Just on the off chance that some government mandates wholly ineffectual full body scanners for security purposes, Jonathan Corbett has two videos that demonstrate the ease with which such scanner can be defeated, completely.
Oh, I forgot, the US government has mandated such scanners!
Jonathan maintains a great site at: http://professional-troublemaker.com/. You can folow him @_JonCorbett.
Jon is right about the scanners being ineffectual but being effective wasn’t part of the criteria for purchasing the systems. Scanners were purchased to give the impression of frenzied activity, even if it was totally ineffectual.
What would happen if a terrorist did attack an airport, through one of the hundreds of daily lapses in security? What would the government say if it weren’t engaged in non-stop but meaningless activity?
Someone would say, falsely, that it was inactive on the part of government that enabled the attack.
Stuff and nonsense.
“Terrorist” attacks, actually violence committed by criminals by another name, can and will happen no matter what measures are taken by the government. Short of having an all-nude policy beginning at the perimeter of the airport and prohibiting anything larger than a clear quart zip lock bag being shipped. With passengers or as cargo.
Even then it isn’t hard to imagine several dozen ways to carry out “terrorist” attacks at any airport.
The sooner government leaders begin to educate their citizens that some risks are simply unavoidable, the sooner money can stop being wasted on visible but ineffectual efforts like easily defeated body scanners.