Security Theatre

This phrase has origins in discussions of post-9/11 airport security, largely being a negative term for pseudo-secure environments. The shorter word for this is simply "bluff." Security theatre is a noun phrase used to damn or mock a shoddy security effort: "Why, that's little more than security theatre; there's little there we could not penetrate."

From what I heard this morning, much of what we consider to be security software on our computers is also little more than security theatre. For the most part, the software we employ for originality verification (ie cheat checker) is likewise little more than security theatre.

Many claim that by at least posturing a defensive position, a secure stance, it might deter some terrorists and hackers and cheaters from even making an attempt. Others feel no true criminal mind would be intimidated by such things as signage, gated communities, surveillance cameras, etc.

Personally, I think "Security Theatre" would be a good band name.