The Transportation Security Administration has placed five of its employees on administrative leave after a confidential airport security manual was exposed on the internet. The 93-page manual, dated May 2008, contains the procedures for diplomats, prisoners, federal air marshals, law enforcement officers and others, but the version posted on the web does not reveal the current protocols of airport screening.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told the Senate Judiciary Committee that they have taken action against TSA supervisors and a contractor. An internal review will be conducted “to see what else needs to be done so that the incident never recurs”, she added.
The Department of Homeland Security also proposed for an investigation “to make sure that we are being rigorous and very disciplined on what is posted and what is not”.
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, meanwhile, suggested for a ‘red team’ damage assessment, which will allow someone outside the agency to review and detect the actions of a potential enemy, who may have read the information, and to recommend the necessary action to avoid damages. Napolitano confirmed that the agency will undergo the said process.
“I think one of my first questions has been, well, what exactly was put out there that wasn’t available either by observation of airport checkpoints or the like”, the secretary said.
The manual was posted online with unsecured revisions of sensitive information for government contractors. This allowed individuals, familiar with the computer programme, to restore the sensitive information.
