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by tonywebster 5273 days ago
That's not the point... John Doe buys a plane ticket and gets an electronic boarding pass — John uses Chrome Developer Tools or Firebug to change John Doe to Jane Terrorist. John Doe's name is checked against terrorism watch lists, but Jane Terrorist's name isn't. Jane Terrorist then presents a boarding pass with her actual name and she has an ID showing her name is Jane Terrorist. The TSA agents don't check terrorism watch lists at the checkpoint.

tl;dr: You can alter a boarding pass and circumvent the entire watch list process.
3 comments
namdnay 5273 days ago
In Canada (and Europe), the gate agents check your BP against their list (in fact they just scan the 2DBC and it boards you in the DCS system) and your ID. So you would get stopped at the gate.
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Doches 5272 days ago
If I turn down the lights, squint, and pretend I'm a U.S. senator from Texas I read that as "John uses <illegal hacking tools that should be outlawed> to change..."
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quinndupont 5273 days ago
You can alter the ticket, but they check it to see that it matches your ID. So, using this method you would ALSO have to edit your ID
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rubiety 5273 days ago
You're missing the point - the TSA watch list is checked with the name you bought the flight under. You can then change that name to the name that matches your ID. The TSA does not check your name against the watch list when you go up to their booth; they only verify that the two documents match (where one of the documents is essentially fabricated).
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BCM43 5273 days ago
Yes, but the point is you have to buy a ticket with your real name. You can't board the plane unless the ticket is in your name. If it is in your name, you get stopped at check-in.
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cstejerean 5273 days ago
You can buy the ticket under whatever name you like. Identity is verified at security, and you can edit the boarding pass to match your real name.
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jewbacca 5272 days ago
I can't believe the point isn't getting through. I'll take my shot at it.

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A is on the no-fly list. He is trying to fly.

B is not. The airline Computer expects B.

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A brings the following things with him to the airport: ID A, Ticket A, Ticket B

Security: Ticket A vs ID A

Boarding (America): Ticket B vs Computer (B)

Boarding (Canada): Ticket B vs Computer (B)... vs ID A

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