The barcode on expedited screening system PreCheck's boarding passes is unencrypted, allowing tech-savvy travelers to decode which security screening they are subject to.
New TSA historian Michael Smith has worked for two years to compile artifacts and oral histories pertaining to the origin, history and mission of the Transportation Security Administration.
Let’s start with the basics: the reason we take off our shoes at the airport is because the shoe bomber tried to get a bomb on a plane. The reason we can only carry on 3-ounce bottles? Someone tried to get a liquid bomb on a plane. Body scanners? Underwear bomber. But what if we took a look at suspicious behavior of the people attempting these acts of terrorism instead of relying primarily on machines to do our dirty work?
While most commonly associated with the aviation world, the checkpoint is now a major component of almost every security strategy. Whether it’s a major sporting event like the Olympics or the Super Bowl or a high-security facility like a government building or nuclear power facility, checkpoints have spread far-and-wide beyond the confines of the airport.
The newly adopted GOP platform states an intent to privatize the Transportation Security Administration in search of more cost-effective security operations across the country.
While the TSA cost $6.5 billion last year, that cost does not include additional costs such as police in airports, time-spent by travelers and economic impact of counterterrorism mandates.