Investigators
continue to work on a case that could be a possible security problem at Orlando
International Airport in Orlando, Florida An official from the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) had his badge stolen November 10 while his car was parked
in the employee parking lot of the FAA building near the airport. The badge has
a photo of the employee on it with a hologram for added protection against
tampering. A spokeswoman with the southern region of the FAA issued a statement
saying: “It would be difficult and unlikely that someone would be able to use
the stolen badge to get in secured areas of the airport. I’m unaware of any
specific protocol regarding places the badge can or cannot be kept, just that
the employee is required to keep it secure.” The FAA and police are
investigating the criminal aspects of the case, but they are not necessarily
investigating the employee. They said the official was not careless to leave
the badge in his car. While the FAA does not consider the theft a serious
concern, a security expert said the theft could actually be quite serious.
“There is a great concern about what could be done with this badge,” he said,
pointing out that while it may be difficult to use the badge at an airport, “It
is a federal badge and could be used outside the airport.”