evading security checks

[Jo Zebedee]

I'm sort of stumped at the moment.

I have a palace, futuristic, which I need a sort of SAS type team to get into. I have a plan for that in place, I think, but the palace has massive security checks -- dna, retinal scans etc.

The squad commander trying to get in is immediately recognisable to security and is the main risk the palace is trying to keep out, so is going to show up like a beacon the minute he gets tested.

He is a computer boffin, though, so I have some leeway that way, and he has psychic powers, but I'm loathe to use those as it upsets another plot line.

Any thoughts on how to bypass a sophisticated security system? Muck with the system via computers, change dna markers (it is the future, after all), anything else. I'm hoping something will make me go ah-ha, but after three days and two long drives () I have nothing.

 

[Tyburn]

What are your team attempting to infiltrate for?
Are they attempting espionage?
Is there a weak point in the security?
Are you prone to a little bit of parody? (Mission: Impossible-type rubber masks and 'we're here to fix the air conditioning' type thing)
The weakest point in any security system is the operators, especially if they're underpaid and/or overworked.
A security guard with a grudge against their employer could be an exploitable flaw.
If in doubt, watch 'Sneakers' - an excellent film with a pretty good and vaguely plausible (for its time) break-in.

 

[Abernovo]

DNA: could he wear a skin glove? Artificial skin, obviously, not someone he's skinned. Imprint with a guard's DNA and let it replicate for a few days in an (again) artificial blood medium. Projects already exist, trying to synthesise bone, organ and skin tissue.

Retinal scans could perhaps be fooled with a complex model of someone's eye held up to the scanner. Steal the medical records and build it on a super-futuristic 3D printer.

I'd be more worried about facial recognition and body recognition. Ears and eye positions don't change. Modern camera technology already works on that to identify criminals on CCTV. Body shape, gait and posture can also be used as markers. Could you change his body shape with clothes and a hump, etc. Nothing much you can do with eyes, but cover ears, and a beard to disguise mouth. (Amazing what things people remember about someone.)

Hope that's a helpful start for you.

 

[Bowler1]

Any palace will have a large number of people coming and going all the time, it's the nature of large public buildings. I'm thinking cleaners, catering for events and the such like. Getting people in would be easy, but weapons etc. is a bit more tricky. Yet guns when broken down could be hidden within other machines, plumbing with loads of pipes could be useful. Or simply mug the guards already on site. Anyway your in, dressed as a waiter, but I won't hold that against you!

 

[TheDustyZebra]

As Tyburn says, the weak point is always the human one. People will fall for anything, for no other reason than the need to trust in general, and the fear of looking stupid or standing out.

Also, it would be easier to change the computer's record of his DNA, retinal scan, and other characteristics than it would be to fake his DNA or any of the rest. If the computer doesn't see any reason to be alarmed at his presence, it won't ...err... set off the alarm.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

DNA in Torchwood they injected everyone's into Captain John to get the bomb of his chest. Could you do something similar by injecting someone else's DNA in temporarily?

Retina scan - wonder if there is something like using someone else's eyeball.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I had sort of crawled to the idea of changing the records of his DNA combined with some physical things but hadn't got very far in terms of the appearance stuff. I like the idea of fake skin. That appeals a lot. I might also think on about who he might have on the inside: I haven't really explored that. Good stuff; cogs moving. Slowly.

 

[Tyburn]

Hacking the database and surreptitiously inserting the character's details in the 'Clearance' files could work.

Alternatively, going through personnel files and substituting the protagonist's data for that of a staff member who is on holiday could be a quick fix solution. Which in turn could make for a further development when the chap who is supposed to be on holiday comes back to collect something from their desk and wonders why the computer doesn't recognise them.

Although that may be a cliche, I'm not entirely sure.

 

[Brev]

Thought One: Does he physically need to get in, or could he say, get someone else in with cameras/mics etc who he could remotely control?

Thought Two: If he's a computer boff, could he write a virus where everyone who's scanned by palace security is identified as him - think of the chaos...

 

[Tyburn]

That's not a bad idea - if the foe is on the lookout for him, what better way to create a confusion for him to slip through than have the foe convinced he's everywhere at once?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Thought One: Does he physically need to get in, or could he say, get someone else in with cameras/mics etc who he could remotely control?

Thought Two: If he's a computer boff, could he write a virus where everyone who's scanned by palace security is identified as him - think of the chaos...

Yes, it has to be him in person and he has to get as far in as possible before he's discovered. I might file the chaos thought for another book, though.

 

[Ursa major]

I like the "No, I'm Spartacus" DNA scheme.

It would probably require plenty of people to be milling around waiting to be tested (i.e. you wouldn't want him to be one of those already tested, because they'd be taking a closer look at those people than the rest.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Or, along the same lines, if he rigs it so that the computer gives off a false alarm about his presence several times a day, for several days, everyone will get tired of checking and figure it's just another glitch when he actually comes in.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Or, along the same lines, if he rigs it so that the computer gives off a false alarm about his presence several times a day, for several days, everyone will get tired of checking and figure it's just another glitch when he actually comes in.

That's a possibilty.

 

[alchemist]

If Hollywood has taught me anything, it's that a group of 11-13 criminals, with a variety of skills and from a variety of backgrounds, along with a token Julia Roberts, can crack any security system. There's your solution.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

If Hollywood has taught me anything, it's that a group of 11-13 criminals, with a variety of skills and from a variety of backgrounds, along with a token Julia Roberts, can crack any security system. There's your solution.

Well, if it's totally implausible when presented I know who'll be first to say noooooo... blame yourself.

Ps shall I give his nibs a blonde wig, then?

 

[alchemist]

Ah here, if they can't see through a wig, how can we believe they ever conquered half the galaxy?

Hollywood also has the good guys being very familiar with the baddies (or vice versa: see Die Hard) procedures, so they know what will trigger the security response they want. What will cause the baddies to shut down their system so the goodies can slip in? Maybe as others have suggested, he can rig it to be over-sensitive.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I'll play with that idea - he designed the security or is familiar with it plus may still have some troops in the palace. But that takes me back to the computer/systems route, I think.

 

[Brev]

You could just walk him in as a prisoner, (like Leia and Chewbacca), to get him past initial security, or even as a faked cadaver, "Hurrah our nemesis is dead, let's abandon our posts to celebrate!" then his men on the inside revive/release as necessary...

 

[jastius]

where are the security guys?

anyways, springs didn't the charlies angels movie have a simular situation? a false skin filled with false dna..