This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sochi, Russia • Everybody is well aware of all the modern, high-tech security measures that organizers have installed at the Sochi Olympics. Computer surveillance, airborne drones, instantaneous ID verification. But there's one method that is decidedly old-school.
Tape.
That's right. In a move right out of an old detective movie, organizers have instructed workers at venues in the mountains here to strip pieces of colored tape across closed doors and windows of vehicles that travel outside secure areas to transport journalists and volunteers from venue to venue.
That way, they can assure vehicles have not been opened along the way to potentially permit subterfuge. Security teams inspect each vehicle as it arrives at each venue, and if the tape is broken, they know a door or window (or compartment panel inside or outside the vehicle) has been opened. MacGyver would be proud.
- Michael C. Lewis