A recent article on terrorism noted there was a lot for the U.S. to learn about security from a country that, ever since its 1948 founding, has had to deal with this threat daily—Israel. Despite the October 7, 2023 surprise raid into the country by the terrorist group Hamas that led to the murders of 1,200 innocent civilians and the kidnapping of 251 hostages, it is a nation that still has managed to establish the gold standard when it comes to security, especially aviation security. The article criticized U.S. airport security for lacking the efficiency and effectiveness Israel has achieved.

Israel’s aviation security for its El Al airlines was designed by a team of experts including a former IDF officer, Arik Arad. So good was he at it, Arad was also given responsibility for designing security for the country’s shopping malls. Perhaps the greatest tribute to the talents of these experts is that there has never been a successful terrorist penetration of either system.

Israeli security personnel have a good sense of observation, but in the aviation sector, they seem to have developed an additional keen sense as well. While U.S. security personnel tend to rely more on routine, Israelis seem to have developed a talent for gut instinct, being able to sense when something just does not feel right.

For example, U.S. airport security may have a routine in place to randomly conduct detailed searches of every fifth person in line, regardless of who the person is. Thus, an elderly grandmother, unfortunate enough to fall into that sequencing, would receive a more detailed search than a 20-year old in line directly in front of her.

Israeli security uses what is called the “profile method”—a somewhat versatile approach allowing for systematic analysis and understanding of unique characteristics and behaviors. It involves constant observation. The most discernible difference between the U.S. and Israeli systems is that while the former focuses on finding the instrument of the terrorist, the latter focuses on finding the terrorist!

For example, more obvious behaviors that might arouse an Israeli agent’s scrutiny would be two passengers entering an airport together, splitting up to enter different security lines for the same flight; or an exceedingly nervous passenger. But the observation skills go far beyond this to include dozens of other factors—the final test coming with the security guard asking questions. What is impressive is the skills are so effective they have even identified a passenger totally unaware a bomb was in her luggage.

Such an incident occurred 39 years ago this past April at London’s Heathrow Airport, involving an Irishwoman named Ann-Marie Murphy. By way of background, Murphy was a hotel chambermaid working in London, befriended by a Jordanian named Nezar Hindawi. Unknown to Murphy was that Hindawi was a terrorist. He began an affair with her, but disappeared after getting her pregnant. He suddenly returned several months later, claiming he loved and wanted to marry her in the Holy Land.

Claiming his family was there awaiting their arrival, Hindawi told Murphy she needed to catch the next El Al flight. Murphy said she needed time to pack. Hindawi handed her a small bag he said he had prepared for her, assuring her his family would have everything she needed when she arrived. He told Murphy he would be unable to join her on the flight but would catch the next one. Hindawi then drove an overly trusting Murphy to Heathrow.

Murphy easily passed through British security, which had x-rayed her carry-on bag. But El Al, regardless of the security provided by a host nation’s airport, always conducts its own. Again, Murphy’s bag cleared x-ray. However, the El Al agent then asked her two questions—the answers to which caused him to investigate her further.

Asked where she was going, after Murphy said the Holy Land, the agent’s follow-up question was how long would she be there. When she responded a few weeks, something did not seem right. The agent then opened her bag and discovered an item that x-ray could not detect. It was a 3.3 pound block of a pliable, odorless explosive known as Semtex. This was the first time Semtex had been used in this manner.

The agent also found a hand-held calculator with a very small explosive device inside, armed with an altimeter fuse. Once the plane reached a certain altitude, the altimeter would trigger a small explosion, incapable of destroying the aircraft but sufficient to cause a sympathetic explosion of the Semtex which would then destroy the plane.

So, what triggered the agent’s curiosity when not even Murphy knew she was carrying a bomb?

What aroused the security guard’s curiosity was that a woman—who was obviously several months pregnant and would be gone for weeks—was only taking with her a small carry-on bag. The agent felt a more thorough search was warranted—a decision that saved 375 lives.

Arad has long been a leading expert in the aviation security field. He was called upon in 1989, after the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, to testify before Congress. Several years ago, rather than retiring, he launched a company directed towards addressing what he believed to be the next aviation security threat.

Concerned that “hijacking by hacking” of commercial and business aircraft will be the next serious threat to the industry, Arad’s company provides cybersecurity solutions. An aircraft, whether on the ground or in the air, is susceptible to hacking by overriding pilot control. But his company, Cyviation—which has partnered with a leading defense and aviation production company, Israel Aerospace Industries—has developed a capability to locate cybersecurity “holes” within an aircraft’s structure through which terrorists might try to commandeer control.

Cyviation’s core technology provides proactive intelligence and monitoring solutions to identify and mitigate cyber threats in real-time. It protects aircraft communication systems and avionics networks, helping the industry as well to prepare for and comply with emerging aviation cybersecurity regulations. In a nutshell, it enhances overall aviation safety and operational resilience by preventing cyber disruptions. Cyviation is now the only company in the world able to provide commercial planes and business aircraft with such protection.

In a deadly world in which terrorists are constantly searching for holes in our security, it is good to know there are companies like Cyviation just as committed to plugging them!

Image: MarcelX42, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, unaltered.

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