Security Briefs - Dec. 18 - Dec. 24
The Latest Headlines:
- U.S. Concerned With Hijacking of Cargo Planes, Journal Says
- Government Elevates Terror Alert to Orange
- CNF Fined $6 Million for Hazardous Cargo Violations
- Acting TSA Chief Sees Active Roles for Local Directors
- Report: Terrorism Exercise Showed Lack of Preparedness
- Government Elevates Terror Alert to Orange
U.S. Concerned With Hijacking of Cargo Planes, Journal Says
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security said they were focusing on the possibility that terrorists might be planning to hijack cargo planes in other nearby countries and crash them into U.S. targets, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.Cargo planes often have no doors on their cockpits and little security, the Journal said. In addition, officials are concerned about the use of hijacked gasoline-tanker trucks as bombs.
The prospect of cargo planes being used was first raised by the department on Nov. 17 following National Intelligence Agency intercepts of electronic data, the Journal said. As a result, the department issued a warning and instituted new security measures to be taken by cargo carriers to limit their vulnerability. Transport Topics
Government Elevates Terror Alert to Orange
The Department of Homeland Security raised its terror alert to the second highest level on Sunday and said there was a high risk that militants might launch major attacks around the holidays in the United States.The color-coded alert system was raised to orange - denoting "a high risk" of terrorist attacks - from yellow, which the government defines as "a significant" or "elevated" risk of terrorist attacks.
Near San Francisco, checkpoints were set up to divert and inspect large trucks and trailers, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. All truck drivers with a load of hazardous materials will have their rigs inspected, the article said.
It is the fifth time the orange alert has been activated since the system was instituted in March last year. Transport Topics
(Click here for more information from American Trucking Associations.)
CNF Fined $6 Million for Hazardous Cargo Violations
Transportation company CNF Inc. was ordered to pay $6 million in fines for violating federal hazardous material laws, Bloomberg reported Friday.CNF pleaded guilty in September to 12 violations under an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department involving its now closed air-cargo unit, Emery Worldwide Airlines.
The charges stem from an investigation of Emery that began in 1999. Emery failed to notify pilots on 19 occasions between Oct. 18, 1998, and July 13, 1999, that planes were carrying hazardous materials and in two instances gave pilots incorrect information about hazardous cargo, Bloomberg reported.
CNF is ranked No. 4 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Acting TSA Chief Sees Active Roles for Local Directors
David Stone, acting administrator at the Transportation Security Administration, said he wants security directors at airports to take a more direct role in the recruiting, hiring and managing of the agency's 48,000 airport screeners, the Washington Post reported Friday.Since trucks are used to move air cargo on the ground, changes in airport security could affect the trucking industry as well.
Stone was previously security director at Los Angeles International Airport and said he has a plan to improve communication at the TSA, the Post reported.
It is unclear yet whether Stone will be appointed as the TSA's permanent director. Transport Topics
Report: Terrorism Exercise Showed Lack of Preparedness
A classified Bush administration report found the largest counterterrorism exercise conducted by the government since the 9/11 terrorist attacks was marred by communications problems, shortages of medical supplies and confusion over where the residue of a radiological attack would spread, the New York Times reported Friday.The five-day exercise, held last May in Chicago and Seattle, tested the response of federal agencies and local governments to nearly simultaneous terrorist attacks using biological agents and a dirty bomb.
Administration officials said many of the communications and logistical problems identified in the exercise had been corrected in the seven months since the $16 million exercise was conducted, the Times said.
Another problem was that emergency communications during the Chicago exercise relied heavily on regular telephone lines and fax machines, jamming phone lines for hours and slowing information among rescue teams. Transport Topics
