Archive · 11 Sep 2026
Twenty-Five Years After 9/11, Security Technology Faces Scrutiny
After the September 11 attacks, many countries tried to make places safer by adding more cameras, scanners, databases and police.
This created layers of security around airports, city centers and other important places.
The authors of the article studied some of these systems closely.
They found that workers sometimes did not understand the technology they used.
Some cameras pointed the wrong way, and some control rooms were not being used properly.
Programs designed to spot suspicious behavior could mistake normal tiredness or stress for danger.
These systems also sometimes watched vulnerable communities even when people had done nothing illegal.
The authors say technology can help, but it cannot replace skilled, motivated people and good organizations.
They warn that attackers may exploit gaps between people, technology and security agencies.
The 9/11 Commission Report helped establish an integrated, technology-heavy model of counterterrorism security.
Airports and other important sites adopted layered defenses including biometric documents, body scanners, cameras and armed patrols.
Researchers found poorly understood systems, misdirected cameras, unstaffed control rooms and declining morale in multiple case studies.
Behavioral detection systems often interpreted ordinary stress or fatigue as possible threats and sometimes focused on people who had broken no law.
The authors argue that attacks can exploit weak connections between technology, personnel and organizational systems, making human competence essential.
- Who
- Researchers and security experts, including the authors of The Empty Watchtower: Counterterrorism After 9/11, examined post-9/11 security systems and counterterrorism practices.
- What
- The article argues that the post-9/11 emphasis on integrated technology and layered security has created systems that can remain poorly coordinated, intrusive and vulnerable to failure.
- When
- The changes followed the September 11, 2001 attacks; the article assesses their development over the subsequent 25 years.
- Where
- The examples include airports, cities, sporting events and European countries including the United Kingdom and France, as well as Birmingham and Brussels.
- Why
- Governments sought to prevent another major terrorist attack and create greater certainty after the shock of 9/11.
Technology-first security
Human-centered resilience
How to prevent attacks
Technology-first security
Supporters of the post-9/11 model emphasize integrating intelligence, agencies and technologies while adding more security layers.
Human-centered resilience
The authors argue that adding more technology and integration can reproduce the weaknesses of systems that already failed.
Behavioral detection
Technology-first security
Security teams use observations of body movement and facial expressions to identify possible threats before an attack occurs.
Human-centered resilience
The authors say these indicators often reflect ordinary stress or fatigue and can direct state power at people who have broken no law.
Source of security
Technology-first security
Advanced surveillance and technological systems are presented as important tools for protecting airports, cities and other critical sites.
Human-centered resilience
The research found that the most successful environments depended on competent, motivated individuals and effective connections between people and systems.
- Triggering event
- The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States
- Post-9/11 model
- Integrated agencies, intelligence systems, technologies and layered security
- Common technologies
- Biometric documents, full-body scanners, surveillance cameras and armed police patrols
- Research basis
- Five case studies and two decades of empirical fieldwork
- Reported weaknesses
- Poorly understood systems, misdirected cameras, unstaffed control rooms and declining staff morale
- Behavioral detection concern
- Stress, fatigue and other ordinary conditions could be interpreted as signs of threat
- Example cited
- Project Champion installed hundreds of cameras in mainly Muslim areas of Birmingham before being abandoned
- Attack example
- The 2016 Brussels airport attack is cited as an example of security layers being disrupted