Aero India 2013 Security loopholes
Aero India 2013 concluded last week in Bangalore and
we’re fortunate that it ended without any incident. Despite having an army of
security guards, police, CRPF, Military folks, the show had several security
vulnerabilities. Here’re a few of them.
The food court was outside the security range. So those
who wanted to go to food court had to exit the exhibition area and while coming
back, they had to clear security one more time. For the afternoon show,
scheduled to begin at 2 PM, people crowded near the security gate in large
numbers, eager to be in before the show starts. Baggage and pass checks were
bare minimum or rather name sake. Barricades were almost
non-existent.
The hangers (which were converted into exhibition halls)
had a small rear door. These are flagged as EMERGENCY EXITs on the inside and
are manned by a police or security guards. I saw a security guard opening this
gate from inside and allowing an outside person in plain clothes to enter in,
bypassing security gates he was supposed to pass through. In other words, if
you know someone from the inside (needn't be a high level person, even a
security guard or cleaner will do), it was very easy to enter the main area
through some vulnerable points.
The exhibition halls had 2 entrances. If one of them had
been marked as entry and other as exit, flow of people could have been
streamlined. But there were no such differentiation. This works fine when no of
people are few. But when crowd throngs in thousands, this becomes unmanageable.
Security guards at the gate are supposed to scan the pass against a RFID
scanner, see if the scanner gives red or green and then allow entry accordingly.
However, after airshow almost every one tried entering nearby exhibition halls,
in all directions, security guards were helpless. Many people entered the hall,
with or without any check.
If one person had a pass to enter a restricted area, he
would take another 4-5 with him (family members, friends etc)- guards wouldn't object to this. This is also a bad practice and vulnerability
Those who flashed big tags, walked around authoritatively were allowed into restricted areas without close scrutiny. It is very easy to print a pass which looks similar. A well dressed and authoritative looking person can easily confuse the security and make his way through. (This happens all the places, very difficult to scan every individual at every gate. May be an access controlled gate- like one works in metro stations-would be a better idea)
The security seemed fool proof early morning when the
crowd was less. But by noon, the crowd was unmanageable and security forces
looked helpless. They tried their best to check everyone and their bags, but any
smart person could have easily bypassed the check, if he was determined
to.
Possible improvements:
- Keep the food court inside the premises-saves repeat security checks
- Keep automated gates which open when a valid access card is flashed, for restricted areas
- Well planned barricades, entry and exit can streamline people, making them more manageable
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