Secret Airport Screening Parameters Inadvertently Made Public

TSA has inadvertently posted some of its most secret airport screening procedures online in a way that makes them available to the public, including special rules for diplomats, CIA personnel, and law enforcement officers.

The 93 page manual posted online was redacted in such a way that a reasonably computer-literate reader could gain access to the secret information. Some of what was uncovered were samples of Congressional and law enforcement credentials that could be fairly easy to duplicate.

ABC News reports that other improperly-redacted information reveals that only 20 percent of checked bags are required to be hand-searched for explosives, and show the limitations of x-ray screening equipment.

"This shocking breach undercuts the public's confidence in the security procedures at our airports," said Senator Susan Collins(R-ME), ranking minority 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."

TSA contends that the document found online is outdated. A spokesman said it was "improperly posted by the agency to the Federal Business Opportunities Web site wherein redacted material was not properly protected." The agency requested that it be taken down, but it had already gone viral on the Internet.

The document lists special screening procedures for law enforcement personnel. TSA screeners are also told to give extra attention to people traveling under a passport issued from any one of a dozen specified countries.

FMI: www.tsa.gov