Massive TSA Security Breach As Agency Gives Away Its Secrets

[Matt Molnar]

ABC News:

Massive TSA Security Breach As Agency Gives Away Its Secrets
Online Posting Reveals a "How To" for Terrorists to Get Through Airport Security

In a massive security breach, the Transportation Security Agency (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 Operation 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.

Click here to download the now public TSA Bible. [PDF]

[hiss srq]

This is truely bothersome

[T-Bird76]

This is like the opposing football team getting ahold of your play book, however the opposing football team doesn't want to kill all your players.

[NIKV69]

I love our media, just gets better and better. Sad.

[hiss srq]

All for the ratings and stuff. It is just amazing. I hope heads roll for that boo boo.

[T-Bird76]

I love our media, just gets better and better. Sad.

Nick are you suggesting the media shouldn't have reported this? If they discovered this took place by all means it should be reported. People have the right to know when our Gov't makes gross errors that put us in safety.

[hiss srq]

What about just making it a little easier for people to see details they are not privy too Tom. Yeah, it's out there now but the fact of the matter is why make it any easier. Hide it as much as possible. Afterall it is called National Security for a reason.

[T-Bird76]

What about just making it a little easier for people to see details they are not privy too Tom. Yeah, it's out there now but the fact of the matter is why make it any easier. Hide it as much as possible. Afterall it is called National Security for a reason.

Article 1 of the Constitution allows for it. Our gov't failed at protecting sensitive info and by informing the public of such a failure will allow the public to demand corrective action. Keeping things secret from the public will not force change. If you don't think the media should have reported it you then clearly don't understand the fundemental values of the Constitution.

[hiss srq]

I most certainly do understand them but the fact of the matter is that if your 777 to Brazil becomes Disney's newest attraction because someone got ahold of information relevant to DHS procedures I think you would suddenly think otherwise while the altimiter is winding down. National Security is not somthing that was thought about when our constitution was written. We are winging it at as nation since 9/11 by and by and if you think because someone made a mistake now the world should know that is slightly obsurd. I say do as much damage control as possible, add new procedurealy twists to it and make it go away.

[T-Bird76]

I most certainly do understand them but the fact of the matter is that if your 777 to Brazil becomes Disney's newest attraction because someone got ahold of information relevant to DHS procedures I think you would suddenly think otherwise while the altimiter is winding down. National Security is not somthing that was thought about when our constitution was written. We are winging it at as nation since 9/11 by and by and if you think because someone made a mistake now the world should know that is slightly obsurd. I say do as much damage control as possible, add new procedurealy twists to it and make it go away.

No Ryan I wouldn't think differently I know the risks of flying and have accepted them. We also haven't been winging it since 9/11. Your youthful mind must have forgotten that 50 year threat we had since 1945 called the Soviet Union where National Security was a household phrase. The media even then exposed Gov't failures concerning things that fell into the hands of the Soviets. The Bill of Rights is very clear in this case and the media has the right to publish this story and nothing you state to show the opposite will be correct. The day we decide to rewrite the Bill of Rights is the day I'll truly be scared. The DHS failed in this case, that is who to blame, not the media, the media did their job.

[hiss srq]

See thats where your getting it wrong. The media has the right to publisize a failure but than to link and publish the materials that were accidentaly exposed is just stupid. Plain stupid. And we defineately were winging it after 9/11 took place on security because we were never struck before on home turf in a non military form. The threat was from civillians. And I am well aware of the cold war. I was but a youngster when it ended but I am also versed on history. So sure, the media can expose goverment failures but the bottom line is that they grabbed material and showed detailed information on the skeleton of our defense programs. That is not acceptable. But the name of the game with you is "Tommy wins" so I digress.

[T-Bird76]

See thats where your getting it wrong. The media has the right to publisize a failure but than to link and publish the materials that were accidentaly exposed is just stupid. Plain stupid. And we defineately were winging it after 9/11 took place on security because we were never struck before on home turf in a non military form. The threat was from civillians. And I am well aware of the cold war. I was but a youngster when it ended but I am also versed on history. So sure, the media can expose goverment failures but the bottom line is that they grabbed material and showed detailed information on the skeleton of our defense programs. That is not acceptable. But the name of the game with you is "Tommy wins" so I digress.

The material the media provided is the story Ryan and the people have the right to see it. Perhaps if you put the blame where it belongs you'd make more sense.

[Tom_Turner]

Its a disturbing mistake, but I am going to guess not too critical. Its not difficult to suppose patient terrorists can infiltrate TSA and find out procedures and policies that must be known to at least hundreds of individuals, though not the public at large. This error has made the terrorists "job" easier, so hopefully countermeasures are possible.

Tommy is right on the merits though....the Govt leaked it in the first place.

What really bothered me was in the early days and months of the war in Afghanistan and thereafter, there were a number of occasions where mainstream media (always with the help of a govt source) explained strategies of the CIA in tracking down Al Quida (zeroing in on cell phones etc.) It would be nice to think, under the circumstances, some of that was disinformation, but it probably wasn't.
And then you'd hear about hand wringing sessions in the editors' offices over whether or not to publish such information and that it was a "close call" ...blah blah blah...

And there's other stuff as well that I think becomes borderline... sometimes resembling a "how to" map to do things like poison reservoirs, how much security is present etc... Its all very fragile... I imagine it is inevitable that if we suffer a true WMD attack, kiss most of the Bill of Rights and such goodbye because the first law of nature is survival.

Tom

[emshighway]

Thank you GSA for posting the SOP on the Federal Business Opportunity Website :evil:. This was in fact an old Screening Management SOP. There has been six revisions since this one but of course there is standard information that doesn't change. This is not the only SOP the TSA has but obviously this is very damning and I hope some heads roll in HQ.

Someone didn't know the first rule of doing redaction in acrobat. You are suppose to put in the black boxes, print it, then scan it. Even though, I don't believe the SOP should have been up there in the first place. I believe it was for the Screening Partnership Program which has some airports using private security performing screening (SFO for example). Security Companies need to rebid the contracts and probably one was up and this was a supporting document someone didn't realize was not suppose to be released.

Not much else I am allowed to say... :(

[FaisalNahian]

Congrats!!! Just saw NYCAviation's TSA tweet on CNN @Rick Sanchez NewsRoom! bXl8-auGyCM