Acceptance of controversial body scanners is high, survey says

Americans are willing to submit to controversial body scans and advanced screening technologies if it will result in safer air travel, according to a corporate survey released on Tuesday.

A majority of those surveyed, 93 percent, said they were willing to go through advanced security screening procedures that require imaging, biometric screening and provide personal information in advance if it means airline security improves, according to a survey from Unisys Corp. The Washington-based information technology company sells security technology applications and services to the government and recently released a product that incorporates biometrics.

Sixty-five percent of respondents said they would submit to a full body scan at airports' security checkpoints, which reveals objects a person might be wearing underneath clothes. Privacy advocates argue the technology depicts an individual's anatomical features too clearly, but others argue the scanners avoid displaying body parts in detail.

The Transportation Security Administration is deploying full body scanners at airports nationwide. Agency officials say the machines will improve the detection of dangerous liquids, explosives and other materials more quickly than a pat-down. The agency requested $573 million in fiscal 2011 to purchase 500 additional body scanners and operate the 500 units that are currently deployed.

In addition, 57 percent said they would be willing to validate their identity using biometric data such as iris scans and fingerprints. Nearly three-quarters said they would provide personal data from a passport or driver's license in advance of arriving at an airport.

The public will continue to trust these technologies as long as data isn't lost or leaked, said Patricia Titus, chief information security officer at Unisys Federal and a former CISO at TSA. The survey results indicate people are confident that the government can secure and protect personal information collected as part of TSA's Secure Flight program, she added. The program requires passengers to provide their full name, birth date and gender when booking a flight. Secure Flight streamlines the watch list process by shifting the responsibility to collect the data from individual airlines, according to TSA.

The more education people receive on potential threats, the more comfortable they become with these technologies, Titus said. But she cautioned that information sharing across agencies can erode public trust, saying TSA must use the data it collects only for a stated purpose unless individuals are contacted and agree otherwise.

"People understand that the threat is real. Hopefully we don't have to have these subtle reminders [like the Christmas Day attack] periodically," Titus said.