"Post 9/11, Airport Security Holes Remain"

Monday, September 11, 2006

Post 9/11, Airport Security Holes Remain
Red Herring


Special 9/11 Coverage: While airports worldwide have grown more secure over
the past five years, opportunities for startups remain. 

Despite the billions of dollars spent on securing U.S. airports, there are
still many holes and startups  want to fill those gaps with new
technologies. From screening baggage to checking for explosives, here's a
snapshot of next-generation airport security technologies:

Problem: Cargo Inspection

Commercial cargo shipped on airlines usually comes accompanied with official
paperwork, but transportation security authorities rarely know how
containers are packed, or even what's in them. Airport security officials
carry out random screening, but most of the 6 billion pounds of commercial
cargo shipped each year on passenger aircraft goes unchecked. 

Possible solution

Publicly listed security giant L-3 Communications has teamed up with MIT to
study how a neutron beam could be used to identify explosives hidden in
cargo.The security and detection systems subsidiary of L-3 received a
$4.8-million contract from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration
in 2005. 
  
Problem: X-ray Scanning

Hours of staring into a monitor can take its toll on airport baggage
screeners. Plus, traditional X-ray scanning relies on subjective human
interpretation of the scanned images to detect potential threats. 

Possible solution

Three-year-old Canadian startup Optosecurity promises to improve the
effectiveness of existing X-ray systems with its optical scanning technology
that could increase detection rates of potentially threatening objects at
airport checkpoints. Optosecurity has raised $5.1 million from investors
including Business Development Bank of Canada, Innovatech Quebec, and
Fondaction. 

Problem: Baggage Screening

All checked-in baggage is screened, but determining whether a bottle
contains shampoo or explosives, say, isn't easy at all. Increasingly,
explosives are being hidden in innocuous objects that contain harmless
everyday chemicals that could be lethal when mixed. 

Possible solution

Startup Reveal Imaging offers an explosive-detection system that analyzes an
object's density and chemical makeup. At half the price of existing systems,
the scanner is small enough to use at the check-in desk, saving passengers
from long queues and random security checks. Founded in 2002, Reveal has
raised $10 million in funding from IDG Ventures, General Catalyst Partners,
and Greylock.

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