A very similar editorial comment by U.S. comedian and former talk show host Dick Cavett on the New York Times Opinionator page yesterday (19 August 2011) caused me to excavate this one from my archives. Originally posted 2 February 2007 on my BCP Confidential blog on ZDNet, which I no longer write, the examples in it may be dated, but little else has changed, except the flying public’s resentment.

When a TSA inspector at a U.S. airport says he’s going to touch your genitals and asks, ‘Is that OK?’, what’s the right answer?

A uniformed Transportation Security Administration inspector at the Los Angeles airport asked me that question in December (2006).

Let me admit my bias: I believe the “security theater” (as security blogger Bruce Schneier described it) performed by the TSA at U.S. airports is a poor allocation of time, money and resources.

TSA screening at airports makes travel a lot more difficult for people who are NOT terrorists, like me, but I’ve not heard or read a single story of post-9/11 airport security procedures preventing an armed terrorist from boarding a plane.

In November 2005 a TSA inspector ordered a woman passenger in line in front of me to remove her denim vest – which was also her blouse – at a checkpoint in St. Louis, Missouri. The woman had to pass through the TSA check point in her brassiere.  Read more... (1566 words, 0 images, estimated 6:16 mins reading time)

I suppose that putting up posters in your office might raise awareness of risk, security, audit, fraud, theft and other naughty behaviors. New Zealand IT consulting company IsecT Limited publishes risk management posters for that purpose every month on their NoticeBored web site. The company has been distributing free, high-resolution posters since May 2006; there are five or six new ones each month. (The April 2008 selections featuring auditors are amusing.)  I’d like to be at a brain-storming session where these are dreamed up; I’ll bet that beer is involved…

American training firm Native Intelligence also distributes security awareness posters online and in print. Some posters are free, but print versions without a watermark cost USD 7.50. Native Intelligence also produces 60-second animated presentations for video kiosk and desktop screensaver displays. The company is owned by Native American women, hence the company’s name. (“Native American” is how Americans refer to American Indians, to distinguish them from people from India.)  Read more... (701 words, 0 images, estimated 2:48 mins reading time)