TSA

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on TSA:

TSA will accept Apple Wallet’s digital IDs from February 2022

By

The Wallet app will soon let you board a plane with your iPhone rather than a physical drivers license.
For faster, more secure check-ins.
Image: Apple

The Transportation Security Administration confirmed that it will start accepting Apple Wallet’s new digital IDs starting in February 2022. It looks set to be the first agency to support the new feature, which Apple announced in June.

Two airports will be part of the pilot program initially, but the TSA plans to add another two in March 2022 before a wider rollout next year.

These are the first states adopting driver’s licenses and IDs in Apple Wallet

By

Driver's licenses and IDs in Apple Wallet
Arizona and Georgia will be first, followed by six others.
Photo: Apple

Apple on Wednesday confirmed the first states that will adopt digital driver’s licenses and IDs in Apple Wallet. Residents of Arizona and Georgia will be able to take advantage of the feature first, with six other states to follow.

The Transportation Security Administration will enable select security checkpoints and lanes at participating airports as the first locations customers can use their driver’s license or state ID in Wallet, Apple added.

16-inch MacBook Pro surprises: No Wi-Fi 6, 720p webcam, 96W charger

By

16-MacBook-Pro
Notebook shipments could fall by as much as 36%.
Photo: Apple

There are some interesting surprises with the 16-inch MacBook Pro that you won’t find in Apple’s press release. So we’ve rounded up the big ones here so you don’t miss anything before buying.

Some of these things are nice surprises. But be warned that others will leave you a little disappointed.

TSA accused of searching phones and laptops on domestic flights

By

iphone
According to new lawsuit, airports are searching phones on some flights.
Photo: Apple

We’re all used to our bags being searched when we go through airport security, but a number of reports claim that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is also searching the electronic devices belonging to passengers on domestic flights within the U.S.

As a result, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against the TSA, requesting records gathered by the fderal agency.

Leaked recording reveals Apple’s plan to stop leakers

By

Photos of alleged glass panels for the iPhone 8, 7s and 7s Plus.
Apple's on a mission to keep iPhone 8 parts like these from leaking.
Photo: Reddit

Tim Cook’s mission to double down on secrecy at Apple is producing results that even Steve Jobs would be envious of, based on a new report that details the extreme lengths Apple has gone through to stop leaks.

Ironically, a recording of Apple’s security team discussing leaks has been leaked online, giving all-new details on how Apple prevents employees and factory workers from leaking information and parts to the public.

Which fliers to search? There’s a $1.4 million app for that

By

iPad Pro
An iPad will be used to help determine your fate at the airport.
Photo: Leander Kahney / Cult of Mac

Whether it’s airlines dropping flight manuals for iPads or iBeacons being used at airports, the aviation industry isn’t shy about embracing Apple products.

But it seems the Transportation Security Administration has yet another use in mind: It spent $1.4 million on a TSA iPad app to determine which passengers to randomly search when they’re about to board a flight.

Road warriors share their iPhone toolkits

By

8526503079_a0efcb092e_h
CC-licensed, thanks to Moyan_Brenn.

In the interest of saving you time (and money) when you travel on apps that won’t help you get from point A to point B, we’ve sounded out dozens of road warriors — including flight attendants, serial conference goers, travel writers, CEOs, expats and even a comedian — to find out what they really need when stuck in an airport or mired in the daily commute.

Here are their picks – which just may get you some extra airline points or mellow out on the way to work.

iPads Continue To Vanish At The Airport Thanks To Thieving TSA Officers

By

Lose a black MacBook at JFK airport? Sean Henry might have it.
Was your iPad mini stolen at JFK airport? Sean Henry might have it.

A TSA agent caught stealing iPads and numerous other electronic devices was arrested this week following a sting operation at New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport. Sean Henry, 32, joins the growing list of TSA workers who have been accused of stealing from passengers as they pass through airport checkpoints across the United States.

Find My iPad Catches Thieving TSA Officer Red-Handed [Video]

By

Had valuable items stolen at the airport? The TSA could be behind it.
Had valuable items stolen at the airport? The TSA could be behind it.

Stories about valuable items going missing at airport TSA checkpoints are worryingly common, but it’s not often you can prove your possessions have indeed been stolen by the people employed to protect you. Fortunately, Apple has made iOS devices easy to track when they go missing, and ABC News recently took advantage of this feature to catch a thieving TSA officer red-handed.

This Dev’s Apple Design Award Was Nearly Mistaken For A Terrorist Device By The TSA

By

ada

In a post-9/11 environment, the TSA is suspicious of everything. Shoes. Bottles of water. What you look like underneath your clothes. Everything

So when Game Collage developer Juraj Hlaváč flew back from last week’s WWDC and was discovered with a mysterious black box in his backpack that resisted all attempts to be scanned by the airport’s security equipment, and mysteriously glowed to boot, the TSA quickly became suspicious.

Luckily, before it became cavity search suspicious, Hlaváč revealed the true nature of the black box in his bag: an Apple Design Award for his app, Bobo Explores Light.

How TSA Plans To Spend $3 Million On Macs And Other Apple Gear

By

TSA plans massive pilot project using $3 million worth of Apple products
TSA plans massive pilot project using $3 million worth of Apple products

TSA is the latest U.S. federal agency to make a significant investment in Apple technologies in what may be a move away from RIM’s BlackBerry and Windows PCs. The agency is set to start a pilot program that will run over the next three years and will involve heavy investment in Macs, iPhones, iPads, and even Apple TVs.

According to federal documents (PDF link), the security agency plans to spend $3 million on Apple products and has an amazingly wide range of uses for them in mind. The plans go well beyond the scope of Apple investments made by other U.S. government agencies like the EPA and FAA, which focus primarily on iPhones and/or iPads.

This Charming TSA Agent Has Been Stealing iPads Out Of Travelers’ Luggage

By

TSAiPadThief
Left: the face of national security. Right: an iPad.

Next time you’re making a flight through Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport you might want to keep your iPad in your carry-on rather than leave it in your luggage. Or hope Transportation Security Administration agent Clayton Dovel isn’t on duty that day – which he probably won’t be because he just got busted for stealing a bunch of iPads from travelers’ luggage.

Timbuk2 Command Messenger 2012 Laptop Bag: A Messenger Bag For Jetsetting MacBooks [Review]

By

timbuk2-command-messnger-2012-8

The new Timbuk2 Command Messenger 2012 ($140) is nothing like the first Timbuk2 bag I ever owned, some 11 years and 20 pounds ago, back when I was heavily commited to the world of cycling. Timbuk2 called it the Bolo, and it was a real messenger bag — though messengers almost always opted for it’s larger sibling, the Tag Junkie — crafted from a single piece of vinyl and Cordura; just a massive main compartment with not much more than a small pocket sewn on the outer face for coins and maybe a patch kit.

Although it’s just about as tough, the Command Messenger is light years away from my Bolo (and is really as much a messenger bag as a Chevy pickup is an ox cart): It’s sophisticated, uses several advanced materials, has loads of pockets and a trick feature that makes air travel easier for laptop-toting jestsetters. My how you’ve grown, Timbuk2.

Why You Can’t Use Your iPhone During Take-Off

By

Photo by tom cochrane - http://flic.kr/p/6GM1c8
Photo by tom cochrane - http://flic.kr/p/6GM1c8

Our opinion of the government has never been lower, and every day there is ample proof why. Take the FAA, for example. Despite the absolute lack of evidence that your iPhone can knock a plane from the sky, passengers are still told to turn off their phones. The reason why such a Luddite-like rule exists without any proof? Because there’s no proof iPhones won’t hurt planes, either. Don’t get whiplash shaking your head in utter amazement.

TSA: Leave It In Your Bags! The 11.6-Inch MacBook Air Is Not A Security Threat

By

11.6-inch-macbook-air

Thinner at its thinnest point than even the edge of an axe blade, Apple’s new MacBook Airs could conceivably be used to split a skull or two, but according to the always-paranoid Transportation Security Administration, it’s still less dangerous than a small bottle of water: if you have to go through an airport security checkpoint with your 11-inch Air, the TSA has determined that it never once has to be taken out of your bag for closer inspection.