Jaunted - Tag: kip hawley

"This Isn't Theater, This Is War"

juliana — 2008-12-22T09:32:25-05:00

Those words were spoken by TSA chief Kip Hawley last night on CBS's 60 Minutes about the all-too frustrating hassles of airport security.

It turns out those too-little, too-late TSA ads are part of an image makeover for the agency to convince Americans that security precautions are totally worth the time and money they cost us. When Lesley Stahl probed the effectiveness of airport security (i.e. Is it really necessary to pat down little old ladies?), Kip came back with such strong statements as "Terrorists still want to kill us," "We are at war" and "Al-Qaeda is watching."

Security Theater in Action: Yet Another TSA Takedown

pbb — 2008-10-18T13:30:46-05:00

If you've ever wanted to punch out a TSA agent while wearing a "Kip Hawley is an idiot" shirt, writer Jeffrey Goldberg is your new best friend. He teamed up with expert Bruce Schneier to wreak havoc on airport security--in the sense that they proved it to be a total farce:

Schne�ier and I joined the line with our [fake] boarding passes. "Technically we could get arrested for this," he said, but we judged the risk to be acceptable. We handed our boarding passes and IDs to the security officer, who inspected our driver's licenses through a loupe, one of those magnifying-glass devices jewelers use for minute examinations of fine detail.
The officer chicken-scratched onto our boarding passes what might have been his signature, or the number 4, or the letter y. We took our shoes off and placed our laptops in bins.

Despite not really talking to any security experts besides Schneier--we're not counting government suits as experts here--the article is still a great explanation of what "security theater" really means.

Related Stories:
· The Things He Carried [The Atlantic]
· Lulz with the TSA [Jaunted]
· Canadian Man Changes Name, Successfully Avoids U.S. Passenger Watch List Hassles [Jaunted]

[Photo: OndraSoukup]

TSA Backpeddling on Suspicious Passenger List Story

pbb — 2008-08-14T11:15:09-05:00

This is why the TSA has a blog. Yesterday, USA Today revealed that the agency was collecting data on people who came to security checkpoints without ID. In the evening, the TSA posted a public reply to the piece:

An August 13 USA Today article overstated the Transportation Security Administration's interest in passengers who come to airport checkpoints without identification but cooperate in establishing their identity. The story gives the public the impression they might be put on a "list" if they forget their ID. That is false.
Passengers whose identity is confirmed will not be added to any watch list or face additional scrutiny during future checkpoint visits.

Well, not any longer anyway! While this misleading comment from the TSA jives with the newspaper's story, it fails to point out that up until yesterday, Kip Hawley and company *were* collecting data on passengers.

Fortunately the commenters on the TSA blog aren't dumb enough to buy this double talk. It took 57 minutes before "seth" wrote:

Kip says that the names were being collected and that the practice stopped yesterday. You're now saying that the names were never being collected. Which one is it?

Related Stories:
· You Won't Be Put on a "List" [TSA Blog]
· Fliers Without ID Placed on TSA List [USA Today]
· Are You on the TSA's Latest Watchlist? [Jaunted]
· TSA coverage [Jaunted]

Are You on the TSA's Latest Watchlist?

pbb — 2008-08-13T15:45:10-05:00

The TSA has been collecting records on thousands of people who went to airport security checkpoints without ID this summer and has opened its files to law enforcement, the agency tells USA Today. Since June, the TSA has collected info on 16,500 fliers.

Agency chief Kip Hawley told the newspaper in an interview Tuesday that the info helps track individuals who may be "probing the system." Later that same day, he called back to say that the TSA would revise its policy and expunge the names it has collected so far.

The agency still maintains a database of info on potential passengers, including their Social Security numbers, nationalities and physical features, if they were questioned for any reason at the airport.

Maybe this is why the TSA says people can show up to the checkpoints without ID:

As many [times] as they want.

Related Stories:
· Fliers Without ID Placed on TSA List [USA Today]
· Adventures in TSA Logic: Explaining the New Laptop Bag Rules [Jaunted]
· TSA coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mark Demeny]

What's New on the TSA Blog

pbb — 2008-02-05T12:17:40-05:00

The newly launched TSA blog that we were the first to tell you about last Wednesday has been a stellar success. At least, it has if you want to measure success by number of irate comments along the lines of "Why can't I take my liquids on board, you idiots?!"

The initial post, a welcome note from Kip Hawley was so overwhelmed that moderators disabled comments on it. While the TSA employees struggle to keep up with the crush, they've been cracking weak jokes and catching more heat than praise. An attempt to explain the liquids ban with streaming video was highly criticized because it wouldn't play on Mac and Linux computers. (The videos now seem to be working.)

So far, we're standing by our original take on the blog. While it's nice to see such a hated agency do *anything* to help its image, the publication won't be much more than a place to vent. Let's face it: You don't really think the TSA will change anything it does based on some anonymous comments, do you?

Related Stories:
· Evolution of Security [Official Site]
· The TSA Has a New Blog!!! [Jaunted]
· Airport Security coverage [Jaunted]

The TSA Has A New Blog!!!

pbb — 2008-01-30T11:30:13-05:00

Kip Hawley, you may be our two-time villain of the year, but you have some serious cojones. Starting a blog? Really? All we can say is that it's a good thing you'll be moderating the comments.

The TSA chief says the new publication, called Evolution of Security, will provide "a forum for a lively, open discussion of TSA issues." Hawley won't be the lead blogger; a team of TSA employees will do most of the writing. Among them are a PR guru, a former air marshall, checkpoint screeners and a "behavior detection officer."

What can we look forward to as the blog evolves? Take it away, Kip:

One of my major goals of 2008 is to get TSA and passengers back on the same side, working together. We need your help to get the checkpoint to be a better environment for us to do our security job and for you to get through quickly and onto your flight. Seems like the way to get that going is for us to open up and hear your feedback.

Let the flaming begin!

Related Stories:
· Evolution of Security [Official Site]
· Kip Hawley coverage [Jaunted]
· Airport Security coverage [Jaunted]

2007 Awards: Best Villain

Jaunted — 2007-12-31T10:00:01-05:00

As much as we hate to do it, this award goes out to Kip Hawley for the second year in a row. Had he unintentionally sent another email criticizing his customers, maybe Ben Baldanza would grab the prize. But for overseeing the TSA through 2007, Hawley takes it again.

Doesn't the agency have an incredibly difficult job? Sure it does. But the TSA can keep planes safe without meaningless (and randomly enforced) liquid bans, behavioral profiling (that doesn't work) and data mining. If Hawley wants to avoid the hat trick in '08, he could start by implementing smart, effective security that's proactive not reactive.