Security guru Bruce Schneier has written an interesting piece on the use of RFID bracelets in US hospitals to counter baby abduction. What makes it interesting is that Bruce actually admits that security theater can be a good thing:
There are times when people feel less secure than they actually are. In those cases — like with mothers and the threat of baby abduction — a palliative countermeasure that primarily increases the feeling of security is just what the doctor ordered. [...] Most of the time security theater is a bad trade-off, because the costs far outweigh the benefits. But there are instances when a little bit of security theater makes sense.
So no monkeys or snowglobes in carry on luggage, “Are you a terrorist?” -questionnaires, licensing boaters, ID cards to stop bullying, car rentals requiring fingerprints and bulletproof textbooks is bad security theater, but armed troops with no bullets is good security theater:
Much of the post-9/11 security can be explained by this as well. I’ve often talked about the National Guard troops in airports right after the terrorist attacks, and the fact that they had no bullets in their guns. As a security countermeasure, it made little sense for them to be there. They didn’t have the training necessary to improve security at the checkpoints, or even to be another useful pair of eyes. But to reassure a jittery public that it’s OK to fly, it was probably the right thing to do.
Bruce Schneier’s blog is a must read for anyone interested in security matters.
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