TSA blunder hits travelers at U.S. airports

TSA blunder hits travelers at U.S. airports

Major goof gives master key to anyone with 3-D printer

Published: 2 hours ago

Douglas Ernst

 

The Transportation Security Administration just learned a hard lesson: Do not allow master key photos to surface online. A group of 3-D printing enthusiasts took advantage of someone’s giant mistake and created master keys for “approved” baggage locks.

“Honestly I wasn’t expecting this to work, even though I tried to be as accurate as possible from the pictures. I did this for fun and don’t even have a TSA-approved lock to test,” a French 3-D printer who only identified himself as Xylitol wrote Wired magazine on Wednesday. “If someone reported it that my 3D models are working, well, that’s cool, and it shows how a simple picture of a set of keys can compromise a whole system.”
Images taken from a Washington Post story titled “The secret life of baggage: Where does your luggage go at the airport?” were used to make the fraudulent keys. The newspaper quickly removed the image from its story, but not before it spread across the Internet.
“OMG, it’s actually working!” wrote Montreal-based Unix administrator Bernard Bolduc on Twitter. Bolduc, who provided video evidence of his accomplishment, told Wired he used a PrintrBot Simple Metal printer with cheap PLA plastic to make his key.
“It worked on the first try,” said Bolduc.
Wired said the key in the leaked image worked for all TSA-approved locks made by companies such as Master Lock, Samsonite and American Tourister. Neither the Post nor the TSA immediately responded to the technology website’s request for comment.
“Police State USA: How Orwell’s Nightmare is Becoming Our Reality,” marshals the terrifying evidence to show the world of Big Brother is much closer than we want to admit.
“People need to be aware that even though someone says ‘use these approved locks,’ don’t take their word for it,” said Shahab Sheikhzadeh, a New Jersey-based security researcher, Wired reported. “We’re in a day and age when pretty much anything can be reproduced with a photograph, a 3-D printer and some ingenuity.”
This is the second embarrassing image incident for the TSA in a matter of months. In late June, the agency received angry feedback after posting a picture of a bag with $75,000 inside to its social media website.
“If you had $75,000, is this how you’d transport it? Just asking! TSA @ RIC spotted this traveler’s preferred method,” tweeted Lisa Farbstein, TSA spokeswoman at headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, WND reported.
Some of the negative feedback included:

• That’s awesome. Next will you post public pics of someone’s meds? You should be fired.
• Is this what y’all do on the clock? Post pics of travelers’ personal belongings on twitter?
• Now that the public knows the exact design, color and size of this bag and also its contents, how is this traveler safer?
• So the TSA is just outright fu–ing with people and bragging about it.

Richmond airport spokesman Troy Bell told the Washington Post at the time the traveler was “allowed to continue on his way,” although the cash was seized for an investigation.
“TSA officers routinely come across evidence of criminal activity at airport checkpoints. Examples include evidence of illegal drug trafficking, money laundering, and violations of currency reporting requirements prior to international trips. TSA turned this bag over to law enforcement, which is investigating,” Farbstein told the Washington Free Beacon in a statement.

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