Staying Ahead of Potential Terrorist Threats

A possible terrorist threat is in the news today, and many of you are likely wondering what’s going on behind the scenes.

TSA recently briefed air carriers and foreign partners on intelligence involving concealed explosives. Unfortunately, intelligence has continued to indicate an interest in terrorists targeting aviation. Due to the global technological advancements in security, they are pursuing different ways to go undetected while concealing explosives.

Passengers flying from international locations to U.S. destinations may notice additional security measures in place. These measures are designed to be unpredictable and may differ from location to location. What kind of screening might passengers notice? Increased interaction with passengers, pat-downs, canines, and the use of different technologies such as explosive trace detection.

Because TSA does not conduct aviation security screening overseas, our air carrier and foreign government partners play a critical role in identifying and reporting suspicious activities and raising the awareness of U.S. counterterrorism officials. Airports with direct flights to the United States must ensure they meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) security standards as well as any additional measures required by TSA. As always, we urge federal, state and local law enforcement as well as the private sector to remain vigilant.

Domestically, TSA employs a layered approach to ensure the security of the traveling public from curb to cockpit and the Nation's transportation system. These layers include intelligence gathering and analysis, deployment of cutting edge technology, random canine team searches at airports, federal air marshals, federal flight deck officers and more security measures both visible and invisible to the public. Each one of these layers alone is capable of stopping a terrorist attack. In combination their security value is multiplied, creating a strong, formidable system. 

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

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Strengthening International Aviation Security

Today, the international community took a significant step forward on aviation security – the adoption of an international declaration to enhance global aviation security.  TSA does not conduct screening overseas; however, the U.S. works with over 190 countries as part of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to collaboratively enhance and strengthen aviation security standards worldwide.  I was pleased to join DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and DOT Secretary Ray LaHood last week at the ICAO’s Triennial Assembly in Montreal, Canada where we joined representative countries around the world to build an unprecedented consensus on strengthening international aviation security measures.

The attempted terrorist attack on Northwest Flight 253 on Dec. 25, 2009, in which Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried and failed to detonate concealed explosives, drove home the importance of aviation security to people around the world. Flight 253 originated overseas and by working with the ICAO, we are strengthening international aviation security and better protecting U.S.-bound flights.

Secretary Napolitano has taken part in major, ICAO-coordinated international summits with partners in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Western Hemisphere. These meetings all resulted in joint declarations on aviation security, setting the stage for the ICAO Assembly.

The adoption today of the Declaration on Aviation Security is an important step. In the coming weeks, DHS and TSA will continue to build on this momentum through joining our international partners to collaborate on identifying new and emerging threats, further enhancing ICAO standards and recommended practices, increasing information collection and sharing, improving and deploying more detection technology to defeat terrorists and prevent them from boarding commercial aircraft.

John S. Pistole

TSA Administrator

Incident on Flight 253 and TSA’s Role in International Security

Over the holidays, I was home with the family in southern Ohio watching the news of the incident on Christmas Day unfold amidst a surreal smattering of garland and wrapping paper. As you can imagine, I got lots of questions from friends and family (including my crazy uncle) back home, as well as right here on the blog, and I'll be covering a few of those topics now that I'm back in the blog team cockpit.

One of the biggest misperceptions I found was that people thought that TSA conducts screening in Amsterdam and in other places around the world. Not so. We only screen passengers at airports in the United States and U.S. Territories. Each country has their own screening workforce - some are government, some are private sector, some are even military.

While each country has sovereignty over their aviation systems and controls the level of security measures at their airports, over 190 countries worldwide—including the United States—use the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) standards and recommended practices for civil aviation security as their baseline. In the United States, TSA has built even further on these standards with security initiatives like Behavior Detection Officers and Advanced Imaging Technology. The United States also sets additional security standards on top of ICAO's for U.S.-bound flights coming into or through the United States from international airports. If those standards aren't met, the U.S. can deny entry to a specific flight, airline, or flights from a specific airport.

On Dec. 25, TSA took swift action immediately following the incident to strengthen those standards even further at airports across the country and around the world—enhancing screening for individuals flying to the United States and deploying additional airport law enforcement, air marshals and explosives detection canine teams, among other security measures. Because effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders, and as a result of extraordinary cooperation from our global aviation partners, TSA is mandating that every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening. TSA’s new directive also increases the use of enhanced screening technologies and mandates threat-based and random screening for passengers on U.S. bound international flights. This means the majority of ALL international travelers will go through enhanced screening under this new security directive.

Moving forward, we will continue to work with our airline and international partners to ensure they meet both international and TSA security standards. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano yesterday outlined five recommendations—part of her report to the President on aviation screening, technology and procedures—for actions to protect air travel from terrorism. These include a wide range of enhancements, from modified criteria and process used to create terrorist watch lists to partnering with the Department of Energy to develop better technologies to deploying far more advanced imaging technology and Federal Air Marshals throughout the aviation system. It also includes continued work with international partners to strengthen international security measures and standards for aviation security. Secretary Napolitano announced she will travel to Spain later this month to meet with her international counterparts in the first of a series of global meetings intended to bring about broad consensus on new international aviation security standards and procedures. We are looking to enhance global aviation security standards, increase information collection and sharing and improve and deploy more detection technology.

So, while we have our Transportation Security Officers screening passengers and bags in the United States, we are also committed to strengthening coordination with international partners to implement stronger and more effective measures to protect U.S.-bound flights, with a goal of keeping people safe when they fly.

Thanks,

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

TSA’s Work Abroad

With more than 2450* daily inbound flights to the U.S. from all over the world, TSA has put a major focus on collaborating with foreign aviation authorities and sharing best practices, intelligence, technological innovations and expertise so that flights coming into the United States have the same level of security as those departing the U.S.

In collaboration with DHS and Department of State, TSA coordinates transportation security bilaterally with individual countries and multilaterally through major international aviation-related organizations including the Group of Eight (G8), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the Asia –Pacific Economic Conference (APEC). Twenty-two TSA Representatives (TSARs) are deployed worldwide to serve as DHS’s “boots on the ground”; interfacing with international partners, coordinating the DHS response to transportation-related terrorist threats and incidents, and facilitating the security assessments conducted by TSA’s security specialists at more than 300 airports in more than 100 different countries. TSA’s international teams have successfully vetted 100% of airports with direct flights into the United States.

Here’s a brief overview of some of TSA’s international activities:

On August 1, 2008, TSA JFK Inspections and Screening coordinated security measures with Emirates Airlines to ensure the successful arrival of the first commercial A380 ‘superjumbo’ jet direct from Dubai.

For the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, TSA coordinated security efforts with the People’s Republic of China. This partnership began in the summer of 2007 when U.S. Federal Air Marshals hosted a training exchange with members of the Chinese Air Marshal Program at our facility in Atlantic City. From July 19 until August 24, TSA successfully coordinated security operations at China’s Joint Operation’s Center with teams deployed at airports in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

When thousands of anti-government protesters took over Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) on November 25 of this year, TSA responded by sending a team to assess the risk associated with flights departing for the United States. The team was able to ensure the security of direct flights to the United States by December 6, allowing Americans to return home safely.

In a brand new 2009 initiative, TSA plans to deploy special teams of veteran security experts to various international locations to assist host nations with enhancing and sustaining local aviation security. St. Lucia will be the first nation to participate in this initiative, and TSA’s assessment team will work with the St. Lucian Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation to assess training needs, equipment, and aviation security legislation.

For additional information on TSA’s international efforts, please visit http://www.tsa.gov/approach/harmonization.shtm

Paul

*Number edited on 1/5/10 to correct a missing zero. The number changed from 245, to 2450, which was the correct number at the time this post was published.