Slashdot Mirror
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."
Has anyone seen a case where a passenger is waved through security? Each time I go through, everyone in line for screening goes through the same process (then again, I am completely average and might not have seen advanced/reduced security for anyone except pilots).
How possible would it be to do very subtle Photoshop (or the GIMP) changes to ensure someone goes through the expedited process? Heck, terrorism aside, I'D do it just to avoid the cancer machines.
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.
It doesn't make much sense from a security standpoint to roll the random dice in advance, since a terrorist could book a number of flights under different aliases and then miss the flights where he/she is pre-selected for screening.
I'm not ruling out the authorities actually reasoned the way you're describing, though. "Enhanced security" at airports seems to have very little to do with actual security, and more to do with reassuring the public the situation is under control.
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.
Having the information on the boarding pass itself introduces an even higher security risk. The information doesn't need to be on the boarding pass at all; it could just contain a unique serial number, which is then looked up in a database by the barcode scanner.
Not only could you photoshop the barcode, but hell, you could photoshop the name, the destination, the flight number, pretty much anything you wanted... The brainless goons at the security checkpoint wouldn't know the difference. (They don't scan tickets or anything).
In my experience (working for a contractor for a major US airline), you could even use a photoshopped (printed at home) boarding pass to get on the plane. When they scan it at the gate and the computer beeps saying "no such thing", generally the non-english-speaking gate agent will just scan it a few more times, give up, and let the person on the plane. When the passenger count from the computer later doesn't match up to the number of people on the plane, they'll just "go with what's on the plane" in the interest of getting the plane out on time. This happens on a DAILY BASIS. "Security" is a joke.
Hmm - funny that. I once got that too after complaining to an American Airlines check-in lady about a checked luggage fee. Qantas passengers are exempt from such fees, as I tried to point out to her, but she wanted to hit me with it anyway. After a long debate and a visit from her supervisor the fee was waived - but - surprise surprise - SSSS appeared on the boarding card. This was on one leg out of 10 flights around the US, so it could not have been on the basis of any kind of passenger profiling. Maybe some slashdotter in the airline industry can enlighten us here...
Meus subcriptio est nocens Latin quoniam bardus populus reputo is sanus callidus
Airline employees can manually mark any boarding pass as SSSS.
How do I know? When it was possible to fly by purposely refusing to present ID, I once flew on a ticket that was paid for by another family member. When I went to check in and check my bags, they asked for ID. I told nicely told them that I prefer not to be identified and will be flying as a selectee. Person at ticket counter gives me a dirty look and responds (expectedly) that the SSSS is required if you don't present ID, but everything flowed smoothly after that. It's a shame that you can't refuse to identify yourself anymore these days.
After that, I think I was flagged as all my boarding passes for the next couple years had SSSS on it.
including the inability to get non-stop flights for most routes, having to pay to park in a lot that is still a 10 minute ride to the terminal, having to arrive 2 hours early to ensure getting thru security on time to board, having small innocuous items in my pockets stolen by TSA, risking having large innocuous items in my bags stolen by TSA, getting severely overcharged for food at airport terminals, getting X-rayed by someone who is not my doctor or dentist, having to do mini-marathons thru airports to make connecting flights, getting my bags lost, etc. etc. have all combined to cause me to decide to drive everywhere I go. Eventually, the Alcan Highway is going to get photographed up the wazoo, by me, 'cuz I'll drive up and ferry back. But the X-rays were the last straw, that shall not stand. I quit. You can find me on I-10 to Tucson next year, I-74 from Indy to La Crosse, I-64 to St. Louis, etc. etc. Until the unconstitutional TSA activity is removed, I will not choose to fly anywhere I can drive, or boat, or travel by train.