Arrest them All

[Ping898]

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2006/10/congressman_ed_.html
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72023-0.html?tw=wn_index_2

Security researcher Christopher Soghoian created the Northwest Airline Boarding Pass Generator in the hope of spurring Congress to look closely at the nation's aviation security policies, which he calls "security theater."
The site lets anyone create a facsimile of a Northwest Airlines boarding pass, with whatever name they choose.
On Friday, Congress heard Soghoian's message loud and clear. But instead of promising to reform broken airport security procedures, Rep. Edward Markey (D- Massachusetts), a member of the House Homeland Security committee known for his defenses of privacy, wants the site shut down and Soghoian arrested.

I find this an interesting article....and there are a lot of links to back stories if anyone is interested, but why is it that whenever anyone shows a flaw in the system, there is a call for them to be arrested, even if they did nothing illegal. It isn't like this guy is showing us something new, but rather trying a new tactic to force a solution to an old problem. It isn't like the program he created would be hard for anyone with a minimumal amount of programming experience to do....
Any thoughts?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

They did the same thing with SS#'s. Screamed about the folks posting theirs...when they themselves were posting them publicly too.

 

[Andrew Green]

Maintaining the illusion of security is far more important to politicians then actually providing security. Until a problem is shown, it's not a real problem.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

i'm reminded of that guy who kept leaving weapons in the planes to prove the point.

sometimes i wonder if the airline security thing isn't just a test. they want to see just how far we're willing to let them go....

 

[Bigshadow]

sometimes i wonder if the airline security thing isn't just a test. they want to see just how far we're willing to let them go....

That is sort of how it works. Rather they like to manufacturer (ie, allow things to happen) an event that scares people into doing what they wanted to do all along. I don't trust them.