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Experts Warn About Security Flaws In Airline Boarding Passes
concealment writes in with a story about a newly found security issue with the bar codes on boarding passes. "Flight enthusiasts, however, recently discovered that the bar codes printed on all boarding passes — which travelers can obtain up to 24 hours before arriving at the airport — contain information on which security screening a passenger is set to receive.
Details about the vulnerability spread after John Butler, an aviation blogger, drew attention to it in a post late last week. Butler said he had discovered that information stored within the bar codes of boarding passes is unencrypted, and so can be read in advance by technically minded travelers.
Simply by using a smartphone or similar device to check the bar code, travelers could determine whether they would pass through full security screening, or the expedited process."
Wonder how long till John Butler gets arrested for sharing this info. National security and all that.
Be seeing you...
Printing an entirely new one with your own bar code doesn't tamper with the existing card at all.
Indeed. It's pretty hard to say "random search" if the guy's badge code has a special section selecting him for "extra screening"
It could be determined randomly before people are able to print their boarding passes.
In fact that would probably be the best way to ensure a random search, since a person at the gate might be influenced by your appearance.
Plus, if you have legitimate reason to believe someone is higher than average risk, you could just specify what's needed on the boarding pass, and not have to rely on the staff to spot you based on a picture.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
'Tis a jobs program, and nothing more. Even the congressmen who are against the idea of the TSA are busy spinning it as providing jobs to their constituents.
Which is funny on so many levels. We all know that the TSA was built on a lie, we all know that it is worthless, we all know that it is bleeding the taxpayers dry, and we all know that we'd be better off without it. And yet, they're going to keep it, because jobs. Jobs which provide no net income, jobs which cost three times more than they are worth, jobs with glass ceilings built in, jobs which do not help America to grow anywhere but the waistline, and yet, they are so desperate to protect them. The money they are earning in kickbacks must be tremendous.
I am John Hurt.
On the other hand, if you are a terrorist cell, you are probably not terribly concerned about U.S. law...
Meus subcriptio est nocens Latin quoniam bardus populus reputo is sanus callidus
Actually - for many years when I was traveling in the US, if (and only if) my boarding pass had SSSS printed on it, I would be subjected to extra screening. The SSSS would be printed in large clear letters on the document. I don't know what genius came up with that advance warning, but it sure as hell would tell a wannabe terrorist not to go through with his plan and try again some other time. The people managing these processes really need to think such things through a little bit better.
Meus subcriptio est nocens Latin quoniam bardus populus reputo is sanus callidus
It's not tampering, it's forgery. How much of a tech/nerd guy do you have to be to NOT immediately see this?
Jobs which slow the economy by discouraging pleasure travel (and all of the nice tourist spending) and business travel (and the kinds of business deals and chance new acqaintances you only get in person). Travel is incredibly important to our economy, it is part of what makes a large country so strong. When people opt out of it, the ripple effects are amazing.