TSA Breach
Sancho Panza
Massive TSA Security Breach As Agency Gives Away Its Secrets
Online Posting Reveals a "How To" for Terrorists to Get Through Airport
Security
By BRIAN ROSS and MATT HOSFORD
Dec. 8, 2009 -In a massive security breach, the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) inadvertently posted online its airport screening
procedures manual, including some of the most closely guarded secrets
regarding special rules for diplomats and CIA and law enforcement officers.
The most sensitive parts of the 93-page Standard Operating Procedures were
apparently redacted in a way that computer savvy individuals easily
overcame.The document shows sample CIA, Congressional and law enforcement
credentials which experts say would make it easy for terrorists to
duplicate.
The improperly redacted areas indicate that only 20 percent of checked bags
are to be hand searched for explosives and reveal in detail the limitations
of x-ray screening machines.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE SCREENING MANUAL and HERE TO SEE THE SAMPLE CIA
CREDENTIAL
"This is an appalling and astounding breach of security that terrorists
could easily exploit," said Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general
at the Department of Homeland Security. "The TSA should immediately convene
an internal investigation and discipline those responsible."
"This shocking breach undercuts the public's confidence in the security
procedures at our airports," said Senator Susan Collins, R-Me., ranking
Republican member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee. "On the day before the Senate Homeland Security Committee's
hearing on terrorist travel, it is alarming to learn that the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) inadvertently posted its own security manual
on the Internet."
"This manual provides a road map to those who would do us harm," said
Collins. "The detailed information could help terrorists evade airport
security measures." Collins said she intended to ask the Department of
Homeland Security how the breach happened, and "how it will remedy the
damage that has already been done."
TSA Document Leaked Online
A TSA spokesperson says the document posted online is an outdated version
"improperly posted by the agency to the Federal Business Opportunities Web
site wherein redacted material was not properly protected."The TSA requested
the document be taken offline, but by then it had spread around the Internet
and is still available today.The document contains a list of items for which
screening is not required including wheelchairs, footwear of disabled
individuals, casts and orthopedic shoes.The redacted portions also indicate
which law enforcement personnel are specially screened or exempt from some
screening procedures, and indicate what requirements they must meet to be
eligible for special screening.
TSA screeners are also told to require extra screening for any passenger
whose passport was issued by Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Sudan,
Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen or Algeria.The document also
reveals that during peak travel times, TSA screeners who check
identification can reduce from 100 percent to 25 percent the times they use
black lights to authenticate documents.
"Screening is like a big puzzle and this SOP gives you directions on putting
the puzzle together," said Robert MacLean, a former Federal Air Marshal who
was fired for revealing holes in TSA's security after the 9/11 attacks.
MacLean added that TSA's assertion that the documents posted are old holds
no merit. "How much in screening procedure changes in 17 months?" asked
MacLean. "It's a one-dimensional process."
The TSA says it is taking the release of the sensitive information
"seriously" and is conducting a full review.
"TSA has many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe and to
constantly adapt to evolving threats," the agency said in a statement. "TSA
is confident that screening procedures currently in place remain strong."
The document also provides a glimpse of the special treatment available for
governors, lieutenant governors and the mayor of Washington, D.C., as well
as their spouses and family and staff.