Security theater: those dangerous laptops
Over the years I've posted a number of blogs on "security theater", the use of security measures that serve no purpose other than to make the public think an agency is actually doing something. The Transportation Security Administration has raised this to a fine art with its Byzantine passenger screening protocols.
Case in point is a recent article by New York Times reporter Matt Richtel regarding the apparent contradiction in screening electronic devices. TSA requires that laptops be removed from your bag for screening but does not require this special procedure for other devices such as computer tablets or smart phones. Richtel attempted to find the reasoning behind this requirement by talking with TSA and a variety of security experts. The conclusion: more security theater.
It's one more example of TSA being reactive and not proactive. There is certainly a possibility that explosives could be concealed in a laptop, particularly in the early models. However, this is also possible with some models of tablet computers. And this doesn't even consider the possibility of electronic jamming devices. As one of Richtel's experts points out: "If the government really wanted to cover the dangers posed by electronics…it would need to carefully inspect all manner of electronics, from phones to netbooks to tablets, to look for increasingly small and sophisticated weapons."
Like the ban on liquids (what, you can't get several of bad guys to combine their allowances?) and vicious weapons such as nail clippers, the requirement for separate screening for laptops really serves no purpose other than to make the public feel safer. There are much better ways of providing security than by deceiving the public.