Terrorists probing, planning for new aviation attacks

Despite billions of dollars spent on securing our nation's airports since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, experts say terrorists are still testing and targeting aviation security because an attack could kill a lot of people, undermine public confidence and cause significant economic damage. "It remains an incredibly high target for terrorists," Erroll Southers, President Obama's first choice to head the Transportation Security Administration, said. Southers had to withdraw his name from consideration due to political reasons. "It's still vulnerable... and it would be a decisive economic blow to our country." Aviation security experts spoke at homeland security and counterterrorism forum Tuesday at the Aspen Institute which was attended by lawmakers, industry insiders, journalists and the public.

Since 1960, there have been more than 90 active attacks by terrorists on airport structures, according to the experts. "What you're seeing here is experimentation on their part to see what they can get through screening. They've been more successful every year getting on planes and that troubles me," Southers said. The experts agreed that aviation security is only as good as its weakest link because once a passenger gets behind security barriers, they can access nearly any airport in the world. Because of that, the experts said that the greatest threat is overseas. Some international airports do not maintain the same security standards as the TSA.

Read more...

Will airports screen for body signals?

The days of being able to walk through airport security checkpoints while wearing shoes and a jacket could return if an experimental program proves successful, some Department of Homeland Security officials say.

The Homeland Security-funded project is Future Attribute Screening Technology, or FAST. Instead of focusing on whether you have hidden explosives or whether you're carrying a weapon, sensors and cameras located at security checkpoints would measure the natural signals coming from your body -- your heart rate, breathing, eye movement, body temperature and fidgeting.

Those physiological signs, measured together, will indicate whether you might have the desire or intent to do harm, project manager Robert Burns said. "There's been a large field of research that ties your physical reactions to your mental state, your emotional state. We're looking for those signals that your body gives off naturally."

Burns said the technology will pick up cues that may not be observed by a human and help security personnel decide more quickly whether to send someone to secondary screening for questioning.

Read more...