There's plenty of work to be done before body scanners become part of an airport's security routine in the U.S., according to a Government Accountability Office report.

Last week, the GAO recommended that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) fully test scanners before they are used as a security device. That includes testing their day-to-day use and making sure they are not vulnerable to terrorist countermeasures. The GAO's report was prepared for the House Committee on Homeland Security in the aftermath of the failed Dec. 25 bombing attempt of a U.S. airline. And it's a warning signal at a time when the U.S. is under growing pressure to make airport security failsafe.

It noted that TSA plans to put in place about 200 whole body images by the end of 2010. By 2014, it expects to install nearly 900 bodyscanners. Similar scanners are already in place in other parts of the world, such as in the U.K. A passenger who declines to undergo a scan cannot get on a flight, according to reports. They also are  now being used in Nigeria, where the would-be Christmas bomber first boarded his flight, and in Amsterdam, where he transferred to a U.S. bound jetliner.

The public appears to support for body scanners in the U.S. Polls taken in the wake of the attempted bombing attempt show growing support for the use of the technology.

For more on body scanners:
- see this Computerworld article

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