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TSA: Don't lock that bag!
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 17:34:42 -0500
------ Forwarded Message From: "Trei, Peter" <ptrei () rsasecurity com> Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 17:17:55 -0500 To: "'farber () cis upenn edu'" <farber () cis upenn edu>, "'dave () farber net'" <dave () farber net> Subject: TSA: Don't lock that bag! [For IP, if you wish] It appears that if you check your luggage locked, and the inspectors in their infinite wisdom decide to search it, they won't ask you to unlock it - they'll just break it open. ----------------------------- http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=44&content=654 Press Releases December 19, 2002 - TSA Updates New Guidelines for Passengers Checking Baggage TSA 143-02 Thursday, Dec. 19, 2002 Press Contact: TSA Public Affairs 202-385-1800 Under Secretary of Transportation for Security Adm. James M. Loy today updated Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidelines for checking baggage, saying they are important to having secure and enjoyable holiday air travel. Adm. Loy also urged passengers to leave their checked bags unlocked, which will avoid the potential need to forcibly open bags that require further physical inspection. [snip] --------------- Several problems strike me here. First, this is clearly an invitation to theft. Second, how is outbound foreign luggage handled? I might be so foolish as to trust that the luggage handlers at JFK might not steal, but when my bag arrives at the other end - Moscow? Nairobi? Cayman Islands? it appears that I have to take my chances. Will the airline or the USG (or even insurance) cover valuables taken from an unlocked bag at an overseas airport? I don't think so. How will foreign visitors react when told that they can't lock their outbound bags going home? How will they react when they find that the USG has broken into their luggage? Another problem: It's perfectly legal to transport personal firearms in checked luggage, but one of the Federal requirements is that they are in a locked container. It's not clear how this jibes with the "unlocked luggage" requirement above. -------------------- What the TSA fears, of course, is that a suicidal terrorist will be quite happy to put a bomb in her luggage, then get on the plane with it. Matching bags to passengers won't solve this. The only good solution I can see is to screen (and possibly search) luggage in the presence of the passengers, so they can lock/unlock it. [Actually, the high level good solution would be to have a foreign policy which doesn't generate so many enemies around the world, but I guess that's too much to ask for.] Peter Trei ------ End of Forwarded Message ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com To unsubscribe or update your address, click http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- TSA: Don't lock that bag! Dave Farber (Dec 19)