Wonder if this might work in Afghanistan:

Police were hoping for a good turnout at their “Kicks for Guns” sneaker exchange Friday, but they weren’t expecting to get a surface-to-air missile launcher.

An Ocoee man showed up and exchanged the 4-foot-long launcher for size-3 Reebok sneakers for his daughter.

This really puts the recent TSA MANPADS Airport Footprint Analysis Software request in perspective. Rather than spend oodles of money trying to develop an accurate 3D model of airports to predict shoulder-fired missile danger zones, perhaps someone could start assessing what percentage of the 500,000 MANPADs are in the US already and calculating the number and cost of sneakers needed to trade for them?

Uncommon? This story comes shortly after CNN reported a rocket launcher found in a New Jersey lawn, and the AP reported a patriot missile discovered in a Florida scrap yard.

Experts were drafted in from the nearby MacDill Air Force Base, who quickly identified the object as a Patriot. They said that it was harmless, as it was missing its warhead. MacDill spokesman Lt. Omar Villarreal confirmed that the missile did not contain, in his words, ‘the part on top that goes boom.’

According to reports, however, the missile still had its rocket motor and guidance system. Experts suggested that it could have been a model used for training purposes.

Wired even has a picture. Last time I checked, secure missile disposal by the DoD meant that a motor (hazardous material) and guidance system (classified material) should not end up in an uncontrolled/public area.

BBC Three’s “The Real Hustle: Real Scams” has placed Bluetooth at the top of their list of scams:

Bluetooth is great for swapping photos with friends or connecting your mobile to a laptop. But did you also know that while you are accessing another person’s device with your Bluetooth, a hustler could be hacking into your mobile using an inexpensive PDA and software downloaded off the net?

Amazing that this would be listed above financial fraud…

In the UK, a fraudulent bankcard transaction takes place every seven seconds.

Wonder if anyone has an estimate of the rate of bluetooth attacks. Might be fun to do a sample or study just to see.

The paper copy of the San Francisco Chronicle had a very different headline from the online version, but in either case the message seems to be the same. Surveillance cameras are useless if they are not supported properly by an enforcement system.

Larsen said the Housing Authority wants to pay staff to monitor the cameras at all times, but that the agency’s dwindling budget makes coming up with the money a challenge. Other immediate needs, including repairing decrepit public housing developments, are competing for the same pot of money, he said.

“It’s a balancing act,” he said. “What’s more important? Obviously, security is important, but so are the roofs and the sewer lines.”

Actually, more sophisticated camera control systems would avoid the need for constant monitoring. The latest systems can email video extracts to guards, only when a trigger is tripped, so they can review on an as-need basis only and on a mobile/cell. On the other hand, the story makes me wonder if things are so tight that money saved from not having any cameras at all would put more officers on the ground. That would be better, unless money is so tight it would still just go to sewer lines and roofs. But that’s a management decision not a failure of surveillance controls.

The article certainly points out some interesting problems with security if it is not budgeted in a manner consistent with expectations (e.g. management can not afford to operate the controls). Back to my point about control levels, this is a good example of a level 1 (documented) that is missing proper implementation and would never pass a test.