According to the new report by the House Homeland Security Committee, there is an increasing concern about US airports which are vulnerable to "insider threats" by would-be "lone wolf" attackers with access to secure areas.
The report says that, "America's airports and aircraft remain vulnerable to attack and exploitation by nefarious individuals. Current security standards would likely fail to prevent a determined adversary with insider access from causing harm to an airport or aircraft."
According to the committee, most of the 900,000 people who work at the airports all across the country can bypass normal security screening on a regular basis. Only three airports Miami, Orlando, and Atlanta International Airport screen 100 percent of employees (and also their baggage) before allowing them to enter into the airport's secure areas.
The report also says that, many of the airports just rely on scattered random screening and credentialing, exposing the airports to worrisome "security flaws" that could be exploited in "'lone wolf' attacks being inspired by the terrorist groups like ISIS."
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Over the past decades, several airport workers with the access to secure areas, including a cart driver at Minneapolis St. Paul Airport and, and several years later, a jet fueler at the same airport have joined the terror groups like al-Shabaab and ISIS abroad. One contractor at the Dallas-Fort Worth even bragged to an undercover FBI agent that he could smuggle a bomb onto an aircraft for a $4,000 fee.
The even more concerning matter is that, an inspector general's report released in the year 2015 found 73 aviation workers with possible ties to terrorism that were not revealed on background checks.
To combat the insider threats, the Homeland Security Committee report recommends that airports "examine costs and feasibility of expanding physical screening," increase the covert testing, consider biometric access credentialing, conduct continuous background testing, and quickly deactivate the badges when they are lost or the employee is let go.
The TSA said in a statement that, TSA appreciates the House Homeland Security Committee's efforts to help and secure America's airports. We are reviewing the report and will continue to work with the committee as well as with our industry, intelligence community, and also with the law enforcement partners to ensure all modes of transportation remain secure.
By Mrudula.
