[Infowarrior] - Shifts in airport security intended to fool terrorists

[Richard Forno]

Shifts in airport security intended to fool terrorists
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
BY ROBERT COHEN
STAR-LEDGER WASHINGTON BUREAU
http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-6/114421851464010.xml?starledg
er?ntop&coll=1

WASHINGTON -- A top federal security official said yesterday the government
intends to alter the type and frequency of its passenger screening at the
nation's airports to make the process less predictable and harder for
terrorists to penetrate.

Kip Hawley, head of the Transportation Security Administration, told the
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Commit tee that his agency has
tested new screening regimes at 10 airports, and intends to "incorporate
similar unpredictable additional screening into our standard operating proce
dure."

"Each of the enhanced screening procedures was designed to specifically
address the threat of explosives, and the procedures were carried out
regardless of whether a passenger cleared the walk-thorough metal detector
or a carry-on bag successfully passed through an X-ray machine," said
Hawley.

He said the aim is to make sure that "no passenger, and therefore no
terrorist, could predict what screening procedure he or she would be subject
to."

"Our biggest vulnerability has been predictability," said Hawley. "You can't
allow the terrorists the luxury to make plans knowing exactly what defense
they will face."

The TSA has come under repeated criticism for security lapses as it has
worked to improve passenger and baggage screening at more than 400
commercial airports, train inspectors and install explosive detection
machines and other equipment.

Last month, it was reported that federal investigators successfully smuggled
bomb-making materials through security at 21 airports, none of which was
identified.

In October 2004, confidential records obtained by The Star-Ledger showed
that screeners were missing one in four explosives and weapons in covert
tests of checkpoints. In December 2004, screeners lost a fake test bomb
during an unauthorized training exercise; the phony explosive eventually
ended up on a plane to Amsterdam.

Just last month, the federal se curity director at Newark Liberty
International Airport was relieved of command after a four-year tenure beset
by security breakdowns and high staff turnover among the 1,000-member force
that guards one of the nation's busiest hubs.

Cathleen Berrick, head of homeland security issues at the Government
Accountability Office, told the committee that undercover testing has
exposed "weaknesses and vulnerabilities" in the screening system "at
airports of all sizes and at locations all across the country."

Berrick said the TSA still is having problems deploying all the needed bomb
detection and bag gage screening equipment because of lack of funding, and
continues to have difficulties ensuring adequate staffing at airports and
the proper training of personnel.

"The TSA may have difficulty maintaining a screening work force that possess
the critical skills needed to perform at a desired level," she warned the
committee.