Privacy fears 'should not hamper airport security'

"I want to stress, I am respectful and cognizant of the privacy concerns," she told participants in the Regional Civil Aviation Security Conference, referring to protests against a US drive to use full body X-ray scans at airports.

"Respect for privacy is a value we share. But all countries have unique legal traditions, cultural differences, and political realities.

"I believe that we should not allow these differences to keep us from working toward a common goal and a deep and stronger partnership with respect to security and privacy," she said.

(...) "To effectively maintain the initiative in fighting terrorism and crime, we must also effectively utilise the intellect of our scientific community to pursue our common cause," she said.

"The December 25 attempted attack illustrated our adversaries' ingenuity and planning. This new bomb could not be detected by old technology," she added.

But she said that producers of the body scanners are already working on developing new machines that take privacy into consideration.