Bollywood Confidential

A rumor is going around that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan had an Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) image of himself leaked by UK Security officers at Heathrow. This rumor, though juicy, is unfounded.

TSA reached out to the UK's Department for Transport (DFT) and learned that, just like advanced imaging technology machines in U.S. airports, they do not have printers or the ability to store images in the airport setting.

Additionally, DFT pointed TSA to the source of the rumor: an interview with BBCs Jonathan Ross. Though he doesn't explicitly say that he's joking, we can confirm in all seriousness that the machines don't do what he jokingly describes.

Thanks,

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team

TSA Haiti Evacuation Effort: A Federal Security Director's Perspective

TSA has been lending a helpful hand in the evacuation efforts in Haiti. Our Office of Global Strategies (OGS) deployed a go team to Haiti to help support DHS with the evacuation. OGS also sent a go team to Santo Domingo to assist with departing U.S. evacuees. Also, TSA Team Sanford (SFB) transitioned to a 24 hour operation to accommodate the incoming evacuees.

John Daly is the Federal Security Director (FSD) for the Sanford International Airport (SFB). SFB is a hub for the Haiti evacuation efforts and we asked if he’d like to be a guest blogger and tell us a little about the operation. ~ Blogger Bob

The month of January is normally a time for TSA employees at Orlando/Sanford International Airport (SFB) to get caught up on training and to take some needed time off. The first month of 2010 has proven to be a very different experience. SFB has served as a hub of the Haiti evacuation efforts in Central Florida, turning an airport that normally shuts down security operations at around 8 p.m. into an airport that has been running 24/7 operations since January 16th. In fact, more than 50% of the Haiti evacuees have entered the U.S. in Sanford, FL. The most challenging part has been the nature of the flight arrivals. At times, multiple flights would arrive nearly simultaneously at SFB and then there were long periods of waiting for the next flights. Spikes of activity followed by periods of calm…

Initially augmented by employees from Orlando International Airport (MCO), SFB and MCO TSA employees provided additional layers of security throughout the airport in support of the humanitarian relief efforts. Transportation Security Officers provided security around the C-17 military aircraft as Haiti evacuees deplaned and walked the 150 yards to the CBP Federal Inspection Station (FIS), often stepping in on their own initiative to assist persons with disability, help families with small children or to lend a hand to weary people who just needed a caring arm to hold onto as they walked. Six TSA Creole speakers from MCO helped CBP efficiently process the evacuees through customs and immigration procedures.

All of the evacuees were processed by CBP at the Federal Inspection Station, followed by the American Red Cross and FL Dept of Children and Families (DCF) in part of the “sterile area“ of the airport that was sectioned off specifically for this mission. TSOs secured the perimeter of that area for security purposes. After processing, most evacuees were bused from Sanford to Orlando International Airport to catch connecting flights to other parts of the country where they would be met by friends or family. Our folks demonstrated innovation in helping the airport authority develop and build a wooden baggage chute to expedite the moving of personal bags from the airport terminal down to the buses. TSA employees screened the buses for any security issues on the tarmac and helped the evacuees board the buses with the few belongings they could carry. You could see the relief in the faces of the evacuees as they began to feel comfortable knowing that they would be with friends or family soon.

Watching the operation unfold from the beginning, I was impressed with the tremendous coordination and support provided by all of the players involved at the local, state and Federal level. Sanford Airport Authority, Seminole County first responders /emergency managers, TSA, CBP, USAF, FL Dept of Children and Families, American Red Cross and many other agencies quickly pulled together to create one of the most effective Emergency Operations Centers I’ve ever observed in my 24+ year career in public service and incident management. The quick sharing of information, tremendous teamwork and seamless interoperability was great to see and has clearly been critical to the success of the entire operation.

As the operation grew, TSA personnel from Tampa International Airport (TPA) deployed to MCO/SFB to provide much needed support by augmenting our MCO/SFB teams. Their weeklong commitment to assist proved critical to our success. Keep in mind that normal operations at SFB continued each day, with inbound and outbound commercial flights, in addition to the humanitarian relief efforts. Upon arrival of a 40-person team from the TSA National Deployment Force (NDF), the TPA folks headed back to their home airport. The NDF has helped us keep the operation running without skipping a beat. As the flow of evacuees begins to dwindle at Sanford, we will begin releasing the NDF resources.

Other locations in Florida and other states have begun receiving evacuees. We will start scaling back to normal operations at MCO/SFB soon. As I reflect back on the last 2-3 weeks, I swell with pride knowing that our TSA workforce had such a positive impact in this humanitarian effort. Our folks have demonstrated tremendous professionalism in maintaining security while at the same time showing heartfelt compassion for those in need. The stamina of our team was impressive. It has truly been an honor and privilege for those of us at TSA Team Orlando to be part of such a significant event. I’m proud to say that our TSA team and all of those involved in the Haiti relief efforts at Sanford clearly demonstrated tremendous leadership and upheld our TSA core values of Integrity, Innovation and Team Spirit.

John Daly, Federal Security Director (SFB)

Guest TSA Blogger

Orlando Officer Arrested

I was sickened to hear about a former TSA staffer in Orlando who was recently arrested for lewd and lascivious conduct.

TSA takes allegations such as these very seriously and steps were taken to terminate this employee. Yesterday, the employee resigned.

TSA uses background screening and perpetual vetting to keep those with criminal records out of our workforce, but background checks are not a crystal ball and cannot predict what a person will do in the future.

Our officers are deeply saddened and disgusted that someone who wore the uniform could commit such an unspeakable act. TSA holds the highest standards for our workforce and this individual's actions do not reflect on the more than 50,000 men and women who work every day to keep the traveling public safe.

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

What’s wrong with this picture? Put quite simply, it’s a fake. The picture (minus the black boxes) has been gaining popularity ever since it was used on several popular web pages and blogs.

The TSA Office of Information Technology (OIT) was able to determine that the original images used to make these pictures were taken from a stock photo website and doctored to mimic Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) images. The doctored images are nothing more than full frontal photos (hence the black boxes) with the colors inverted. The image of the gun and belt were superimposed. This can be done with any basic image editing software.

It’s obvious that the woman shown on the left is not the woman in the doctored photos on the right. Notice that the bracelet on the right wrist in the clothed image does not appear in the doctored images. Her arms and legs are also in different positions in the clothed photo. It can be argued that maybe the photo was taken before she entered an AIT machine. Even so, just like X-ray images, hair does not show up in authentic AIT images and faces are blurred with a privacy algorithm.

Please take a look at this blog post to see larger versions of the images below and video of what AIT images actually look like.




Thanks,

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team

Can TSA Copy Your Laptop Hard Drive and Search Your Files?

I read comments every now and then about how TSA officers at checkpoint and baggage locations can search the files on your laptop and can also confiscate your computer and copy your hard drive.

This is not true. In fact, we blogged about it back in February of 2008.

Our officers might visually inspect your laptop and perform an explosives trace detection test, but that’s it. Our officers don’t even turn computers on during inspection.

So where are the reports coming from? They’re coming from people who have had their laptops searched by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). For more details on CBP’s mission, check out this post from the recently retired Deputy Commissioner at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Jayson Ahern.

So where is the confusion taking place? Well, many passengers often confuse CBP with TSA. Why? They have uniforms with the Department of Homeland Security patch and some people automatically assume they are TSA officers since they’re working in an airport capacity. TSA and CBP officers have different uniforms. The CBP uniform is navy blue, while the TSA uniform is more of a royal blue. You will only interact with CBP when you’re coming into the country.

Thanks,

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team