United States government to roll out new terror alert system

The US will launch a new terror alert system to warn Americans about domestic attacks like last Wednesday’s ISIS-inspired mass killing in San Bernardino, officials said Monday.

“We need to do a better job of informing the public at large what we are seeing”, Johnson said.

This will be the third terror alert system put in place since the September 11 terrorist attacks 14 years ago. As for the new system, it will feature an “intermediate” step, he added.

Johnson said he hopes to announce the change soon and that he thinks it “reflects the current environment and current realities”. The current system has been criticized for not issuing enough alerts; such alerts were issued only in the event of an “elevated threat” and “imminent threat”.

Johnson said NTAS has never been used because it sets too high a bar, namely that it depends on there being a specific, credible threat to the homeland. Johnson said more changes are on the way in the coming days.

“The terrorist-inspired attack domestically is a harder challenge”, he said.

This story has been corrected to show that the name of the alert system is the National Terrorism Advisory System. He said the National Threat Advisory System hasn’t been used because it requires a “specific, credible threat” to the U.S.in order to be activated.

The president called the San Bernardino massacre an “act of terrorism” by U.S.-born Syed Farook and his wife, Pakistani citizen Tashfeen Malik, who burst into an aid center for the disabled and opened fire at people attending an employee Christmas party being held there.

The State Department and Department of Homeland Security are reviewing security screening for visa applicants, and the administration plans to deploy more customs officers overseas to check passengers before they board jetliners to the U.S.

The Homeland Security boss did not provide specifics, but said the changes will keep the public better informed.

The new level, which DHS officials said is likely to be announced in the near future, comes amid growing concern about terrorism after the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif.