Archive for December, 2007
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
Former FAA Special Agent on Air Traffic Hacking
This just in via email from former FAA Special Agent Brian Sullivan:
Annie,I saw your article about hacking into ATC [Air Traffic Control] in The Aviation Nation. Thought you'd like to see the following. I was involved in reporting this up through the FAA security chain back in 1998, when I was working for FAA security. […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat by Annie Jacobsen
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007
Another Bad Egg in The Air Marshal Service Revealed
Don't miss my column on today's front page of Pajamas Media, "American Gangster, American Downfall" –about Las Vegas Air Marshal boss, Gregory Korniloff.
A retired federal agent claims the film American Gangster defames “honest and courageous public servants” and is threatening a lawsuit. The problem, writes Annie Jacobsen, is that the plaintiff isn’t exactly a saint. […]
No Comments » - Posted in Federal Air Marshals by Annie Jacobsen
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
Airport Air Freshener Jihad?
The following incident took place on November 14th at the Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI). From the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database — an information system run by the FBI:
On 14 November 2007, an identified individual on the public side of the (BWI) airport reportedly asked a behavior detection officer questions regarding security […]
No Comments » - Posted in U.S. Homeland Security, Airport Security & Screening by Annie Jacobsen
Monday, December 10th, 2007
Could Terrorists Hack Air Traffic Controls?
Have terrorist training camps moved from Afghan caves to Internet cafés? Former British Parliamentarian, Lady Olga Maitland, thinks so. Maitland recently spoke to an audience at a British Defense Security Forum expressing her concern that terrorists may try to hack air traffic control systems around the world. The World Tribune says this sentiment is "echoed […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat by Annie Jacobsen
Friday, December 7th, 2007
Zuhdi Jasser Exposes the Flying Imams
"After [the] incident, Omar Shahin, president of the North American Imams Federation and a prominent Phoenix imam, told the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR, an Islamist advocacy group) and its attorneys, 'Security at the airport isn't our problem; it's their problem.'"
Read Zuhdi Jasser's important piece, "Exposing the 'Flying Imams' in The Middle East Quarterly, […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat by Annie Jacobsen
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
Iris Scans Will Threaten Fake Passport Trade
Read about why Iris scans should be part of U.S. passport technology: Iris scans let law enforcement keep eye on technology. From USA Today:
"More than 2,100 departments in 27 states are taking digital pictures of eyes and storing the information in databases that can be searched later to identify a missing person or someone who […]
No Comments » - Posted in Airport Security & Screening by Annie Jacobsen
Monday, December 3rd, 2007
GAO’s Explosive Airplane Bomb Videos
Last month, TSA Chief Kip Hawley evaded questions for Congress about why Congress' oversight arm, GAO, was able to sneak real live bombs (IEDs=Improvised Explosive Devices) and real live fire bombs (IIDs=Improvised Incindiary Devices) onto airplanes — yet again.
Hawley down played the results of this year's undercover tests by suggesting the bombs smuggled onto […]