again, TSA is not testing and has no plans to use any technology capable of testing DNA.


Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

Airport Testing of New Advanced Imaging Technology Software Begins Today!



Monitor Showing Alarms



***Updated 2/2/2011 to upload image showing alarms.***

I can remember the first time we blogged about Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT). It was referred to as Whole Body Imaging back then, and is now more commonly referred to by the flying public as a “Body Scanner” as well as a few other clever but inaccurate monikers.

Anyway, ever since we first started talking about them, a small percentage of travelers have had privacy concerns with the AIT machines, and we have addressed those concerns in a variety of ways. TSA has implemented strict measures to protect passenger privacy, which is ensured through the anonymity of the image. A remotely located officer views the image and does not see the passenger, and the officer assisting the passenger cannot view the image. The image cannot be stored, transmitted or printed, and is deleted immediately once viewed. Additionally, there is a privacy algorithm applied to blur the image.

We are always looking for new technology and procedures that will both enhance security while strengthening privacy protections. That’s why we worked with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) and private industry to develop the software, and began testing in labs in Fall of 2010.

The software will be tested at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) starting today, February 1, and at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in the very near future.

So if you’re scratching your head at this point and asking, “What in the heck does this software do?”, it works with our AIT machines and eliminates passenger-specific images and replaces them with the generic outline of a person (see image below).

Here’s how it works: You step into the AIT machine and the new software will automatically detect potential threats and show their location on a generic image of a person. The image is on a monitor that is attached to the AIT unit in public view. Because this eliminates privacy concerns, we no longer have to staff an officer in a separate room.

If there are areas that need to be searched, the monitor will display this image.

If there are no potential threats, there will be no image and the monitor will look like this.

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.