TSA Leaks Sensitive Airport Screening Manual

[ramallamamama]

From Wired Magazine:

Who needs anonymous sources when the government is perfectly capable of leaking its own secrets?

Government workers preparing the release of a Transportation Security Administration manual that details airport screening procedures badly bungled their redaction of the .pdf file. Result: The full text of a document considered “sensitive security information” was inadvertently leaked.

Anyone who’s interested can read about which passengers are more likely to be targeted for secondary screening, who is exempt from screening, TSA procedures for screening foreign dignitaries and CIA-escorted passengers, and extensive instructions for calibrating Siemens walk-through metal detectors.

The 93-page document also includes sample images of DHS, CIA (see above) and congressional identification cards, with instructions on what to look for to verify an authentic pass.

The manual, titled Screening Management Standard Operating Procedure, is dated May 28, 2008. It contains this warning: “NO PART OF THIS RECORD MAY BE DISCLOSED TO PERSONS WITHOUT A ‘NEED TO KNOW.’”

Notwithstanding that disclaimer, the document appeared on FedBizOpps, a government clearinghouse that lists federal contracting opportunities for vendors. It has since been removed from the site, but not before someone grabbed it and submitted it to the whistleblower site Cryptome, where the formerly-redacted portions are highlighted in red boxes. The discovery was first made by a blogger at Wandering Aramean.

TSA spokeswoman Sterling Payne told Threat Level that the document was an “outdated version” of its operating procedures, and that the administration “took swift action when this was discovered.” She said “a full review” is underway to discover why the redacted material was not properly protected...

Read the whole piece here.

Check out the leaked document here.