Who Goes There?

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Other new security technologies are much cheaper. At the San Antonio meeting, Mistral Security of Bethesda, Md., showed off innocuous-looking cans of spray that can pick up microscopic traces of explosives like tnt or Semtex from a package at the cost of only $2.36 a test. The CIA and FBI are big clients, as is Boeing. Mistral's blastproof trash can is used at Grand Central Terminal in New York City and at the Pentagon, and another batch is going out for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics in Utah.

Even background checks have undergone a high-tech makeover, with companies like Accurint and Factual Data offering a full employment check in less than 30 seconds on the Web--often at a price as low as 25[cents] a search. Accurint can locate relatives to the third degree for just $5.25.

Controlling access with iris scans and background checks might not stop a determined terrorist, but after the events of Sept. 11, it's a line of defense that corporate America can't ignore.

For more about industrial security, see asisonline.org