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100 Body TSA Scanner Images Leaked

By Jeralyn

The TSA says it doesn't store the body images its agents scan. But the images leak out anyway.

Joel Johnson and Gizmodo have obtained a hundred improperly stored body scan images through a Freedom of Information Act request. And, of course, they promptly published them.

The scans were made by U.S. Marshals in Orlando and were apparently improperly stored. Though this particular machine does not offer the cringe-inducing resolution that some others do, it highlights a major problem with the machines more generally: these photos will leak out. Or, as Johnson puts it, "That we can see these images today almost guarantees that others will be seeing similar images in the future."

It's not just airports using the scanners. It's courthouses around the country. U.S. Marshals in Orlando stored 35,000 images from the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner, made by Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc.

Based on each organization’s specific policies and procedures, GEN 2 offers the ability to turn on or off its recording features. In recording mode, up to 40,000 events can be recorded and stored by date and time, along with a snapshot image of the subject that shows the detection boxes, as well as the correlating millimeter wave images, for easy recall of event details. The system also offers the ability to manually initiate a video capturing session, used independently from the detection engine, such as to record the search of a specific individual for future reference.

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Colorado has had one at the Douglas County Courthouse in Castle Rock since 2008. They don't tell you what it is, just to get on the pad inside it and raise your hands. I remember the D.C. federal courthouse had one during the Scooter Libby trial.

Pretty soon they will in all public places, including train and bus stations.

Denver International Airport is getting five more, for a total of six, this fall. Here's the TSA's page on "Advanced Imaging Technology"

These machines don't just detect explosives. They detect other things, like drugs. What an end run around the 4th Amendment, particularly if you are not traveling but just going about your business.

More on the types of scanners here.

Full body scanners are just the tip of the iceberg. Here's a new concept that received government certification a year ago:

Top Eye View, Inc.
December 17, 2009 – Top Eye View, Inc. provides the BLN-III “Eye in the Sky”. The Technology is an unmanned tethered blimp designed to operate at low altitudes and provide aerial surveillance. It is equipped with cameras possessing pan, zoom, and tilt capabilities as well as the ability to transmit images and video feed to specified operation centers. This Designation and Certification will expire on August 31, 2014.

And of course, the Government wants all the walls torn down, so law enforcement can share the images amongst themselves. Also approved in 2009:

Xpect Software, LLC
December 11, 2009 – Xpect Software, LLC provides DFuze®. The Technology is a framework by which anti-terrorism operatives collect, catalogue, link images, and share information relating to explosive incidents. The Technology also includes all technical manuals, warranty and maintenance services, and training services, as well as the qualifications of the personnel used for these services. This Designation and Certification will expire on January 31, 2015.

Not one of these machines will stop a terrorist attack. They will, however, blast our already shrunken privacy rights to smithereens.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on November 16, 2010 (boomark / email).