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Boarding Passes: Another Loophole for Terrorists?
June 26, 2006 11:00 AM
Online boarding passes might be convenient for travelers. But they could be convenient for terrorists too.
Editing an online boarding pass to make a fake one can be as simple as cutting and pasting in Microsoft Word. It took ABC News interns 20 seconds to doctor a boarding pass.
Because airline security doesn't scan boarding passes at the same time it checks IDs, anyone, including a terrorist, could use a fake boarding pass to bypass the no-fly list.
Bruce Schneier, an airline security expert who's worked with the Transportation Safety Administration says it's another example of why physical security on the plane needs to be improved.
"Things like reinforcing the cockpit door. That's things like teaching passengers they have to fight back," he says.
The TSA told ABC News they're not concerned about fake boarding passes because airports screen for weapons. But Congress is concerned and wants to close the loop hole.
June 26, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (35)
I want to thank you ABC for providing assistance to terrorists. How is this news that can help. You should have reported this to the DHS and not online. Can all of you in the media be that stupid or callous. Maybe it is because you all think you are in an elected position of moral superiority. I spent 22yrs in the navy (honorably retired) to support and defend the constitution of the U.S. and you all seem to use it as a napkin.
Posted by: Britt Wayne Smith | Jun 26, 2006 2:58:44 PM
Thanks.....
Got any other good ideas to share with us terrirists...??? How about publishing the weak spots in our power grid, or nuclear power plant...???
Journalists = Anarchists
Posted by: Red Field | Jun 26, 2006 7:49:11 PM
I don't know about anyone else, but I've about had it with "post 911" fear, paranoia and yes.. I'll say it.. plain old yellow-bellied cowardice here in the formerly Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.
Thank God that the America of December 7, 1941 had the spine that we seem to be sorely lacking today.
Posted by: Hubba Bubba | Jun 26, 2006 7:51:04 PM
I think it is an important counter-point to this blog article, that there are many layers of security protections in place at all the major US airports. While a falsified boarding pass will allow a traveller to enter the boarding area, it should be remembered that by that point the passangers have been : 1) screened for metallic and proscribed items. 2) bags, jackets, and shoes have been cleared through the scanner, metal detector, and other active scanning detectors. 3) Many airports now have a non-invasive explosive and chemical residue detector nicknamed the 'puff chamber' which checks for even minute traces of compounds. ... At this point, any potential threat has been effectively neutralized, and the person may now enjoy a long wait in the security lounge. Once inside the boarding area, there are other strong procedures and safety measures in place that likewise curtail and neutralize potential threats. As an issue, prescanning falsified boarding passes prior to entering the security zone is a non-starter issue.
Posted by: A TSA Screener | Jun 26, 2006 8:29:38 PM
I believe it’s very important that the media mainstream continue to be honest and upfront with as much information as possible to the public. It is important that the truth be told pertaining to these issues at hand.
When it comes to the airport security, I suggest policies not becoming lax when they are working; it’s not the best time to let our guard down because nothing has been solved when it comes to terrorism.
And if you recall back in December 2005, the current administrative received bad marks for terrorism preps, and in this grading system the TSA received an “F” for poor airline passenger pre-screening, the "burying" of the overall intelligence budget within the defense budget, and coalition standards for terrorist detention.
God Bless.
Posted by: Victoria Rum | Jun 26, 2006 10:17:56 PM
Although this "trick" isn't the most secretest trick in the book, I am very appalled by the government's response to the investigation.
To: Mr. Britt Wayne Smith
These types of information informs the public how vulnerable our transportation system is. These reports also put government officials accountable for the lack of security in this country. These reports are not aimed to give new "ideas" to terrorists. Heck, politicians use these reports more than terrorists to carry out their own agenda. Besides, it seems the government doesn't mind this flaw at all. If you believe in the government so much, why do you have to scorn these reports when the government officials labels them as insignificant to breach of security? I believe in this country, but government alone cannot sustain it. From civilian media investigations to army's protection, this country stands because each of us are all united to form a more perfect society.
Posted by: Daniel Shin | Jun 26, 2006 10:58:13 PM
I wonder if you driveling self-anointed idiots in the media realize that Islamic terrorists will happily chop your heads off or blow you all up, the same way they would us, the unanointed? For sheer stupidity and empty-headed anti-Americanism, nobody beats the old media. Thank God for Fox!
Posted by: Helen | Jun 26, 2006 11:58:19 PM
Perhaps there might have been another way to convey this useful information (that lots of us travelers knew before anyway) without making it appear that ABC's main goal is to allow a terrorist attack so that Bush might look bad?
I understand that this would be . . . well . . . a lie, but it would have been more marketable.
Posted by: bobby_b | Jun 27, 2006 12:54:51 AM
To those of you who think our government is "intelligent" think again. Remember....the terrorists over-powered the 9-11 flights with BOX CUTTERS....Helllllooooo!
One person cannot do what 5 or 6 people can do better. Sheer power is present here, air marshalls or not. Best they don't get ON THE PLANE. Any secure "parts" can be used as weapons.... with enough "man-power" behind it...duhhhh.
The news media does sometimes reveal too much information, but usually a terroist has already figured out how to foil am attempt
before the media catches it. I'm not a terrorist....but I have raised really bright kids! You have to think AHEAD of the CURVE. Terrorists and children have much in common. They both spend hours contemplating how to foil watchful eyes, just on different levels.
HOMELAND INSECURITY doesn't really waste it's time staying ahead of the curve, unless someone "with some power" starts making noises. The government hates to be held accountable for non-pet projects. That is why we have illegal felons walking our streets slapping us in the face with our own "freedoms and rights" which also protects their right to threaten us, steal from us and destroy our national economy! Not really bright...
Shar
Posted by: Shar | Jun 27, 2006 8:56:33 AM
Allowing a terrorist attack so that Bush might look bad? The only thing another terrorist attack is going to do is make Bush look like our SAVIOR that we can never abandon now, because he has led us through the storms, everyone revered Giuliani as a god after 9/11 and Bush as Jesus Christ, and the Patriot Act passed without a peep and now people are posting on blogs advocating the revocation of a free press with much fear, uncertainty and doubt in their hearts thanks to the effects of terrorism - to create fear - and the benefit it gave our leaders. They were probably cheering along with the people in that 10 second loop of the people on the West Bank. It was such a fortuitous disaster for the power elite. Don't delude yourself into thinking another attack will be anything but beneficial for Bushco.
Posted by: repo | Jun 27, 2006 9:43:02 AM
For those who are attacking ABC for REPORTING NEWS I have a question.
Which do you think will be more likely to get DHS to correct this "loophole" in airplane security:
Secretly telling DHS and hoping they get off their rearends?
Or making it public so that they get pressure from INFORMED CITIZENS to fix the loophole?
Some of you apparently like living under a rock. And are of the opinion that the terrorists are dumb and can't/haven't figured out this simple "trick" themselves.
Posted by: Jim | Jun 27, 2006 9:46:25 AM
This is old news, people have known about it for years. Although I never would use one at an airport, I tried this trick about 3 years ago. The real point is that TSA does't so much try to increase security as much as the apperance of security. If you think this harms national security then you must think that all legit terroists are really really dumb and wouldn't spend more then about 3 minutes planning.
Posted by: justin_height | Jun 27, 2006 9:46:38 AM
lol @ you guys saying this helps terrorists. even though you clearly haven't, i think terrorists have already figured out, without the aid of this article, that you can use a printer to print stuff on paper.
i bet you'd also lament that ABC news was helping terrorists if they published an article with the headline: "BREAKING NEWS: STUDY FINDS THAT BOMBS DESTROY STUFF".
Posted by: bob | Jun 27, 2006 10:07:38 AM
There's a flaw in this story. When I get on a flight, my boarding pass is checked against my ID. If my real name was on a no-fly list, I'd have to have fake ID that is under another name. And if I've gone to the trouble of getting fake ID, I'd have gone to the trouble of having my ticket issued under that faked name.
Therefore, the need to doctor a boarding pass does not exist to get around no-fly lists.
Where it IS useful is this: if I want to meet someone at the gate, I just doctor a boarding pass that allows me, with my normal ID, to get into the departure area. Piece of cake. But, as others have noted, I'd still be screened for weaponry, so I would present a minimal threat.
Finally, getting into the secure area doesn't even take a fake boarding pass. Talk to airline officials, tell them you have to meet a sick relative when they get off the plane, and you can get a pass to go down and meet a plane. You still get screened, so the threat is minimal.
So, bottom-line, this is a non-story. You'd be better served looking at how easy it would be to reproduce the Rome and Lod Airport massacres despite today's security. All those long lines getting into security are just target-rich environments.
Posted by: Michael Stackpole | Jun 27, 2006 10:52:27 AM
I think we can take it as a given that, if in fact one does exist, any individual contemplating conducting terroristic activity at a commercial airport within the U.S. has long ago realized how permeable a shield the online boarding pass makes. As a result, suppressing information of this sort does nothing to impede such an individual. Instead, the only purpose doing so would serve would be to cover up yet another knuckleheaded, misdirected action of the DHS, further hiding the astounding incompetence demonstrated by the federal government since long before 9/11. Wake up, people: The Bush administration's complaints about the media have nothing at all to do with protecting American citizens and everything to do with covering their tracks.
Posted by: mazoola | Jun 27, 2006 11:49:33 AM
I'm seriously concerned at the number of people who don't understand how a democracy works. A free press is essential for the survival of a democracy! It is their job to tell us what our government is doing.
Posted by: David | Jun 27, 2006 12:09:37 PM
kudos to you, Dave. When will middle america wake up and realize that the press is doing all of us a huge public service by exposing loopholes like these as well as reminding us about our disappering freedoms? And how embarrassing was it to watch our "president" have that hissy fit in front of the world yesterday?
Posted by: loretta | Jun 27, 2006 12:56:10 PM
Freedom of the press. Remember that one? Some people would like to change the national bird to the ostrich and live with heads in the sand. The 'terrorist' boogeyman that is constantly trotted out could easily figure out this stuff. It is important to report it so that we don't live in an informtion vacuum controlled by the government. Lazy folks want Big Brother to do it all. Consider the cost.
Posted by: john quincey public | Jun 27, 2006 1:06:19 PM
Most of the foolishness that TSA puts flyers through (like taking off one's shoes, etc), while good at frightening people and slowing commerce, does little if anything to stop terrorists.
For example:
-- Did you ever notice that after you walk through "security" the inside of the airport is store after store full of merchandise that doesn't get examined? Two or three people with minimum wage jobs at a fast-food or sunglass store could easily bring anything they want inside and pass it off to a passenger.
--Much of the cargo that goes in the belly of passenger jets doesn't get checked. There are explosion-proof roll-on containers, but airlines won't pay for them.
-- In most cities, vans go out at 4 AM to pick up day workers for the kitchens that prepare the day's airplane food. Any of these individuals could introduce dangerous substances into large batches of food.
--Finally, in the past year, the only person murdered while flying is the one mentally handicapped passenger shot by "sky marshalls", some of whom have been charged with smuggling cocaine.
The media needs to expose the hypocrisy and weaknesses of the government's impotence on security, and citizens should demand real security, not fear mongering.
Posted by: Anad Nyvar | Jun 27, 2006 1:28:34 PM
Anad,
Let me address some of the points you make, directly:
"Store after store of merchandise that does not get examined" -- In fact, the merchandise, food, and other materials that end up in the security zone are subject to even more screening than the passengers get. Each and every box goes through a series of powerful scanners, detectors, and chemical swab checks.
"Much of the cargo that goes in the plane does not get checked." I am afraid that this is just plain wrong. EVERY single item that goes into the cargo area of the plane is subject to the same rigorous scans and checks that keep passangers safe.
"4AM Day Workers" I am not even sure where to begin with this issue. Food preparation workers, working inside the security zone of major airports, are subject to the hiring practices, badging, security procedures, and basic background checks that any airport worker must pass. If you have evidence of an airport food service restaurant using so-called day workers, report it to the authorities immediately.
Posted by: A TSA Screener | Jun 27, 2006 2:34:04 PM
The people complaining that this is reporting this to terrorists are idiots. They ALREADY KNOW ALL THIS. This is good reporting to let the people know, so they can demand something be done!
Posted by: nobody | Jun 27, 2006 4:59:30 PM
It's not hard to figure out you can cut and paste an on-line boarding pass in Word. This golden nugget of info is totally obvious to anyone who 1) uses the internet and 2) uses any word processing program. The question is, are you willing to test your theory that it actually works and risk facing Federal prosecution?
I'm sure little 'tips' like this would be lost on our Government if it weren't for the press drawing it to their attention.
Posted by: mowa | Jun 27, 2006 6:09:01 PM
LOL at the comments from the TERROR! TERROR! ABC is filled with TRAITORS posters.
You all have NO CLUE as to what terrorism is all about and how the "war on terror" is a complete ruse and the way it's being waged is actually making things worse.
Creating a fake boarding pass to get through a security checkpoint is nothing that hasn't been thought of before. I've thought of that myself many a time over the last few years and wouldn't be surprised it doesn't happen a lot.
It's different to actually board a plane, though. The boarding pass (at least on Delta flights) is scanned to ensure the name/flight # match.
Enough with the feigned indignation spawned by listening to Faux News or Viagra Limbaugh.
Posted by: conjur | Jun 28, 2006 12:23:10 AM
Get a clue newspeople!!!! We don't need to give terrorists any more ideas! Why can't you report these things to the proper government officials and not tell the entire world? Our society wonders why bad things happen to a greater degree? The answer: News Media Coverage, Violent Video Games, Movies and Television
...all of you put ideas in the heads of both terrorists and psychos! When will you ever learn? And have you no conscience?
Susan
Posted by: Susan | Jun 28, 2006 12:31:40 AM
Wake up! everyone is calling for restrictions on the press. The New York Times is under fire for there report on the tracking of money wires. the average american is calling for the Free Press to be restricted because of the apparant disregard for security.
When in fact that is the last thing we want. PROTECT free press, once the right to a FREE Press is gone no one will be able to speak out agaist government corruption and you will see more of your rights revoked.
Posted by: Joe Blow | Jun 28, 2006 9:35:33 AM
Nobody need worry...the terrorists have very little to do after 911 and don't need to. They caused us to start the Bush war with a lie, spend how much now..., ruin our military(many ways), destroy our reputation, divide the country(bush the uniter), and so many other things I am going to not mention here. Bin Laden and his friends are probably playing games in a cave in pakistan...Now WHO WON?
Posted by: frodaddy | Jun 28, 2006 11:24:27 AM
Airline security is mostly for show, to fake out the American public into believing that they are safe. However, airlines are not allowed to do a secondary search on more than 2 Arab looking people on any one flight or they get in trouble with the feds. Also, airline employees do not go through the security screening. And look at how many illegals have been recently arrested working at airports. We pretend that we are safe because we search old ladies for their nail clippers and knitting needles, but ignore the obvious suspects because we don't want to "offend". America, what a joke.
Posted by: conspiracynut | Jun 28, 2006 11:26:35 AM
Lest we forget - again...
"Those who do not remember the past, are comdemed to repeat it..."
Unfortunately, "They will take the rest of us on this nightmareish Hell ride...
Posted by: Anonymous | Jun 28, 2006 12:16:33 PM
False ID is Rampent-Secure our Airports. Government is failinmg to do its job correctly.
Posted by: Richard Ahern | Jun 28, 2006 2:02:45 PM
Thank you for bringing this to the publics awareness. With your help, attention is being brought to a flaw in the protection of the american public and now will be quickly rectified. If only the FAUX News junkies could see the bigger picture, more progress could be made.
Thanks again!
Posted by: Bill Limbaugh | Jun 28, 2006 3:05:27 PM
If the government would allow me to freely exercise my second amendment right to keep and bear arms I would carry concealed every time I fly commercially. If any terrorists attempted to hijack the aircraft it simply would give me great pleasure as I kill them on the spot! There, now isn't that easy?
Posted by: Hank Greenberg | Jun 28, 2006 3:35:16 PM
Are TSA staff now paid to post comforting statements on blogs like this one?
Anyone who believes that every bit of food an merchandise that goes into the shopping malls inside airports is scrutinized must be naive. Are individual bottles in the cases of vegetable oil opened to confirm the contents? Cleaning supplies? Do all the restaurants use plastic chef's knifes to prepare food? What about the kitchen equipment and furniture? Is every diswasher, table, chair disassembled? What about the countless gas tanks for soda machines? How hard would it be to put 4 oz of C4 into an ice cream sandwich wrapper inside cases and cases of frozen food? The point is anyone working in the retail section of the airports could get just about anything in concealed among merchandise. I know that airports care about this, but they obviously care more about high rent retail where vendors can charge $8.00 for a hot dog.
In terms of the food preparation, the caterers prepare the food offsite and ship it into the airport. Those facilities are free to bring whomever they want in to work. In fact, there was a well documented occassion where a day worker who was a carrier of Shigella caused an outbreak. They hire unknowns all the time. I will leave it to your imagination what could happen if someone took advantage of that security "loophole"
As for the assertion made by the TSA blogger above that all cargo is screened, it is simply untrue. While the TSA has focused on and nail clippers, only a small percentage of cargo (<20%)is checked before being shipped on passenger planes.In fact, just this week, the SF airport announced an innitiative to do just that, putting them in the minority. While congress passed recommendations to begin "exploring" ways of doing this, SFO decided to do it themselves rather than wait for DHS.
Finally, anyone who has worked in a bar knows that there are books with sample drivers licenses from all states so that IDs can be authenticated. When the TSA at the airport looks at your drivers license for 5 seconds, have you ever wondered how they know what drivers licenses from 50 states look like without checking the book? Any teenager with a fake ID knows this process is a joke.
None of this is news to terrorists. Unfortunately, it is news to taxpayers who fall for the ruse of "high-powered" security that uses personal humiliation and intimidation to scare people into knowing that little of any serious consequence is being done.
That's why we need ABC and other media to report these egregious gaps.
Posted by: Anad | Jun 28, 2006 3:50:50 PM
Look at it like this, the U.S. was successful in both WWI and WWII--and their motto, even to civilians, was "Loose lips sink ships." I don't believe it is in the best interest of our country for media to be announcing to the world our weak areas. And for pete's sake, why did the media yell loud and clear about the financial screening of certain "persons of interest"? We could never have fought the above-mentioned wars in this atmosphere. I question the loyalty of person or persons who believe this is the right thing to do. Maybe we should bring back the trials of traitors and, when found guilty, put them on a plane to nowhere as "a man without a country" and never let them come back to the good ol' U.S.A.! They'd soon be longing for what they had no more.
Posted by: Ellen | Jun 30, 2006 2:26:54 AM
Tramadol is a Pain killer abused by many, Huraaa for being a pharmacy student.an effective pain reliever (analgesic). Its mode of action resembles that of narcotics, but it has significantly less potential for abuse and addiction than the narcotics.
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Tramadol is a Pain killer abused by many, Huraaa for being a pharmacy student.
Posted by: woretes | Jun 2, 2007 11:39:39 AM
I am slightly stunned by the number of people posting who feel that abc have actually released information to potential terrorists. Terrorists really are more sophisticated than to need to get ideas from the media. It is common knowledge that boarding passes can be edited. Many airlines now use barcode scanning software so that when the person presents an edited boarding pass, the information held in the barcode does not match the boarding pass. Further security systems, such as checking both the boarding pass and ID at the gate means this loophole is pretty simple to close.
We have to remember that it wouldn't be in a terrorist's interests to edit a boarding pass to show a false name because the terrorists who, for example, orchistrated the 9/11 campaign were legitimately in the US, just as the Glasgow Airport bomber in the UK was a doctor working for a hospital, legitimately in the UK and a respected citizen.
Posted by: Ian | Oct 13, 2007 8:24:18 AM
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