The Badge Archive

Tearing Boarding Passes

Fulfills Step 1 of GSUSA Senior Cybersecurity Safeguards badge requirements.

Info Needed for the badge requirements: Boarding passes contain information like the passenger’s name, flight number, seat number, and a barcode. Barcodes are included to help airlines check passengers in quickly, but hackers could use this information to access accounts, change bookings, or even steal credit card details. Other documents with personal data include passports, bank statements, and driver’s licenses. To safely dispose of these documents, tear them up, shred them, or burn them—but make sure to destroy both the text and the barcode. Barcodes can be scanned with free tools online and may contain sensitive information. Using a shredder is the most effective way to ensure documents are securely destroyed.

Items Needed

  • VTK Boarding Passes by GSUSA (printed and cut out, one per pair of scouts)
  • Tape (for scouts to share)
  • Timer or clock
  • (Optional) Items with barcodes or QR codes (e.g., cereal boxes, brochures, driver’s license, stamped mail, books).

Instructions

  1. Divide scouts into pairs and give each pair a Boarding Pass. A boarding pass is your ticket for a flight. Most people either save it or throw it away after their trip. It’s important to dispose of it securely since it contains personal information.
  2. Assign each pair a number (e.g., 2, 10, 37) and ask them to tear their boarding pass into that many pieces within two minutes. Use a timer to keep track.
  3. Once the time is up, have each pair place their torn boarding pass pieces on the table or floor.
  4. Have pairs swap their torn boarding pass pieces with another pair.
  5. Set a timer for 3–5 minutes and challenge them to reconstruct the boarding pass they received as quickly as possible.
  6. Record the order in which teams finish.
  7. (Optional) Do a second round using items with barcodes or QR codes (e.g., cereal boxes, brochures, driver’s licenses). Scouts can use online barcode readers on their phones or tablets to learn what information the codes reveal either before they tear them up, or see if they can reassemble them enough to make the reader work after one is torn.
Tia Kennard