World View

World View | The Frying Dutchman

Wherein our intrepid CISO columnist wonders about the security mechanisms for self-service checkout at a Dutch grocery store. Warning: not for the faint of heart.

By Paul Raines

you were putting in your basket were actually the articles that were scanned. The only control that I saw was a teenage girl in the self-service area chatting up one of her friends on her mobile. I suppose her purpose was three-fold: 1) assist customers who didn’t quite understand how to check out with the new system, 2) conduct the occasional audit of grocery trolleys to ensure that the contents reflected what was scanned, and 3) serve as a deterrent to other customers who might just be thinking[it] of stuffing an extra bottle of Scotch in the bottom of their grocery bag. I know I certainly felt deterred by her presence.

Which brings me to back to a phenomenon in Dutch society that I wrote about it January. (See “What the Netherlands Metro Taught Me About Crime.”) This society, more than any other I’ve seen, tends to rely on individual’s personal honesty to enforce security mechanisms. I see it on the trams where individuals stamp their own tram tickets; I see it at the Dutch parliament where there is no overt security and you can walk within a few dozen feet outside of the Prime Minister’s office without hindrance; and I see it now, here, where you can check out your own groceries without any serious oversight mechanism.

I made a note to ask my excitable Dutch neighbour about this when I got home. I found him outside grilling out. I called out to him over the fence.

Me: “Hoi, Henk. Waarum is het dat in Nederland er is geen veiligheid?”
(Translation: Why is it that in the Netherlands you guys don’t care about security? Is it because you’re too busy smoking weed in the coffee shops?)

Him: “Tsja. Er is zeker veilligheid heir. Waarum denk je dat daar is niets?”
(Translation: You Yanks, is that all you think about? Get a life, why don’t you?!)

Me: “Oh, ik weet het niet--het is even een voeling. Wat is dat dat je maaken?”
(Translation: It’s useless talking to you people about security; you just don’t get it.)

Him: “Het is gebraden kip met een pikante saus. Ook hebben wij kroketten. Het is heel lecker! Wil je met ons te dineren van avond?”
(Translation: Yeah, I guess not. We have different priorities. Let’s just agree to disagree.)

Me: “Heb je biertjes?”
(Translation: Yeah, whatever, but only if it means we can drink ourselves blind.)

Him: “Ja tuurlijk. Kom eens nu en ik zal ee

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