http://www.cnet.com/8301-13739_1-9782861-46.htmlHomeland security officials seem to have adopted a naive and dangerous standard to detect bombs: Devices sold by major corporations that come packaged in logo-adorned, mass produced containers are perfectly safe, while those made by hobbyists and tinkerers with exposed wires and batteries are potential bombs or at least hoax devices.
The problem with this approach is that in many past cases of successful terrorism, especially those committed by state-sponsored groups, the bombs were actually hidden in fully-functioning mass-market electronic devices: personal stereos and mobile phones. Smart terrorists, the ones we should be trying to thwart, do not walk into an airport with LED lights and a 9-volt battery dangling from their sweatshirt.
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What this means is that from a risk-analysis perspective, up until the moment someone is searched at the airport security checkpoint, every single passenger is equally likely to have a bomb on them. The laptop being used in an airport Starbucks, the boom-box being carried by a music fan, the carry-on bag with wheels being pulled by a passenger, or the circuit board attached to the sweatshirt of an MIT student are all equally likely to be bombs. The mere fact that one of the items happens to have exposed wires, a few LED lights and a 9-volt battery in no way makes it more likely to be a bomb.
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Airport security and law enforcement need to radically rewrite their training materials to focus more on actual threats, and not those pictured in episodes of TV's 24. Real terrorists hoping to take down an airplane do not advertise themselves by wearing "Terrorist" buttons and badges, t-shirts with Arabic writing, or with blinking LED lights, exposed wires and a 9-volt battery hanging from their chest. Terrorists, at least the smart ones, will do their very best to try and stay under the radar. And thus, the sad fact is that in focusing on attack-scenarios and bomb designs straight from a Hollywood movie, security officials may very well be diverting manpower away from the real threat: Someone who looks just like you or me.