Airport staff is the weakest link, but only Three U.S Airports Require Employee Security Checks.

Airport staff is the weakest link, but only Three U.S Airports Require Employee Security Checks. HT: JudicialWatch.

Less than a month after a news outfit reported that dozens of airport employees around the country have potential ties to terrorists, officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) admit that only three airports in the United States require workers to undergo security checks.

As if this weren’t bad enough, last month government records obtained by the media revealed that 73 employees at nearly 40 airports across the nation were flagged for ties to terror in a June 2015 report from the DHS Inspector General’s Office. Here’s the government’s explanation for letting the potential terrorists slip by; the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) didn’t have access to the terrorism-related database during the vetting process for those employees. You can’t make this stuff up! Read the full story here.

Somali Charged in ISIS Terrorism Ring Worked at Major U.S. Airport as baggage handler.

Somali Charged in ISIS Terrorism Ring Worked at Major U.S. Airport as baggage handler.HT: JudicialWatch.

In the latest disturbing example of the government’s failure to root out foreign Islamic terrorists a young Somali man, who bragged about building rockets that could strike landing planes, worked at a major U.S. airport as a baggage handler.

This month the Somali, 20-year-old Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame, was charged with conspiracy to help the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS).

He became the 10th Somali man to be charged with terrorism in Minnesota in a very short period of time.

Now a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent involved in the case reveals that Warsame once worked at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as a baggage handler. 

Local media outlets published a national newswire report on the FBI special agent’s testimony during a recent court hearing. The federal agent’s testimony featured breathtaking information that’s not included in the criminal complaint, including the fact that Warsame worked as a baggage handler at the airport “with access to the airplanes.”

The FBI agent also testified about secret recordings made by a bureau informant in which Warsame says he could build “homemade rockets” that could reach 2,000 feet, enough to strike a descending plane. Hmmmm.....As i said for years the airport staff IS THE WEAKEST LINK! Read the full story here.

Related:

The Inspector General’s statement and testimony both noted that while the TSA is required to conduct manual reviews of aviation worker records, “due to the workload at larger airports, this inspection process may look at as few as one percent of all aviation workers’ applications.”

70 Airport Workers their Secure-Zone Badges in Paris Airports cancelled.

70 Airport Workers in Paris Lose Secure-Zone Badges After Terrorist Attacks.(EX).

Secure-zone clearance has been withdrawn for nearly 70 people working at two Paris airports following the November 13 terror attacks on the French capital, the boss of the airports company said Sunday.

So-called red badges are issued to people employed in the secure zone of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, working for instance as baggage handlers, aircraft cleaners and suppliers.

Augustin de Romanet, chief executive officer of Aeroports de Paris (ADP), said the prefecture -- the representative of the state -- which issues the badges had carried out a screening after the attacks on Paris, in which 130 people were killed and 350 injured.

"Nearly 70 red badges were withdrawn after the attacks, mainly for cases of radicalisation," he said in an interview with French media.

He said around 85,000 people had secure-zone clearance in the two airports, most of them working for airlines or for "several hundred" sub-contractors.

"To be issued with a red badge, you have to be cleared by police, and if you work for a company that carries out security checks of in-flight luggage, you need three police checks," De Romanet said.

He added that deployment of military personnel at the two airports had been boosted by half following the attacks, and passport officers were checking the IDs of all people leaving the country, "including flights in the Schengen zone," the European Union's border-free area.

Air traffic was down five percent compared with a year earlier, de Romanet said.

"I hope we will return to a more normal level of traffic. It has been a heavy blow," he added. Hmmm.....As i always said the airport staff is the weakest link.More here in French.

Update: Two security badges urgently cancelled from Brussels Airport as well.

Attentats de Paris: deux "badges d'accès" retirés d'urgence à l'aéroport de Zaventem https://t.co/BeJQPG1mT4

— RTBF info (@RTBFinfo) December 13, 2015

The TSA Isn’t Keeping Us Safe, Says Inspector General Report.

The TSA Isn’t Keeping Us Safe, Says Inspector General Report.(Popsci).

 Congressman: “Just thinking about the breaches there, it’s horrific”

In a couple weeks, the Transportation Security Administration, best known as the TSA, will finally be old enough to sign up for an account online. Born in the months immediately after the September 11th attacks, the TSA is meant to serve as a shield against future hijackings, it’s blue-gloved agents and security gates are supposed to be barriers through which no threat can pass. But frankly, it is terrible at its job. Yesterday, Inspector General John Roth testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and his verdict on the TSA was brutal.

From his statement to the committee:

Our testing was designed to test checkpoint operations in real world conditions. It was not designed to test specific, discrete segments of checkpoint operations, but rather the system as a whole. The failures included failures in the technology, failures in TSA procedures, and human error. We found layers of security simply missing. It would be misleading to minimize the rigor of our testing, or to imply that our testing was not an accurate reflection of the effectiveness of the totality of aviation security.

The majority of the Inspector General’s recommendations aren’t disclosed because the “recommendation includes Sensitive Security Information,” some changes are obvious.

The Inspector General’s statement and testimony both noted that while the TSA is required to conduct manual reviews of aviation worker records, “due to the workload at larger airports, this inspection process may look at as few as one percent of all aviation workers’ applications.” Hmmmm......As i always stated for years: "the weakest link is the staff working at airports!" Read the full story here.

Related: What have i been saying for years? 'The weakest link is Airport staff'

Republican Senator Sasse Asks Obama to Release Inspector gen. report on TSA Failures.

Republican Senator Sasse Asks Obama to Release Inspector gen. report on TSA Failures. (SP).

Last week, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released findings of mock tests at numerous airport checkpoints across the United States. TSA agents failed to uncover 67 out of 70 threats that were presented.

“President Obama has an obligation to declassify the inspector general's investigation and to publicly release everything else the administration knows about TSA's failures,” the Republican senator from Nebraska said in an op-ed in USA TODAY.

Sasse, who is a member of the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, added that although the publicly available facts were disturbing, the classified details were even worse.

“If moms knew what members of Congress have learned behind closed doors, they would march on Washington demanding an urgent, top-to-bottom reevaluation of airport security,” he stressed.

Mock tests of the TSA, also known as Red Team testing, have been conducted for 13 years, according to the DHS. After the failed screening tests, TSA Administrator Melvin Carraway has been reassigned to the DHS’s Office of State and Local Law Enforcement.

TSA was created to strengthen the security of the US transportation systems and ensure the freedom of movement for people and commerce, according to its website.

What have i been saying for years? 'The weakest link is Airport staff'

Another way to look at this story: The TSA has hired a group of terrorism experts -- https://t.co/oW1qqEMX5D

— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) June 9, 2015

What have i been saying for years? 'The weakest link is Airport staff' (IBt).

The American Transportation Security Administration was apparently so focused on nabbing would-be terrorists trying to board planes that it failed to identify at least 73 people hired at US airports with suspected links to terrorists or terrorist activity.

The active aviation workers, employed as airport vendors and hired by major airlines, should have been disqualified and flagged under terrorism-related activity codes by the TSA, reveals a new report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general.

They weren't identified in part because the TSA is not authorised to receive all terrorism-related information under current inter-agency policies, the report said.

Besides missing workers with terrorism links, the TSA lacked "effective controls" to keep prospective employees with criminal histories and illegal status from getting jobs at airports.

Records used to vet the employees was sometimes based on documents and job applications missing information involving things like partial Social Security numbers or initials instead of full names.

The TSA also "relied on airport operators to perform criminal history and work authorisation checks, but had limited oversight over these commercial entities," the report notes. "TSA lacked assurance that it properly vetted all credential applicants.

"Without complete and accurate information, TSA risks [giving credentials to] and providing unescorted access to secure airport areas for workers with potential to harm the nation's air transportation system," the report found.

Despite the slip-up, which could have had catastrophic results, the agency's "multi-layered process to vet aviation workers for potential links to terrorism was generally effective. In addition to initially vetting every application for new credentials, TSA recurrently vetted aviation workers with access to secured areas of commercial airports every time the Consolidated Terrorist Watchlist was updated," the report found.  Hmmmm.....For years i have been warning that airport staff is the 'Weakest link' in the security chain.Read the full story here.

Al- Qaeda Targeting Air France? French colors on plane in inspire magazine

Al- Qaeda Targeting Air France? French colors on plane in inspire magazine.

Hmmm......Leaked CIA documents show how to beat airport security like a spy


 HT And source:

Inspire 13 is out, commemorating the anniversary of that time an AQAP guy set his underwear on fire instead of blow up a plane.

— J.M. Berger (@intelwire) December 24, 2014

Someone needs to create an @Inspire_is_hip account pic.twitter.com/5C166dSDly
— J.M. Berger (@intelwire) December 24, 2014

Who can detect the subtle flaw in this premise? pic.twitter.com/PrC30J68UV
— J.M. Berger (@intelwire) December 24, 2014

In new issue of Inspire, alleged Al-Qaeda bomb maker calls recent Quebec attack against Canadian soldiers "magnificent".

— Evan J (@e_james7) December 24, 2014

Al Qaeda plot to blow up 5 passenger planes in Christmas period.

Al Qaeda plot to blow up 5 passenger planes in Christmas period.(Express).

The threat has been taken so seriously it came close to leading to an outright ban on all hand luggage, a senior insider has revealed.

Mobile phones and electronic devices could still be banned from plane cabins, with the threat of a 9/11-style coordinated attack on London and other major cities feared imminent.

The warning comes as Whitehall officials admit that a terror strike on the UK is now "almost inevitable" particularly with British jihadis returning from fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

An airport security source told the Sunday Express: "We've been told that five planes are being targeted in a high profile hit before Christmas. They've been waiting for the big one.

"We have many scares but this one nearly got hand baggage pulled from all airlines. The threat is still alive and real."

The plot, which has been known about for the past two months, is thought to involve Islamists smuggling bombs on to planes bound for major European destinations before Christmas.

The well-placed security insider said talks had been held about how to deal with it, with suggestions made to ban hand luggage.

The source said: "High level negotiations are continuing at Governmental level but at the moment there has been little done to respond.

"There is paralysis because of the difficulty of banning hand luggage which is one of the strongest weapons we have against the new threats.

"All electronics may be banned from hand luggage and placed in the hold, that has been considered, and there has been behaviour analysis training at airports but while it's effective, it's difficult to roll out quickly and is not a sufficient safety net.

Security experts also warn that future terror attacks could be carried out by sleepers - western converts as likely to have blond hair and blue eyes as dark skin and beards. Hmmmm.....As i said many time before the WEAKEST link is the staff working at the airports, as has been shown some of the Jihadis now within ISIS used to work at airports or other sensitive locations like Nuclear plants. Who and What is being done to check those guys? Read the full story here.

Phones, shoes to face scrutiny as airport security tightened, says U.S. Officials.

The Weakest Link.

Phones, shoes to face scrutiny as airport security tightened, says U.S. Officials. (Taz).

Airlines with direct flights to the United States have been told to tighten screening of mobile phones and shoes in response to intelligence reports of increased threats from al Qaeda-affiliated militant groups, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The officials singled out smartphones including iPhones made by Apple Inc and Galaxy phones made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd for extra security checks on U.S.-bound direct flights from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Reuters reported.

U.S. security officials said they fear bombmakers from the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have figured out how to turn the phones into explosive devices that can avoid detection.

They also are concerned that hard-to-detect bombs could be built into shoes, said the officials, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A U.S. official said that other electronic devices carried by passengers also are likely to receive more intense scrutiny.

Airlines or airport operators that fail to strengthen security could face bans on flights entering the United States, the officials said.

The U.S. Homeland Security Department announced on Wednesday plans to step up security checks, but they offered few details on how airlines and airports will implement them.

An official familiar with the matter said the United States believes that while it is possible there may be some additional delays at security checkpoints, at most major airports passengers will not be seriously inconvenienced.

The official said most passengers taking long-distance flights arrive well in advance of scheduled departures, leaving time for extra screening. But he said the United States could not rule out disruptions in countries where airport infrastructure and security procedures are less sophisticated.

U.S.-based airlines had little to say about the enhanced security. American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the Department of Homeland Security had been in contact with American on the issue, but declined to comment further.

Luke Punzenberger, a spokesman for United Airlines Inc[UALCO.UL], said: "We work closely with federal officials on security matters, but we are not able to discuss the details of those efforts."

U.S. security agencies fear bombmakers from AQAP and the Islamist Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, are collaborating on plots to attack U.S.- or Europe-bound planes with bombs concealed on foreign fighters carrying Western passports, the officials said.

AQAP has a track record of plotting such attacks. Its innovative bombmaker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, built an underwear bomb used in a failed 2009 effort to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner, and his devices were implicated in other plots.

There was no immediate indication U.S. intelligence had detected a specific plot or timeframe for any attack.
U.S. officials say the United States has acquired evidence that Nusra and AQAP operatives have tested new bomb designs in Syria, where Nusra is one of the main Islamist groups fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. More here.

Hmmm..........I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, in my point of view the WEAKEST link is the staff working all over airports. If you see the number of would be jihadis that left for Syria then what’s stopping one or more Islamic staff members at European airports to Aid or organise an explosive device on a plane? If you take in account the drugs that are smuggled by airport staff the possibility becomes very real. Time to rethink the safety procedures……I would hate to be the one saying…”Told you So”

Airport security stepped up in Britain over bomb plot fears...How 'Safe' is the staff working at Airports?

Airport security stepped up in Britain over bomb plot fears...How 'Safe' is the staff working at Airports? (Guardian).

Security at UK airports is to be tightened after US officials raised fears about terrorists in Syria and Yemen developing explosives that could be smuggled on to planes.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said on Wednesday night that it would "step up some of our aviation security measures" following the warning from US security chiefs.

US officials told Reuters that security at European airports would be increased following intelligence that al-Qaida operatives in Syria and Yemen had joined forces to develop bombs that would avoid detection and bring down aircraft.

The US did not specify which airports or countries would be affected, nor did it say what triggered the extra precautions.

The US department of homeland security said "enhanced security measures" would be implemented in the next few days at "certain overseas airports with direct flights into the United States".

The department secretary, Jeh Johnson, said: "We are sharing recent and relevant information with our foreign allies and are consulting the aviation industry."

US intelligence believes extremists in Syria and Yemen have been in contact to develop bombs that escape heightened security measures, although they do not have specific intelligence about an imminent attack or specific plot emanating from the suspected collaboration.

Some in the US intelligence community also believe that "training complexes" have been set up in Syria for western jihadists so they can return to their home countries better trained to carry out attacks.

While that conclusion is the subject of debate, it shows the level of fear counter-terrorism officials have about the threat posed by violent jihadists from Syria – now considered to be the main one facing the west.

Intelligence is reported to suggest bomb makers from Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian peninsula (AQAP) have travelled to Syria to meet al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra to work on ways to get an explosive device past existing security.Read the full story here.

Hmmmm.....I've said it before and i'll say it again, in my point of view the WEAKEST link is the staff working all over airports.

If you see the number of would be jihadis that left for Syria then what's stopping one or more Islamic staff members at European airports to Aid or organise an explosive device on a plane?

If you take in account the drugs that are smuggled by airport staff the possibility becomes very real. Time to rethink the safety procedures.