Problems With New TSA Screening Policy

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The TSA has announced a new policy for handling people boarding planes
who have some problem with the photo ID requirement. Up until now,
people who had no ID or whose ID was exired had to go through secondary
screening. The new policy says that people in this position will have
to answer questions about their credit history. There are a host of
problems with this new policy, and with the idea of a no-fly list and
watchlist as such.

CNN has run a series of stories about this, because some of their staff
have landed on the no-fly list and been unable to get off, or eve find
out why they are on it. The ways these staffers have found to get
around the list would be laughable, except that they work. For
instance, if your name on the list is James Joyce, buying your
ticket under the name Jim Joyce gets you on the plane. Or use your
middle name instead of your first name. The CNN spots listed several
others. One golden example was how to get a bag checked if you are on
the list. Just get a skycap to do! That apparently works a treat.

The problem I see with the new policy is this: suddenly a whole lot
more people have access to your credit history! That information is
supposed to be at least semi-confidential. Does anyone seriously
believe this access won’t be abused and sold to identity thieves? If
you do, see me about this bridge I have for sale.

This is just one more example of the dangers that arise as networks
become more and more interlinked and storage gets cheaper. The biggest
difficulty is that, once a thing is possible technically, it will be
done whether it is legal or not. That means that regulations and laws
will only be minimally effective. And the biggest vulnerabilities will
come from law enforcement or government itself, as always.

Posted by: swampy | 09-02-2008 | 02:09 PM
Posted in: Uncategorized