100 Body Scans From Security Checkpoint Leaked (PICTURES)

Earlier this year, the U.S. Marshals Service admitted that--despite promises from federal agencies that such images could and would not be stored--some 35,000 images from a scanner at a security checkpoint at a Florida courthouse had been saved.

One hundred of those body scan images have been leaked by Gizmodo, which obtained them through the Freedom of Information Act. They were taken with using millimeter wave scanners manufactured by Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc, which produce images that resemble "blurry negatives" with a "humanoid form," according to TSA spokesperson Sari Koshetz.

Gizmodo writes,

Yet the leaking of these photographs demonstrates the security limitations of not just this particular machine, but millimeter wave and x-ray backscatter body scanners operated by federal employees in our courthouses and by TSA officers in airports across the country. That we can see these images today almost guarantees that others will be seeing similar images in the future. If you're lucky, it might even be a picture of you or your family.

Body scanners at security checkpoints have become a controversial issue. The Transportation Security Administration has come under fire for employing what many consider to be invasive security screening procedures in the form of pat-downs and scanners.

The TSA said in a 2008 blog post, "While we have said this many times, it bears repeating, TSA will not keep, store or transmit images. Once deleted, they are gone forever."

See two of the body scan images obtained from the Florida courthouse's scanner below. The faces of the individuals shown in the photographs have been obscured.

LOOK:

Comments

[aligatorhardt]

11:18 AM on 12/07/2010

These pictures are deliberately being misrepresented. www.tsa.gov  has actual pictures.

[HarmNone]

01:32 PM on 11/19/2010

NYC council looking to ban scanners at airports and all public buildings:
http://council.nyc.gov/html/releases/11_18_10_greenfield_scanners.shtml

[Iteski]

01:29 PM on 11/19/2010

And, by the way, the pat down you used to get is nothing like the putdown you get now since the first of the month. Hands out, feet spread, extensive touching up, over, between. Oh, ladies...don't ever wear a longish or full skirt. Any clothing with "volume" requires you to singled out for special treatment.

[aligatorhardt]

11:24 AM on 12/07/2010

As  Donna D;errico found out recently, being pretty gets you singled out for scanning.  mynowpublic.com

[aligatorhardt]

11:28 AM on 12/07/2010

Correction  www.my.nowpublic.com

[HarmNone]

01:27 PM on 11/19/2010

NY Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/business/19security.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a23

[sangria82]

01:22 PM on 11/19/2010

How much further are you willing to bend over, America? It's only a matter of time before the random cavity searches start!

[Iteski]

01:21 PM on 11/19/2010

This isn't a "real" photo. You can't carry things through. You have to stand still with your feet apart and hands over your head. Basically, it feels very invasive to stand there while they do the scan, although I've refused and also had the new pat-down which is as bad as they say. After I get scanned, I still have to have a pat down because I have an underwire bra (yep, they can't seem to figure that one out without having to touch it). If you are thinking these images aren't so bad, it's because they don't realize what actually happens. Been there, done that, not good.

[hswanson2]

07:29 PM on 11/20/2010

This are real but they were taken at a federal courthouse not an airport. They were obtained through a FOIA request so unless the government is now releasing fake things that make them look bad...

[bossjimgettys]

01:13 PM on 11/19/2010

The sad truth is, none of this "security" BS has made the public any safer. The sadder truth is: if a terrorist organization wants to take down a plane, they will. While we are busy finding humiliating new ways to invade people's privacy and dignity, they are devising end runs around the system. An x-ray of my genitals can't stop somebody with a short-range missile launcher from shooting it at my plane. A national, organized protest among fliers who refuse the body scan would be a nice way to shut down the system and kill this abomination before the eventual court cases do. I understand there were such plans afoot for Thanksgiving - that would be a good start.

[tanyaodon]

01:12 PM on 11/19/2010

What's in the square in the picture? I can't even tell...people are getting so crazy and paranoid these days...its a patdown, taken for security measures, it has happened to me multiple times, its not that bad.

[diondatta]

01:06 PM on 11/19/2010

It's a trade-off. Safety for privacy. People choose to fly or not to fly. It seems that most people would rather be a little inconvenienced than share a plane ride with a suicide bomber. Then again, this is simply a symptom of the real problem; and that problem is the Foreign policy of the United States. Stop invading other people's countries and get the military off of their property and stop supporting the dictators that oppress those people. Simply put, the USA needs to mind it's own business.
There is a quote: "Friendship with all nations, entangling allegiance with none".
I forget who said it, but it makes sense to me.

[Box Head Man]

01:47 PM on 11/19/2010

For me it's not a about a trade off between safety and privacy. That's a fear based response. It's about the Constitution. They are searching without a warrant. It's a constant list of small erosions that are threatening the Founding Fathers genius. The conservatives scream about the Constitution and then roll over when threatened. There are many other ways to do this without the search. The Israeli airline has their system and it works. I do believe that an air Marshal on every flight would cost less than what we are doing and going to do in the future.

[MickeyMudTurtle]

01:00 PM on 11/19/2010

The TSA has already brainwashed just about everybody into calling the alternative a 'patdown', when in fact it is Big Brother copping a feel. Just sayin'!

[diondatta]

12:57 PM on 11/19/2010

Really? This is what the big fuss is all about? C'mon people, grow-up or drive.

[HarmNone]

01:14 PM on 11/19/2010

We are, we're driving and taking trains and buses and it will affect the profit margin of the airports and airlines. If you don't care about your rights as an American citizen, then let TSA keep doing anything they want to you - but don't complain when they get even more intimate or abusive, and you know it's only a matter of time before they do.

[aligatorhardt]

11:32 AM on 12/07/2010

These pictures are not what is made with airport TSA scanners. www.tsa.gov   The pictures shown in this article are worthless from a security viewpoint. There would be no justification in using these machines if this is all that is shown.

[Rat Juice]

12:20 PM on 11/19/2010

Its crazy how accurately these scanners take images. The ones in this post do the technology no justice.

http://ratjuice.blogspot.com/

[Madmiddle]

12:19 PM on 11/19/2010

I guess when the TSA starts their frisking, and you act like you really, really, really, really like it maybe that will turn them off? Maybe? Hmm. Just wonderin'.

[WinterRanter]

11:15 AM on 11/19/2010

The invasion of privacy is problematical enough. AIUI, anyone with metal implants to correct a medical condition must submit to patdown. Also, airline flight crews (and presumably air marshalls) — indeed, anyone who flies frequently — must face the scanners and run the risk of getting significant x-ray dosages over time.

The TSA certainly has a heavy responsibility. I wish they would approach it with more thought.

[WashingtonDCsucks]

01:01 PM on 11/19/2010

Thought and the TSA can' be mentioned in the same paragraph. It's like matter and anti-matter.
There hasn't been a single thought since the agency opened... why would they start now???

[ESJ247]

10:12 AM on 11/19/2010

The one with the big long blurry image between the legs is me.