Bagcam Watches The TSA Since You Can’t

• 16 years ago

Ever wonder what happens to your luggage once it’s checked in? Computer hacker “Algormor” got sick of seeing TSA notices of baggage inspection and placed a specialized video camera to find out what was going on.

I was able to attend a talk given by Algormor about the “bagcam” at The Last HOPE conference 3 weeks ago. Here are the highlights of what his hidden bagcam captured.

• Not surprisingly luggage was tossed about carelessly.
• Suitcases (in the US) pass through X-ray machines before they are passed along to personnel who take them to each plane.
• Many of the TSA staff were not watching the monitors – chatting with each other and one with arms folded staring at the ceiling.

Algormor has posted the slides from his presentation, which go into further detail and outline how to create your own bagcam as well his bagcam videos. Setting up a bagcam takes about 10 minutes and the equipment costs about $150-$500 depending on the quality and features of the camera. Although he hasn’t caught anything damning yet he will continue filming since he believes it’s only a matter of time before he does.

Unfortunately, I tend to agree.

[photo by: RobotSkirts]