Report: Security Flaw in Airports’ Systems

A design flaw in computer-controlled security systems could make at least 40 of the world’s airports and scores of other sites vulnerable to intruders, the New York Times reported Sunday.

The system, built by Receptors Inc. of Torrance, is used for making security badges and controlling access to sensitive areas.

Because the system relinquishes control of door-locking mechanisms to the computer that programs and monitors badges, a seemingly secure building becomes vulnerable to anyone who gains access to the computer.

The company has acknowledged a problem, discovered in December by MSB Associates, a San Mateo, Calif., computer security firm doing a routine audit for a software company, the Times said.

But Dale Williams, Receptors’ chief operating officer, said the problem lay not with the equipment but the way it was installed in some locations.

Williams said the equipment was being used in 40 airports around the world. The Times agreed not to disclose the locations, though aviation officials have notified airports in the U.S. and Britain, the paper said.

Other sites using the system include prisons, military contractors, technology and drug firms and U.S. government buildings, including the CIA, the Times said.