The TSA appears to be afraid of being challenged by an expert

Mar 27, 2012 08:47 GMT  ·  By

World renowned security expert and author Bruce Schneier was invited to testify in front of Congress regarding the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) security initiatives, but he was suddenly uninvited.

Schneier was supposed to speak yesterday in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in a hearing that examined, among other things, the challenges faced by the TSA in implementing the Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT), and the Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) project.

“On Friday, at the request of the TSA, I was removed from the witness list. The excuse was that I am involved in a lawsuit against the TSA, trying to get them to suspend their full-body scanner program,” Schenier wrote on his personal blog. While this is the official version, the expert believes that in reality the TSA is afraid of someone that might point out all its weaknesses.

“They want to control the story, and it's easier for them to do that if I'm not sitting next to them pointing out all the holes in their position,” he explained.

The House Committee told the security guru that he would be invited for another hearing, but Schneier is not certain his busy schedule will allow him to make it. Furthermore, he claims that his testimony would not be as effective if the TSA would not be forced to respond to his inquiries.

The TSA’s representatives at the joint hearing in Washington were Assistant Administrator for Security Operations Christopher McLaughlin, and Assistant Administrator for Intelligence and Analysis Stephen Sadler.

Other big names on the witness list included Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft of the U.S. Coast Guard, and Stephen Lord, Homeland Security director.

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