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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 (38)

User Comments

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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.

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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

Social search system I want.I have.I love. It provides you with tools for finding a person to find a person whose wishes and hobbies are identical with yours. You you are offered to give answer to a plain question: What do you want?, What do you have and What do you prefer? The system provides an automatic selection of people who wish the same things you do.

Posted by: lunahod | May 1, 2009 5:42:34 PM

No. I dont' believe that. In the first place, a person has to purchase his or her ticket. Second, the name of the ticket holder is in the system. Thirdly, the name has to match the name on the ID and the name on the boarding pass. So, how can a person not be legitimate and the airlines would of already come up with those loopholes so they didn't happen. This is just an obstacle after they made it more technological for a person to board a plane. Why to ruin it for everybody to worry about someone who takes another person's ticket and why would that person want to lose their ticket. Their is only so many seats on the aircraft. Somewhere that logic would fail.

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