How To Beat Airport Security With Body Language Thanks To Leaked CIA WikiLeaks
Christopher Philip
WikiLeaks has released a pair of internal CIA documents which aimed to brief undercover agents on how to dupe security at airports. The primary aim of the documents is advice on how to maintain their cover while working their way through the airport security process.
While this information is super important to terrorists, I’m going to assume that it’s helpful to the layman too – the innocent traveler who doesn’t want to undergo undue delay and harassment on his way to vacation.
According to the document, one of the most important tips is to avoid appearing nervous.
The first of the documents entitled Surviving Secondary covers things including “not looking shifty.”
The document breaks this down into a few simple nonverbal keys:
– Avoid physiological signs of nervousness including shaking or trembling hands, rapid breathing, cold sweats, pulsating carotid arteries and a flushed face and avoiding eye contact.
– Use appropriate baggage for the length of stay.
– Avoid multiple new items such as alarm clocks or notebooks in baggage.
– Avoid carelessly packed baggage.
– Do not carry unopened or unmarked maps, guidebooks or other literature, or maps of unrelated cities.
– Camera quality should match the traveler’s profile and the camera memory card should be sufficient for the length of the tourist’s trip.
Other ways one might be wrongfully profiled includes cultural specific keys. For example, loan Western travelers might be targeted in Japanese airports as they may fit the bill for a drug currier. In Iraq, any Kurdish passenger with a Turkish accent can be automatically moved to secondary since they may belong to the militant group PKK.
In Mauritius security will focus on passengers facial expressions, particularly when they are picking up their luggage. They will “zoom in on individuals’ faces to study their expressions.” In Hungary, one-way mirrors will monitor passengers for signs of nervousness. In Bahrain, undercover officers will move through arrivals for looking for uneasy travelers.
One agent failed at one of these protocols and was questioned simply because he was dressed too casually.
Many of the cues picked up by security are non-verbal as the contents of our minds are not freely accessed – otherwise, we’d all be in big trouble. Thus, looking and acting the part, from mannerisms to attire, to physiology are the keys to blending in with the rest of the international travelers.
Resources
https://wikileaks.org/cia-travel/
Surviving Secondary: https://wikileaks.org/cia-travel/secondary-screening/WikiLeaks_CIA_Assessment_on_Surviving_Secondary_Screening.pdf
Infiltrating Schengen: https://wikileaks.org/cia-travel/infiltrating-schengen/WikiLeaks_CIA_Advice_for_Operatives_Infiltrating_Schengen.pdf