In its new report, released December 5, 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GOA)-a watchdog arm of Congress-raised concerns that some of the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) equipment used for security screening protocols across our nation's airports may be dangerously out-of-date.
The report cited instances from 2015 and 2016, when the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tested a sample group of, "deployed explosives trace detection and bottled liquid scanner units and found that some no longer met detection requirements."
GOA's survey of airport detection devices in August 2019 revealed that bottled-liquids scanners only met standards approved in 2006 (although the TSA developed updated standards in 2012 and 2017), x-ray units only met with 2010 standards, and explosive trace detection units were currently up to requirements established in 2012.
The GAO report also pointed out that the performance of those units already installed in airports can deteriorate over time, and lapses in maintenance or lack of software upgrades can affect their efficacy. TSA's detection technologies are not sufficiently inspected or recalibrated to ensure that they continue to meet updated detection standards once they've been deployed to airports, the report said.
While new threat evaluations and corresponding detection standards may evolve relatively quickly, the process of working with private-sector software and hardware developers and manufacturers to solve those issues can take years. GAO's review showed that the process of devising, testing and deploying new TSA detection technologies, together with the time needed to obtain government approval, can take from two to seven years.
CNN reported that, in some cases, TSA has already identified a need for new detection methods, but the technology itself hasn't caught up yet. In other cases, the agency is in the process of deploying new devices to airports and therefore isn't investing its resources to improve existing units.
Aviation Security Analyst Jeff Price told NBC News, "The government appropriations process just takes years and we face an enemy that is adaptive, they're patient and they're very agile." NBC also reported that the TSA is currently transitioning to 3D scanners to be able to better visualize potential threats at baggage screening checkpoints.
And, it's true that there are multiple detection methods in place at TSA checkpoints to minimize the chances of a hazard slipping by. According to the report, "Officials noted that TSA uses a layered security approach at airports, so if one layer should fail-such as a deployed technology-the agency can still rely on other security measures among the various layers of security to detect threats."
TSA reportedly told GAO in a memo that it agrees with the report's five main recommendations for improvement, and DHS said the agency will be taking action to address them.
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