TSA tests new scanner software. Security theater now PG

Amar Toor at switched.com reports that the TSA is trying out new software on some of their full body scanners. The software doesn't display an image of the person being scanned, it only shows a generic male or female image with the suspected contraband highlighted.

This is great when it comes to personal privacy. But it's a massive fail as a security measure. The ability of the scanners to pick up the explosives used by the underwear bomber is still in question, and circumventing the scanners is dirt simple, anyway. As security theater, it's a great show. As real security it gets a raft of golden raspberry's.

TSA:Oops, we accidentally stored the unstorable images

Do you remember the TSA telling us that airport full body scanners wouldn't violate privacy? That the images couldn't be saved or moved from the machine? I blogged about the scanners several times, here, here, and here to link to a few.

It's now being widely reported and that the feds accidentally saved tens of thousands of scans on a scanner in Florida. Declan Mcullogh on CNET give us some more details, such as this admission:

This follows an earlier disclosure (PDF) by the TSA that it requires all airport body scanners it purchases to be able to store and transmit images for "testing, training, and evaluation purposes." The agency says, however, that those capabilities are not normally activated when the devices are installed at airports.

So much for "incapable of saving images." And that's just one scanner.