On Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 09:06:33PM -0600, Joseph E. Olson wrote: > A Comment from the cited website. > > [quote]It’s all an inconsistent charade. The sole purpose is to delude the > American public into conflating harassment with security.
It's what security consultant Bruce Schneier calls "security theater": things undertaken not to actually improve security but to make (some) people feel more secure. Here's a good explanation of the term: Schneier on Security A blog covering security and security technology. January 25, 2007 In Praise of Security Theater While visiting some friends and their new baby in the hospital last week, I noticed an interesting bit of security. To prevent infant abduction, all babies had RFID tags attached to their ankles by a bracelet. There are sensors on the doors to the maternity ward, and if a baby passes through, an alarm goes off. Infant abduction is rare, but still a risk. In the last 22 years, about 233 such abductions have occurred in the United States. About 4 million babies are born each year, which means that a baby has a 1-in-375,000 chance of being abducted. Compare this with the infant mortality rate in the U.S. -- one in 145 -- and it becomes clear where the real risks are. http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/01/in_praise_of_se.html Airline Security a Waste of Cash Bruce Schneier 12.01.05 Since 9/11, our nation has been obsessed with air-travel security. Terrorist attacks from the air have been the threat that looms largest in Americans' minds. As a result, we've wasted millions on misguided programs to separate the regular travelers from the suspected terrorists -- money that could have been spent to actually make us safer. Consider CAPPS and its replacement, Secure Flight. These are programs to check travelers against the 30,000 to 40,000 names on the government's No-Fly list, and another 30,000 to 40,000 on its Selectee list. http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2005/12/69712 Fell free to check his blog as well. If some of the skepticism about gun control exhibited on this list carries over to security in general, I think folks here will find it enlightening. http://www.schneier.com/blog/ -- Charles Curley /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign Looking for fine software \ / Respect for open standards and/or writing? X No HTML/RTF in email http://www.charlescurley.com / \ No M$ Word docs in email Key fingerprint = CE5C 6645 A45A 64E4 94C0 809C FFF6 4C48 4ECD DFDB
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