Airline Security Pop Quiz

[TheGeepster]

Legal action expected against student in airline security breach - Sacramento Bee (http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/1031846p-7241475c.html)

Some of you may be aware of bags containing boxcutters amongst other illegal items found on two planes, along with a note which questioned the effectiveness of airline security measures.

The culprit has been found, as a matter of fact. And despite it being called a "scare", I believe it to be more of an intentional wake-up call for the airline industry.

Consider the fact that this young man informed officials of his intent to test airline security via e-mail beforehand. Nobody on board those flights were aware of the presence of illicit items. And notes were left which spelled out the reason for the breach of rules, to show airlines exactly where they stood in theis pop-quiz. He's also cooperating in letting officials know how he did it.

Terrorists would not have informed officials beforehand, nor would they have avoided hurting others. They wouldn't have let officials know their methods either.

So, should this man be charged or not?

[Starkist]

The way our government works, it will be easier for them to lock him away and cover it up than to actually fix the problems.

[AtmaWeapon]

It's one thing to have permission from authorities to perform a test of the security system. It is another thing entirely to send an email and assume that no response means it is OK.

What if Osama bin Laden had sent emails to George Bush about his plans? Would it have been A-OK, no retaliation necessary if he had still managed to attack the WTC and the Pentagon? No.

What if I email Microsoft and tell them that I found a vulnerability in their server and was able to download the source for Windows XP, and I wait 3 weeks with no reply. If I then publish the source code on the internet, I will be facing a severe commercial loss and property damage lawsuit and will never have a dollar in my pocket again. Why? Failure to acknowledge a vulnerability does not grant permission to exploit it. Microsoft can easily prove that my email could have been lost in the flood of emails they receive daily. They can also easily prove that they have copyright over the source code, and I had no rights to publish or even own it.

Had the boy received notice from the government that he would be immune from any prosecution, I would say the government is wrong. However, he assumed since the government had not taken action, that everything was fine. Risking your criminal record on an assumption is a gamble that should not be taken so lightly.

I understand that airline security needs to be tested, but if everyone and his brother is trying to smuggle weapons onto an airplane, it gets difficult to separate the pranksters from the terrorists. The solution? Treat them all as terrorists.

[TheGeepster]

I was gonna reply Atma, but in examining your point, you might be right.

However, I don't think his idea was "no response means it's OK" as much as it was "you might wanna prepare for this test of your security".

Whether his actions were noble or less than noble depends on whether or not he had authority to act as he did.

Maybe airline security ought to hire this unusual lad for self-examination of the security.

[stormwatcheagle]

Well, i'm glad he did it, but the law's the law.

[Pablo]

The ends do not justify the means. If this man is not punished for disobeying the law (regardless of his noble intention of eventually helping the airlines), then others will follow his example and create danger.

[linkofzelda1]

I don't think he should be charged. What he did was for the best.

As for the law, I think it should be flexible to accommodate a little common sense.

[DarkDragon]

I don't think this situation is analagous to your hypothetical Windows source code situation - whereas releasing the source code would indeed be a devastating blow to Microsoft, this guy did not actually do any damage through what he did - he did not hijack a plane, or threaten the security of any passengers with real explosives. What he did was more like hacking Microsoft, stealing the source code, then returning it to Bill Gates in the form of a singing telegram.

So no, I don't think he should be punished, but like Starkist said, the government will inevitably give him maximum sentence, and neglect entirely to address the security concerns he raised.

[Master Ghaleon]

I think what he did was the right thing. To find out the trouble spots before a terrorist does. If they do charge him, they should just cut him some slack and just pay a fine or something.

[TheGeepster]

Well, I finally voted in my own poll. And while I admire the cause for which this young man did what he did, and the reasoning behind it, tha fact is that the law is the law.

And so, despite the best of intentions, he ought to be charged with bringing illicit items on the plane.

But his reasons being what they were, there is no sound ground for terrorism charges.

It's my hope that justice will be tempered by a mercy of the court and an understanding that this young man ought to be punished lightly, rather than heavily.

[AtmaWeapon]

So the dissenters agree that it is perfectly alright for a person to smuggle weapons/illegal items onto an airplane as long as it is a test of the system? How are the authorities supposed to tell the difference between a legitimate test and a terrorist? Is an email appropriate? How long should the emails be before the actual test? What if a terrorist pretends he is testing the system, then uses the weapons he smuggled to attack?

I can see it now...

Officer: Ummm... Mr. Ladenbin, can you explain these knives?

Ladenbin: Oh, I was trying to test your security. I sent an email last week.

Officer: Oh. OK. No problem. I'll keep the knives. Have a nice day.


That's definitely how I want it to work.

[TheGeepster]

That's one of the reasons why I changed my mind and moved to the conclusion he ought to be brought to trial on this, because failure to do so may send the message that vigilante testing is acceptable.

And an environment where that is true does tend to cause enough chaos to allow for potentially more harmful attacks to take place, even if it forces TSA to face up to their own inefficiency.

Sadly, though, it appears TSA is more focused on solving the problem of it missing the email, rather than solving the problem of it missing the weapons themselves. Terrorists don't tend to leave emails about their plans to the officials after all.