Airport Scanners That See Through Clothes

Millimeter wave scanners that will allow Transport Security Administration (TSA) personnel to see concealed weapons and other items that may be hidden beneath clothes may soon be installed on Los Angeles International Airport and John F. Kennedy Airport. This is an additional effort to boost security at the airports.

This idea will make uncomfortable some people who view this development as a further violation of their privacy. What happened to the data being gathered by the scanner? Will you really feel comfortable if you are fat and not fit, knowing that airport personnel are seeing right thrugh your clothes? One might as well walk naked. Well, this is the price one has to pay for security with the growing menace of terrorists who are equally going more sophisticated in their operations.

The agency said that security officers viewing the scans would do so remotely, where they will not be able to recognize passengers but will be able to trigger an alarm if needed. The agency also said that a blurring algorithm is applied to passengers' faces in scanned images as an additional privacy protection.

However, the authority stated that an alternative screening option would be available for those reluctant to submit to a body scan. At JFK, millimeter wave scans will be a secondary screening option.

Source: Informationweek