Security until recently was purely reactive and the tragedy of 9/11 caused a knee jerk at the time and that was probably right. What has been wrong is that it appears to me that regulators have not stepped back, whether through fear or doubt. what is clear that risk management seems to have played little part and this is where we are working hard.
SLF here. You may be working hard Poltergeist, but the industry / regulators / legislators are now in a position where they
can't roll back. Why? Public opinion, and ambulance chasing lawyers. Look at the (partially related) furore in the UK at the moment over alleged reductions in immigration checks over the summer. If any roll back is sanctioned, it would be political and career suicide for the decision maker the next time there is an in-flight incident. Note the is, with no if.
I suggest it will not get better, although improving technology may allow faster and less intrusive scanning, although personally I am not happy with full body scans, and if I was using them daily I would be even less so.