Airports forced to make major changes to x-ray machines after it was revealed what security were able to see

X-ray scanners at airports were changed forever in the mid-2010s after people realised how intrusive the scans were

About 10 years ago, airports were forced to change the way their x-ray machines worked after users were horrified at what they revealed to security.

Getting through security at airports on your travels is already enough of a headache, so all you can do is hope that security screening goes smoothly.

However, controversial x-ray scanners from tech company Rapsican had to be axed back in the early 2010s, becoming well-known for all the wrong reasons.

The machines were brought into the US by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), while the UK soon followed suit, though it turned out that these machines gave security a surprising amount of detail.

A startling amount of it – so much so, that security could literally see everything.

When I say everything, I mean it in every sense of the word, as there wasn’t much to leave to the imagination in these uncensored body scans.

These machines were initially introduced in response to the 2009 Christmas Day bombing attempt in Detroit.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallabm concealed a bomb in his underwear, which he went on to detonate during a flight, but which luckily did not explode.

With over 170 machines being rolled out across the States, they became known as ‘virtual strip searches’ on this side of the pond and a lot of people weren’t pleased with how revealing these scans were, prompting a change.

Communications researcher and author Shawna Malvini Redden explained to Reader’s Digest: “Early versions of the scanners came out without any privacy protections, and TSOs [Transport Security Officers] could be looking at naked images of passengers as they went through the screening.”

The old scanners were incredibly intrusive (X /@‌greendaylover44)

In 2013, the criticism changed everything, as the TSA had to remove the $180,000 (£142,500) machines as they violated privacy standards.

More generic and less revealing outlines would need to be generated, as millimetre wave scanners were put in their places, and they are still in use today.

After the TSA asked Rapiscan to develop the new software required by June 2013, the private security company said it could not meet the deadline, prompting the former to release the following statement.

“TSA has strict requirements that all vendors must meet for security effectiveness and efficiency,” the agency announced.

“Due to its inability to deploy non-imaging Automated Target Recognition (ATR) software by the Congressionally-mandated June 2013 deadline, TSA has terminated part of its contract with Rapiscan.

Scans shown to security nowadays are a lot more generic, while detecting any potential threats (Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

“By June 2013 travelers will only see machines which have ATR that allow for faster throughput. This means faster lanes for the traveler and enhanced security. As always, use of this technology is optional.”

Explaining how the scanners that are currently used work, Redden said: “TSOs are only seeing this outline with a green ‘clear’ or a red ‘stop and check’ signal.

“If someone has something in their pockets, for instance, the machine will put an alarm note in the paper doll’s groin region so the officer knows generally where to search.”