LAX to get more full-body screening machines
Californians, get ready for your close-up.
More of those controversial new full-body airport screening machines are headed for a few LAX terminals in the next two weeks. In all, new units are going online at 11 U.S. airports, including three in the Golden State.
The “advanced imaging technology” units have generated concern because they produce what looks like a full-body nude image of scanned passengers to reveal weapons or bombs hidden underneath clothes.
Los Angeles, San Jose and San Diego international airports are getting new scanning machines in the latest deployment.
Civil liberty groups -- and even Pope Benedict XVI -- have criticized the technology, saying it violates the privacy of passengers. But even the pontiff cannot slow the Transportation Security Administration’s goal of installing nearly 1,000 such units at airports across the country over the next two years or so.
The 11 airports chosen in the latest deployment were selected based on the risk of terrorist attacks and how quickly the units could be installed with the least amount of construction, TSA spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino said.
In some airports, work crews must add electrical wiring and floor supports and make other terminal renovations before the TSA can add the units, she said.
Los Angeles International Airport already has three units that were installed in 2008, but they are used only to screen passengers who trigger alarms in the traditional security process. In the next week or two, several additional units will come online at LAX, although the TSA declined to say exactly how many or where they would be added.
Security experts have long said that LAX is the kind of high-profile venue that would be a prime target for terrorists.
Trevino would not say which gates would get the high-tech scanners but said that decision would be made based on matters of security and terminal infrastructure.
During the last two years, the TSA has had 40 such units operating at 19 airports. It recently purchased 150 units built by Torrance-based Rapiscan Systems Inc.
By the end of the year, the agency plans to order 300 additional units, although the manufacturer has yet to be chosen. TSA plans to order 500 more units next year, Trevino said.
The ultimate goal, she said, is to have enough scanners at every major U.S. airport so that all 2 million people who fly each day get scanned.
Cyber crooks target L.A. hotel
If you stayed at Los Angeles’ Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites from April to December last year, you should check your credit card statements closely.
The hotel reported that its four restaurants -- Lakeview Bistro, Lobby Court Coffee Bar, Bona Vista Lounge and L.A. Prime -- and the hotel’s valet parking operations may have been infiltrated by computer hackers looking to lift credit card numbers. The system that holds hotel guests’ information was not affected.
The possible cyber attack highlights a growing trend among computer hackers.
More than half of all data breaches in 2009 targeted the food and beverage and hospitality industries, according to a report by Trustwave, a global compliance and security firm. The analysis is based on the 218 security breaches the company investigated in 2009.
Last year, food and beverage businesses represented 13% of the security breeches investigated by Trustwave. The hospitality industry represented 38% of all the hacked businesses, according to the company’s report. Retail businesses represented 14% of cyber victims, and financial services businesses accounted for 19% of the targets.
Before 2008, hotels were rarely targeted by cyber crooks.
“The hospitality industry was not even on our radar, said Michelle Genser, a spokeswoman for Trustwave. In the last year, hotels have become the hottest target for hackers, she said.
Why? Once hackers find a way to infiltrate a computer system for a hotel or restaurant, they will repeat that same method on similar businesses until they get stopped or caught, she said.
Another reason may be that the food and beverage and hospitality industries haven’t been vigilant in safeguarding their computer systems.
Although the food and beverage and hospitality industries represented 51% of the businesses that reported security breeches to Trustwave last year, the two industries represented less than 8% of the companies that had their computer systems tested for weaknesses prior to a cyber attack.
In a statement, the Westin Bonaventure urged guests who used credit cards at the eateries or valet last year to check their card statements and contact the bank that issued the card if they suspected fraud.
“If you see what you suspect is fraud, contact your credit card company right away before the person is able to spend thousands of dollars a day,” Genser said.
Airlines predict lower losses
When is a projected loss of $2.8 billion good news?
That number is good for the global airline industry because it is half of what the industry had previously expected to lose this year.
For passengers, it means airfares are more likely to inch back up this year.
In December, the International Air Transport Assn., a trade group for the industry, predicted that airlines worldwide would lose $5.6 billion this year. But growing demand from Asia and Latin America and increases in overall passenger and cargo bookings have prompted the association to adjust the prediction to only $2.8 billion in losses this year.
Passenger demand worldwide is expected to grow 5.6% in 2010, while cargo demand is forecast to increase 12% over 2009, according to the association.
Still, the industry continues to be dragged down by slumping demand for “premium travel” such as business- or first-class bookings. Premium travel is down 17% from early 2008, when the recession began to take hold of the industry, the association said.
Another source of concern for the industry is rising fuel costs. The association expects average oil prices to rise to $79 a barrel from $62 a barrel in 2009.
Overall, the group predicts a tenuous recovery.
Said air transport association Director General Giovanni Bisignani: “We can be optimistic, with due caution.”
