Toothpaste Terror – Hype and Hyperbole?

The Olympic Games in Russia has taken up a lot of the world’s attention these last few weeks, and rightly so. If there was ever a perfect terror target where innocent people, high profile dignitaries and media come together in one big, happy stew, then this is probably it. Russia has probably taken all the steps humanly possible to prevent anything from happening during the games themselves, and as we’ve seen, they’ve also taken some steps one wouldn’t really think were just that…

However, the US, in its infinite “wisdom” can’t make themselves believe that anyone but they know the true nature of terror and terrorists, and a few days ago, som jolly airline insider spread the word that the US had issued information to the tune that toothpaste could be the next big terrorist fad. I.e. you can apparently make bombs out of toothpaste. Strange, isn’t it? That’s just the half of it, really…

Breaking News: US Terror Hype Continues!

That’s pushing it a little, perhaps, but Russia seems to agree. The DHS warning to airlines and Russian government didn’t really result in anything but mild annoyance, it seems:

From Yahoo News:
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning to U.S. and some foreign airlines traveling to Russia for the Olympic Games to be on the lookout for toothpaste containers, which some intelligence indicates may actually hold ingredients that could be used to construct a bomb aboard a plane, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.

and:

One Russian source, the Voice of Russia, likened Wednesday’s warning – issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to US and foreign-based airlines operating flights to Russia – to other “bizarre” warnings it said America is known for issuing.

Warnings and information sharing might be well and good, and even a crucial part of any type of security, but when the DHS completely refuses to divulge where and how it has come by this toothpaste scare, then the information and warnings will be seen as nothing more than another cry of wolf. The DHS reports that it doesn’t want to say anything more specific about the “threat”, and it seems that this is simply something the DHS has cooked up in its own spare time, to look slightly important in the face of Russia’s overwhelming response to the Sochi terror risks.

There seems to be some confusion in the basics of this warning as well. Are the toothpaste containers already dangerous, i.e. can normal toothpaste just turn into a bomb, or would one have to modify the container and/or contents first? It’s all very wooly.

Most security professionals know the value of sharing information, and most security professionals know the damage potential of inaccurate, wooly, hazy and made up information. The DHS, it seems, does not.