
TSA: Some on US-bound flights must turn on phones - juliann
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/tsa-some-us-bound-airports-must-turn-phones
======
jliechti1
_" TSA will not disclose which airports will be conducting the additional
screening, although it will be at some airports with direct flights to the
U.S. Industry data show that more than 250 foreign airports offer nonstop
service to the U.S."_

Prediction: after some time, they will just roll out this policy everywhere -
including US domestic airports.

~~~
rhizome
Prediction: they will not say anything further and use it in completely
arbitrary ways whenever and wherever they want.

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jonjenk
Would someone please start a religion that denies the authority of the TSA so
we can opt out of this security theater on religious grounds?

~~~
ninguem2
If you are an Orthodox Jew, I don't think you can turn on a cellphone on the
Sabbath.

~~~
objclxt
This is actually a very good point...I wonder if there will be a religious
exemption. Some Orthodox Jews can be exceptionally strict (I once was on a
delayed flight where we had to offload some of the passengers, since due to
the delays their connecting flight would have taken place on the Sabbath).

~~~
bakareika
While an Orthodox Jew cannot directly ask you to take his cellphone and turn
it on, he or she will be indifferent to you taking and power cycling it
voluntarily. It's the intent and activity that's considered sinful, not state
of the device per se.

Also it's perfectly normal to leave a phone powered on for a Sabbath, if you
don't actively use it. Same applies to e.g. elevators, that just cruise in an
endless loop and stop on every floor. You can ride in it, as long as you
aren't the operator.

Source: living in Israel for many years.

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tommoor
They do this at Ben Gurion Airport too - make you turn on all your
electronics, the Israeli airports are praised for their security procedures -
right?

eg: [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/23/airport-
security_n_...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/23/airport-
security_n_4494308.html)

~~~
darklajid
Whenever that model is considered nice I try to paint a different picture.
Example:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3283768#up_3285789](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3283768#up_3285789)

I've lived there for a year and travelled to Ben Gurion before and after that
time. It's never pleasant and often downright insane.

~~~
VolatileVoid
It's interesting the different experiences people have.

I've found LLBG to be downright pleasant. I get there at most 90 minutes prior
to an international flight, breeze through security in about 15-30 minutes
depending on queues and often have time to spare to get a coffee and browse
through the duty free shops at my leisure.

Full disclosure: I am an Israeli citizen, but I've had this experience even
prior to becoming a citizen, when I was only a US citizen.

~~~
darklajid
Regarding your last sentence: May I ask whether you

a) speak Hebrew

b) are jewish?

Both seems to help a lot (got some friends from DE and the US that had less
trouble than I did and .. well, that might make a difference).

I'd certainly even agree that I'd prefer the treatment in IL to any body
scanner/groping experience "elsewhere", but I don't like the experience one
bit and get singled out more or less every time.

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steve19
I assume this is so they can log cell phone/tablet IMEI numbers and/or MAC
addresses at the airport while the foreigners queue to be finger printed and
photographed?

If they log the IMEI they can track most foreigners as they move around the
country. Even if they are not bringing sim cards, the phones will still try to
connect to a local network to allow emergency calls.

Or maybe so they can confiscate and download the contents of electronics
devices quickly with as little delay as possible (it can take 5-10+ minutes
before a completely dead smartphone has enough charge to complete a boot up).

~~~
pudquick
Then include your device, powered on in airplane mode, in an easy to reach
pocket.

Easy to prove it's on, just don't take it out of airplane mode until you
arrive at your destination. In flight you could power it off & back on before
touchdown to preserve battery.

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callahad
Wow, that's a blast from the past. I recall having to do the same with my Game
Boy and cell phone when traveling through ATL in the 90's, well before the TSA
was created.

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pigDisgusting
Except last time I checked, possession of a mobile device is not required by
law? So, what the fuck.

    
    
      Not to mention: [
           
          "the battery's dead and the proprietary charger
          is stuck in checked baggage", "whoops i lost the 
          battery", "whoops i dropped the phone and now it 
          is broken", "whoops cannot power on without 
          password for encryption", "aw shucks my phone is 
          keister stashed so come get it big boy", "hello 
          look at this childrens toy which very closely 
          resembles a cellular phone ha ha", "gee why does 
          this powered on mobile device emit far more radio 
          spectrum energy than expected even though i am 
          usually a law abiding citizen?"
          
      ]

~~~
weeder

        var terroristWarningFlags = // sarcasm...?
    

Either way, with the TSA you don't win with reason or truth.

~~~
pigDisgusting
Well, the non-cutesy response is to cull local IMEI's (with false base station
attacks) and spoof random IMEI's that spam local base stations with control
channel traffic, and swamp normal signal data with noise. (not quite
"jamming", per se, but maybe something close to it)

Someone could likely accomplish this, and enable others to participate in the
protest of security theater, by developing and distributing an open-source
application that interfaces with a number of readily available software
defined radio antennas (preferably those costing less than one hundred
dollars).

Although, to do so might be terr'ism.

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imchillyb
This has to be one of the silliest moves yet.

What a monstrous waste the TSA is. A waste in resources better utilized
elsewhere.

~~~
higherpurpose
TSA is not a waste. It's a business model (for some).

~~~
ivanca
Is just a start-up that went big; the security business was just begging for
disruption.

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LammyL
Can't the TSA just do what the Canadians do and swab electronics and use the
ion scanner?

~~~
err4nt
If explosives were what they were really searching for you would be absolutely
correct.

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gcb0
[http://xkcd.com/651/](http://xkcd.com/651/)

and by turning it on you just proved you have the materials for a bomb.
touche.

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ivanca
You also have to press all the possible combination of numbers on your device,
just to make sure there isn't one to activate a bomb. You also have to open
all the apps in your smartphone, just in case one of them is "open to blow the
bomb".

~~~
prescindor
So you've got 17 apps on your phone. And all you need to do to see Allah is to
open 5 of them in sequence. 17x16x15x14x13 = 742560.

Or maybe all you have to do is get your unlock password wrong a certain way.

Fact is, the fact your phone boots makes it more of a threat, not less. LOL!

Fact is, this is not about security. It is an exercise in security _theater_.

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tlrobinson
Because it's impossible to build a cell phone bomb that also functions?

~~~
phazmatis
To be extra cautious, they should profile people with older blockier phones.
Oh no, now I said it, the TSA will likely do it. xD

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chrismorgan
I wonder what will be done in the case of laptops with dead/no batteries.

~~~
ixwt
> It says devices that won't power up won't be allowed on planes, and those
> travelers may have to undergo additional screening.

Better bring your charger.

~~~
chrismorgan
But what’s the probability they’ll let you use it?

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krisgee
Another on the long list of reasons I don't every fly to, from or through the
USA even though it sometimes makes my routes longer and more expensive.

~~~
chrismcb
Right, because only USA airports (or flying to US) has stupid rules? I've gone
through the same inane things in other countries. In fact the only time I've
ever had to turn on my computer was outside of US flying to another country
outside the US.

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userbinator
Duplicate:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7996380](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7996380)

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cordite
So, is this effectively saying that the scanners and such have been seriously
flawed this whole time?

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aviv
This is step one. Then in a few months they will introduce new requirements to
hand over the login password so the TSA agent can confirm the laptop indeed
works.

