Security theater
[1][2] The term was originally coined by Bruce Schneier for his book Beyond Fear[3] and has since been widely adopted by the media and the public, particularly in discussions surrounding the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Examples of use of the term: For theater on a grand scale, you can't do better than the audience-participation dramas performed at airports, under the direction of the Transportation Security Administration. [...]
's profession of outrage is nothing but 'security theater,' Mr. Schneier said, using the phrase he coined in 2003 to describe some of the agency's procedures.Airline passengers will be able to bring many types of cigarette lighters on board again starting next month after authorities found that a ban on the devices did little to make flying safer, a newspaper reported Friday.
"[10] Many measures are put in place in reaction to past threats and "are ineffective at actually stopping terrorism, as potential attackers can simply change tactics.
[13][14] In 2013, a GAO report found that no evidence existed to support the idea that "behavioral indicators [...] can be used to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security.
[17][18][19][20] Additionally, a 2007 investigation showed that obviously false IDs could be used when claiming a boarding pass and entering the departures terminal, so a person on the No Fly List can simply travel under a different name.
[23] Random bag searches on subway systems – a practice that has been used on the Washington Metro and on New York City mass transit – have been condemned as ineffective security theater and a waste of resources.
[28][29] Additionally, the effectiveness of Clear and Large Bag policies at many major sports venues in the United States has been questioned repeatedly.
[34] If the potential victims of an attack feel more protected and safer as a result of the measures, then they may carry on activities they would have otherwise avoided, which could lead to economic benefits.
[35] Security theater typically involves restricting or modifying aspects of people's behavior or surroundings in very visible and highly specific ways,[35] which could involve potential restrictions of personal liberty and privacy, ranging from mild inconveniences such as confiscating liquids over a limited amount, to sensitive issues, such as a full body strip search.
[41] Extrapolating this rate of fatalities, New York Times contributor Nate Silver remarked that this is equivalent to "four fully loaded Boeing 737s crashing each year.
[48][49] Documents uncovered by the ACLU found that until late 2012, the US TSA maintained training manuals that exclusively focused on examples of Arab or Muslim terrorists.
