I know there has been plenty of news lately about the plot to blow up JFK airport, but I haven’t bothered writing anything about it. I have had someone contact me to ask me why, since I’ve covered a number of other terrorist plots or physical security issues in the past. The main reason is that this planned attack just wasn’t very feasible, nor was the attack likely to have had any success.

Safeguards in the fuel delivery grid greatly limit the amount of damage that can be done by intentional or accidental explosion/destruction/burning of any section of the fuel system. Additionally, jet fuel contains additives specifically designed to reduce the chance of explosion, increase the difficulty of catastrophic fire, and minimize spread of flames in general. Yes, the stuff burns, but it actually does not burn well enough to have very much of a chance of the spectacular destruction it seems the attackers had in mind.

Though Mr. Defreitas had lived in Brooklyn and Queens, he told the informant that his resentment of the United States hardened into hatred during his years as a cargo worker at the airport.

“He saw military parts being shipped to Israel, including missiles, that would be used to kill Muslims,” the complaint read. Mr. Defreitas, who was secretly recorded by the informant, complained bitterly that he “wanted to do something” and that “Muslims always incur the wrath of the world while Jews get a pass.”

Mr. Defreitas envisioned “the destruction of the whole of Kennedy” and theorized that because of underground pipes, “part of Queens would explode.” He boasted that in addition to a huge of loss of life – “even the twin towers can’t touch it,” he said – the attack would devastate the United States economy and strike a deep symbolic blow against a national icon, President John F. Kennedy, officials said.

Sure, it sounds scary and stuff, but the explosion he dreamed of just wasn’t going to happen. And given how much I’ve written about improbable attacks and the over-reaction of Americans to these things, I was planning on giving this incident a pass. I’m tired of wasting my time detailing the weaknesses of bad, weak, improbable and infeasible threats. You’ll note that I’ve not even taken the time to provide links backing up my claims on infeasibility and difficulty of any success. That’s because the whole plot was so ludicrously bad that I don’t want to waste more of my time pointing out specifics. You can spend a few minutes online and easily find reputable sources supporting what I’ve stated above. If you disagree, please post it in the comments and I’ll be glad to expand on the topic. But unless someone really thinks this attack was worth worrying about, I’m not going to waste more time on it. That is, unless the government does something else stupid to strip away our freedoms as a result. Then, you can be sure I’ll come back to bitch about the poor job our government is doing.

Technorati Tags: JFK explosion plot too infeasible to even waste time debunking it

Proving that our government continues to be incapable of protecting us, no matter how many rights or freedoms it strips away, we find that screeners at the Denver airport can identify a bomb only about 10% of the time, even when screening systems set off alarms. So, as almost always is the case, the human element breaks down. But then, that weakness of security has been known so long (and a shorter link to that article). The question is, how do we improve the weak link? I’m thinking hiring better people for the positions, training them better, cutting shift durations (repetition and boredom lead to reduced performance), and I’m sure other measures – all requiring more money.

Checkpoint security screeners at Denver International Airport last month failed to find liquid explosives packed in carry-on luggage and also improvised explosive devices, or IED’s, worn by undercover agents sources told 9NEWS.

“It really is concerning considering that we’re paying millions of dollars out of our budget to be secure in the airline industry,” said passenger Mark Butler who has had two Army Swiss knives confiscated by screeners in the past. “Yet, we’re not any safer than we were before 9/11, in my opinion.”

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners failed most of the covert tests because of human error, sources told 9NEWS. Alarms went off on the machines, but sources said screeners violated TSA standard operating procedures and did not hand-search suspicious luggage, wand, or pat down the undercover agents.

“The good news is we have our own people probing and looking and examining the system,” said Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat in the 7th congressional who sits on the House Homeland Security and transportation committees. “The bad news is they’re finding weaknesses.”

Actually, the fact that they are finding weaknesses is also good news. Having the weaknesses is indeed bad news. Finding them means we can develop means of improving on them, which is a good thing. Still – I can no longer take my keychain Leatherman when I fly, because it has a 1 inch knife blade, but people who actually want to inflict harm have a 90% chance of getting their bombs on with them. Way to protect us, TSA and Homeland Security!

Technorati Tags: Denver airport security screeners miss 90% of explosives

Catching up with my online reading a bit tonight, I found a link to a site which will check if your social security number is in their database of known stolen SSNs. I’ll not link to the site directly, because I want to save any of the less intelligent web users who accidentally find me site from doing something not-very-bright (I know both the regular readers of my site are so astonishingly above average intellect that not only would they not fall for this, they can actually read the mind of criminals attempting to steal their SSNs). All you have to do to see if you are in this stolen SSN database is enter your SSN into the handy-dandy search field. This news is a couple of days old already from the DownloadSquad folks, and thankfully there are a number of commenters there who have already pointed out the problem with this service.

So where did they get their data from? Well from the FAQ on their site, here is their response. “The information that powers StolenID Search is found online, by looking in places where fraudsters typically trade or store this kind of information. All information behind StolenID search is publicly available, but not in places where search engines such as Yahoo and Google would look. TrustedID abides by all state and federal laws in the collection and provision of this compromised information. The information behind StolenID Search comes from collection efforts led by TrustedID directly and also from other reputable companies that assist us in finding this information on our behalf. One of those companies is Cyvellience.”

Note that I am not saying StolenID Search is a web site operated by evil ub3r hackers. I am not saying you can’t trust the folks holding this information to protect the information you enter or the information they already have. I’m not even saying you will be exposed to any actual risk of identity theft if you use the site. I’m pointing this site out and warning against using it because giving out this information online just isn’t something you should ever do when you can avoid it. If you ever see something like this, please think carefully about what risk you are taking sending this information to people unknown. The site seems to have the recommendation of some seemingly trustworthy security and privacy resources. The site may be run by the most trustworthy people in the universe, and a chorus of angels may accompany everyone associated with the site to protect them from ever suffering ill. That still doesn’t make me feel I should send them my SSN.

Technorati Tags: Brilliant way to steal identities online, How to dupe trusting people