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Airport Scanners Can Store and Transmit Images
CNN is reporting on findings from a Freedom of Information request initiated by the Electronic Privacy Information Center that has revealed that, contrary to public statements by the Transportation Security Agency, full-body scanners can store and transmit images. "In the [FOIA] documents, obtained by the privacy group and provided to CNN, the TSA specifies that the body scanners it purchases must have the ability to store and send images when in 'test mode.' ... 'There is no way for someone in the airport environment to put the machine into the test mode,' [an anonymous] official said, adding that test mode can be enabled only in TSA test facilities. But the official declined to say whether activating test mode requires additional hardware, software or simply additional knowledge of how the machines operate."
What's the big deal? I can think of better places to get porn.
The picture they show in every article about the things must have come from somewhere.
The paranoia that someone may see a fuzzy resemblance of your actual body seems to have no bounds in the US. You'd think people would be more worried that the chemical scanners used in airports fail to detect most explosives, but no ...
It doesn't matter, and nothing we think on this subject matters anyway.
NetInfo connection failed for server 127.0.0.1/local
How else were the demonstration scans shown in media articles made?
Another government money waister that should go tits up, how fitting.
If it can be done, it will be done.
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Why yes officer, my balls really are that big. Why do you ask?
Wow, what a surprise! Just like electronic voting machines, I'm absolutely certain they are invulnerable to hacking.
Further analysis of the documents finds some improperly-redacted material indicating that the test mode can in fact be entered with a sequence on the control panel, to wit "UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A START".
"cannot be hacked"
This should be a massive red flag. The is the same as stating to the world, I'm unqualified and have no idea what I'm talking about.
"employees who misuse the machines are subject to serious discipline or removal"
Hmmm. So when pushed, they admit that security is ensured by the fact that the government employees are going to behave. Just like those Blackwater guys?
I would be temped to get a job with the TSA just to get a chance to hack these things. Plus, working with a partner, you could easily get high value images of celebrities.
'There is no way for someone in the airport environment to put the machine into the test mode,' [an anonymous] official said, adding that test mode can be enabled only in TSA test facilities. But the official declined to say whether activating test mode requires additional hardware, software or simply additional knowledge of how the machines operate.
Leaving aside the idea of whether we really should care or not...
By not answering, I think this official made the answer pretty obvious. Basically it's analogous to the RFID passport issue. When they say "it can only be done under these specific circumstances", they're simply leaving off the lead-in phrase "Our policy is clear - ". The erstwhile "restriction" is political, not technical.
I imagine it won't be too long before some enterprising TSA employee - or a hacker - puts up a website with surreptitious photographs of cute women alongside their full-body scan images.
#DeleteChrome
But the official declined to say whether activating test mode requires additional hardware, software or simply additional knowledge of how the machines operate.
The official's reluctance to provide additional information on what is required to put it into test mode pretty much gives you your answer; you just need more information on how it works in order to put it in test mode.
I am very worried that they might be able to preserve a fuzzy resemblance of my body after I go through an airport scanner. I devote a lot of effort to man-scrapping, and I would appreciate it if they would at least use good enough quality equipment to show off my efforts...
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
Just imagine some TSA creeps snickering at an image of your girlfriend's, your father's or your mother's naked body.
We are all endowed with certain inalienable rights, including the right not to be examined nude en masse by the government when we travel.
Dignity is an essential human right. How dare we sacrifice it to terror?
Freedom? Yeah, right!
Need a shirt and pants that route x-rays around the body so when you step into the scanner, they only see a head and shoes.
Add: A fluctuating Eye of Sauron where your chest would be that the x-rays can see.
They probably record every single image generated by those things, and hold it at least until the passenger's flight is over. I don't see why they would do it any other way. It flies in the face of reason. I know they say otherwise, but I doubt they feel bad about lying to the general public. It's for the greater good, right?
For actual security purposes it would make sense to store images and network the machines. That way after the fact if there is a security lapse they can review someone's scan to see what was missed.
They can add value by auto-updating everyone's FaceBook page with the latest scan and the new status 'clean'/'hilarious'/'needs liposuction'/'tumescent'/'en route to Gitmo' etc.
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
Just get a really, really ugly person to do it. They are not going to be looking.
-- Lattyware (www.lattyware.co.uk)
I'm waiting for someone to have the balls to tag this article as 'killitwithfire'. I wonder how fast the FBI would be knocking on (down) the door...
Got a real hot babe going thru the scanner here.
- TSA Perv
Do you see what some people wear through airports? Really stereotyping their destinations in crazy Hawaiian shirts. At least the guy watching the body scan images sees them as human.
I have a really good idea, why dont they just put you in a straight jacket and strap you into your seat so when you get on the plane so there is no reason to consider you or anyone a threat. no more long security check lines!
quasi naked pictures of your children. can anyone say child pornography.
... automatically when the equipment detects the presence of a particularly well-endowed female.
Have gnu, will travel.
Now we evidently need tin-foil underwear!!
"Slow down, Cowboy! It has been 3 years, 7 months and 26 days since you last successfully posted a comment."
How does this stop terrorists who board plans elsewhere and come here (with the thought of blowing up the plane?). These scanners need to be where a terrorist is most likely to board a plane. Thus a push for having them in international airports all over the world would be a much better plan than having them all over the US including tiny domestic airports.
In 10 years everybody can buy cheap "sunglass" with similar functionality, so if you like privacy then it's indeed time to invest in shirt and pants that route x-rays around the body :-)
C'mon now, all this talk about celebrities and hacking those "high-profile" images. Please. Most celebrities don't bother with this now.
Let's see, I'm a celebrity making millions. Do I A) Pay $1000 to fly first-class on a public airline and risk my career being ruined by a horny airport scanner operator stealing my "naked" image, or B) Realize I have enough "ah, fuck it" money lying around to lease my own NetJet where I don't have to deal with the bullshit of either scanners or the pubic.
"Further, the TSA says, the machines are not networked and cannot be hacked." That's what they said about the voting machines too.
Bomb sniffing dogs are actually more effective than xrays at detecting bombs and vastly cheaper. We don't use them much mostly because dog trainers don't hire big shot lobbyists.
If you're a frequent traveller, you should occasionally request a personal screening because these airport xray machines give you about 1/8th your yearly xray limit.
just fly naked. If they don't like it, you can claim it's a security related measure.
Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
Say you catch a guy with something and they have a trial. And the judge asks for the evidence to be presented. Well. Yeah they need a copy of that in initial scan.
You don't even have to watch Law and Order to know that shit.
Not all celebrities can afford private jets. Lots of important and famous people do fly in first class.
For your security needs
So unless you would argue that consistency is not a good thing, clearly you think we should be doing this at every public place where a terrorist could conceivably attack. Your fine with putting these up at elementary schools and subjecting your children to this kind of security theatre, for example, correct?
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
Rumor has it that "test mode" consists of a hard drive and a NIC.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
I was initially ambivalent about scanners and pretty much said, "hey, it's not like they're storing the images." Test Mode my ass. If they have the ability, they are using the ability. Next, we'll hear about machines "accidentally" left in test mode during real-world usage. There is absolutely no reason to store these images.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
If you see a really hot babe going through the scanner and don't get the urge to grab a camera, then you're the perv.
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
Scrap the old technology, forget people scanners, just make everyone have to strip to get on the plane. That's it, no clothes past the security check point. Few will be able to easily hide anything, and it'll definitely make flying more fun.
While you're at it, no carry on luggage at all. You strip at security, your clothes are put through the same xray as carry on used to be, then bagged and put on as checked luggage, you get it back after you land.
I love this idea!!!
That's exactly what does happen, even at border control. Pay a little extra, and you can preserve a little more dignity. Ask any billionaire.
Then you get to decide how far this fact (paying money for different treatment by authorities) offends your ideology.
you had me at #!
This still won't stop those terrorists who skip the security line and put a little thought into their actions.
Not to mention destroy your DNA, and give you cancer.
The real issue for me is not that these scanners are unzipping our clothes, but that they may be unzipping our DNA. A study conducted by Boian S. Alexandrov (and colleagues) at the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico shows that terahertz waves could
"...unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the double strand that could significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication."
Genes not properly expressed during replication can lead to lots of terrible diseases like Autism and Alzheimer's. Can we refuse the radiation and ask for a strip search instead?
Tali-Boy This months centerfold is a faceless chick with a hella body oh and a dynamite belt... Wait till you see the spread where she plays with just one stick! LOL sry /. I had to do it
"Computers are a lot like Air Conditioners" "They both work great until you start opening Windows"
Looking at those sample scanner pics, I can't see how anyone could look hot in those. It's kinda like drooling over x-ray pics -- not the greatest turn-on, really.
never. flying. again. /fuck them where it hurts, seriously.
Just wait until they find out there are actually watches with built in cameras that can even shoot videos: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/b550/ or even as a ball point pen : http://www.camerapen.org/ or as a keychain that looks like your car keys : http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20090524/keychain-car-key-security-spy-camera/
Apparently this storage option is only available in Test Mode according to TFA, and only that mode allows the storage of images.
From TFA:
" A TSA official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official is not authorized to speak on the record said all full-body scanners have "strong privacy protections in place" and are delivered to airports 'without the capability to store, print or transmit images.' "
"There is no way for someone in the airport environment to put the machine into the test mode," the official said, adding that test mode can be enabled only in TSA test facilities. But the official declined to say whether activating test mode requires additional hardware, software or simply additional knowledge of how the machines operate."
"Further, the TSA says, the machines are not networked and cannot be hacked."
"The TSA officer viewing the image cannot see the actual passenger. No cameras, cell phones or other devices capable of capturing an image are allowed in the room where the image is displayed, according to the TSA. The agency adds that images are deleted from the system after the operator reviews them. And employees who misuse the machines are subject to serious discipline or removal."
I happen to think this is more media trying to feed the frenzy and grab ratings. The whole idea about privacy in an airport is stupid IMO. They can already go through your bag and find any private items that you like to take on your Bahama vacation. This illusion of privacy at an airport is just that. The scanners are necessary and would hopefully eliminate a lot of stupidity that passengers and the TSA must go through in the security checkpoints. Any pink bits that some person has, will look just like the pink bits from the other hundreds or thousands of people that pass through the scanner that day. Unless your John Holmes, I doubt anyone would be impressed or horrified. From what I saw, you end up with this weird metal looking skin, with no easy way to identify the person in the image in any case.
Who cares if they can see your dick, fat rolls, or tits on a metal skinned image that doesn't even resemble a human?
Note, the images from the following link may not be considered as work safe as they depict weird sort of android nudity with full junkage:
http://partnerofapilot.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/tsa-l-3s-xxx-rated-airport-scanner-pictures/
Suppose an elderly airline passenger is wearing his adult diaper (recently used), will they be pulled out of line and made to display their crap to TSA employees? I mean, wouldn't that look a lot like our nigerian friends special underpants? Is this just another excuse to harass the incontinent?
Will very fat people be asked to lift and display what's under their folds? I've seen people who could hide quite a lot in their sweaty crevices, Why I bet the average /. reader could be hiding a very dirty bomb on their person for sure that wouldn't be detected by these machines. What would this scanner detect on this woman. There's a lot on her that is (and would be best left) unseen by such a device.
This, like every other measure taken, seems only to harass and annoy regular people. These are people representing several government organizations, who when told that someone is planning a terrorist attack by that persons father, and that person pays cash, buys a one way ticket and checks no bags, they can't be troubled to ensure that he doesn't get on a plane. But up untill 2008, made very sure that Nelson Mandella couldn't board a US bound plane? This is just crazy. Makes me want to pull my hair out at the thought of handing these people new tools when the basic tool of common sense has been long abandoned and replaced with seemingly random regulations and rules.
As Frank Zappa said, "America is a nation of laws; Poorly written and randomly enforced"
News at 11
Hey KID! Yeah you, get the fuck off my lawn!
If it pisses you off enough to stop flying, then do so. Also, if you do stop flying, make sure to let the airlines know. You can send a letter to all the ones you use, but in particular any you have a frequent flier program with. Send them something like:
"I regret to inform you that as of this date, I will no longer by flying on your airline. The reason for this has nothing to do with your company or the service I receive, but rather with the onerous, arbitrary, ineffective, and demeaning security theater inflicted on passengers before we are allowed access to flights. I cannot suffer it any longer, and thus am no longer flying until such time it has been rectified. I suggest you let congress know that this security theater is costing you business."
Guess what? If people start doing that, shit will change. The airlines will notice sales falling, the letters will give them a big reason why (companies know for every person that writes a letter there are generally many that feel the same way but don't) and they'll lean hard on congress. They give big dollars, and as is obvious from past bailouts, congress considers the important. If the air carriers push hard enough, congress will yank on the TSA's chain and stop this crap.
Do remember that your vote for political candidates is not your only vote in this country. Voting with your wallet is exceedingly effective in many situations. Make the airlines feel the pain, and they'll tell congress to fix it.
The stuff is mostly used for RF shielding and occasionally used for wearable electronics and other niche applications. The current market is pretty limited because of it's expense, but I can just imagine the demand taking off and the prices finally becoming reasonable.
Screw the tin-foil hats, nickel plated boxers are the ticket.
Next they'll require us to produce copies of ourselves without "parts" to prevent our children or the public from being exposed to accidental exposures of our scans on the net. I agree we need to use due-diligence but this seems like overkill for the problem and a stomp in the face. Just wait, next up there will be funding allocated for a scanner upgrade which actually detects morale intent or can read our minds. Where do we draw the line?
A TSA employee will just copy the images with his cell phone camera and auto upload them to the internet. This still leaves the other hand free to jack off under the table.
Posting to undo fucked up moderation.
Note to self: Don't moderate whilst drinking Lagavulin.
Caution: May contain nuts.
... and the transmission of nude pictures of kids around government departments!
Legal Tangent Department:
TSA agents being federal employees, I have the entertaining hypothesis
that that much-ballyhooed graphic imagery would fall under the aegis of
public domain, inasmuch as it's "a work prepared by an officer or
employee of the U.S. government as part of that person's official
duties."
Presumably it's a different story if contractors are looking at your :/
bits, of course.
The terrorists are already in your country, eating your food, watching your TV, waiting for the call to awake.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Oh noes, suddenly wearing black clothing is no longer slimming. All the nerds forced to fly in the future will be cueing up to buy girdles.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Now, just get hired and wait for the first V.I.P. to pass by and..........
Rather than strip-search everyone, rifle thru their bags, steal their travel-sized hygiene products and lighters, why don't we just pull a full-stop on all this "Security Theater" B.S. and do a total 180; Imagine walking into an airport, grabbing your ticket, and being issued a Glock with low-grain, soft-head rounds (I'm thinking about something that can't pass thru a hull). Heck, it's already been shown that a bullet-sized hole at 30,000 feet doesn't cause explosive decompression. Let's just throw in a few hollow-points. I guarantee the next guy that stands up and screams "Dirka, dirka! Muhammad Jihad!" would have a *very* interesting story to tell his lil harem in the after life.
"When I am king, you will be first against the wall..."
I SO don't care about this. I think reporters are just trying to make a story out of this and there is really no story to tell. Is ANYONE out there really worried about what happens to these images? I know that I don't give a crap.
what I do care about is being able to just walk up to my gate. Why can't the TSA try to do something we do care about? Which is to walk up to the gate without taking off my shoes, belt, suit jacket, removing my laptop from the bag, etc. They can put scanners everywhere if they want to. Put images on the internet, post them on screens as entertainment at the airport just do something that will let me simply walk up to my gate without going through a bunch of pointless security procedures.
The TSA is more concerned about making themselves look relevant than they are about making travel safe and convenient. I am sure the technology exists that will allow us to walk right up to the gates and they can know whether someone poses a threat or not, and that it could be done with a lot less TSA agents than we have now. But we will never hear about that, because the TSA isn't in the business of making the TSA smaller.
-- -- Warning. Do not stare directly at the sun.
Here's the problem with all manned security scanners.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
It doesn't have to be hot, it can be just a pretext... it can be a movie star that maybe has pierced nipples or maybe she had a mastectomy and the TSA employee will be more than happy to sell a picture to TMZ or whatever gossip blog
These scanners reflect off of skin. So if you're a fatass, what's keeping you from going through the scanner with explosives (similar to what the "underwear bomber" used - no metal, no smell) tucked between your fat rolls? Way less uncomfortable and way more capacity than anal storage...
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
You've gone too far. I won't be flying any longer.
sincerely,
a citizen
Reply to That ||
s/you can take/you can't take/g
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
So let me get this straight: the TSA will have a bunch of machines displaying pictures of naked children? Aren't there laws against that?
I haven't flown in years. Family of four, and now we have to pay for our BAGS too. Plus the draconian security measures. I'll take the train or drive, thank you very much. I know I can't take the train overseas, but oh well.
queue flash animation of goatse shitting prime-numbered bombs in 5... 3... 2...
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Code the scanner software to automatically blur the face. The resulting images will then be essentially anonymous.