4 ms·
Before we even go into line item mode we really need to ask ourselves if this is a $336k problem in the first place. They could have just asked the military ho
by woodman 11y ago
Before we even go into line item mode we really need to ask ourselves if this is a $336k problem in the first place. They could have just asked the military how they handle this sort of problem, and the solution they would have been given is this: a $2 hand tally counter. Establish what the desired flow rate is, divert every nth person, reset the clicker, anybody in line observed shifting position gets diverted. Unless the TSA can't even trust their people to count, or their real objective is adding some weirdly alienating layer of technology between the employee and the traveler.
- jcrawfordor 11y ago"every nth person" selection is just too predictable. You could try to prevent people shifting in line, but in a crowded airport you will never be able to control that effectively at current staffing levels. The cost of effectively enforcing that rule would rapidly add up to more than $300k and cause serious inconvenience to travelers.
- mikeash 11y agoYes, preventing shifting in line doesn't help if your attacker can just count the length of the line before they get in it. You really want a random element. Anyone familiar with Dungeons and Dragons should be able to name the obvious solution there....
- woodman 11y agoThe uncertainty already inherent to the existing process is high enough in my opinion, either the software or the hand counter would equally meet the real objective here: providing a point to audit for reportable metrics. While a dungeon master presiding over a hopeful throw for critical hits would be a solution, I don't think the TSA wants to make security theater entertaining - it makes the accidental nature of the whole endeavor obvious.
- mfukar 11y agoBut Mike, what good would Polymorph do in this scenario?
- woodman 11y agoIf they aren't watching the line then they aren't doing it right, inducing a predictable behavior in an adversary is half the point. Remember all the hubbub several years ago around TSA behavioral profiling? I don't think I've ever seen the link drawn in the media, but that was around the time that technical failures were being uncovered in the detectors and scanners. Also, and I'm well aware of the fact that this makes me sound crazy, that is when the TSA employee that checks IDs and marks boarding passes started calling me by my first name. So they're watching the line. Anyway, with the level of uncertainty already high in queue fill rates - I don't think anybody is going to feel confident enough that they'd alter their diabolical plans. Oh and I just remembered something that renders all this pointless, the functionality for randomly alerting is already built into the metal detectors... undoubtedly a contract requirement for a feature that is never used.
- richardthered 11y agoOr roll some dice. 1-3 = left, 4-6 = right. If one lane starts getting backed up a bit, shift the numbers by one. 1-2 = left, 3-6 = right