Technology against terrorism: Structuring security

Technical Report · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:10128707

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon, but it has become more prominent during the past two decades. Terrorist attacks have included not only political assassinations, but also large-scale attacks, often aimed at third parties, causing massive casualties. Two well-known examples are car bombings, employing hundreds of kilograms of high explosives, and attacks on commercial aircraft around the world. The US Government and the American public became acutely aware of terrorism after the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988. The recent war in the Persian Gulf heightened fears of renewed terrorist attacks on US targets, both overseas and at home. In 1989, because of growing concern over terrorist threats, several Senate Committees requested that OTA study the role of technology in fighting terrorism and the Federal effort in promoting related research and development. This report is the second and final one in response to these requests. The first was transmitted in Congress in a classified version in September 1990. An unclassified summary was released to the public separately in February 1991, and an unclassified version of the full report was published in July 1991. This second report also has a classified annex with additional technical data. The first report concentrated on Federal funding for research and development in counterterrorist technology and on aspects of airline security, particularly explosives detection. This report is devoted primarily to three other topics: interagency coordination of efforts in counterterrorist research and development, integrated security systems, and the role of human factors in aviation security. In addition, it furnishes details on a number of technologies that play a role in counterterrorism.

• Research Organization: Office of Technology Assessment (U.S. Congress), Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 10128707
• Report Number(s): OTA-ISC--511; ON: TI92009640; ISBN 0-16-036061-7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
450000
ADVERSARIES
AIR TRANSPORT
AIRPORTS
BOMBS
COMMUNICATIONS
DETECTION
EXPLOSIVES
HUMAN FACTORS
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
IRAQ
MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
NATIONAL DEFENSE
PHYSICAL PROTECTION
PLANNING
SECURITY
TERRORISM
US FAA