TSA Insider Threat

    

    Emerging threats involve airport personnel, including employees and contractors, exploiting their access to restricted areas for illicit activities or facilitating unauthorized access to secure zones. Along with the escalating divergence of political perspectives within the United States, the menace posed by domestic violent extremists gains heightened prominence to the insider threat issue faced by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In May 2020, the TSA released its Insider Threat Roadmap, a guide that the TSA and transportation community use to mitigate the issue. According to the Roadmap, addressing the issue of insider threats requires a synchronized collaboration encompassing the TSA, governmental bodies, airport operators, and air carriers, (Pekoske, 2020). The TSA conducts thorough background checks and vetting procedures for individuals accessing secure areas. They also provide training to airport staff to recognize and report suspicious behavior, along with promoting information sharing, partnerships, and the development of best practices, (McNeil, 2020). I see an improvement by investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms that can identify behavior patterns of employees, contractors, or other authorized TSA personnel. This is a complicated improvement though because it treads on these individuals' personal liberties and privacy.

References:

Triana McNeil (February 2020). "TSA Could Strengthen Its Insider Threat Program by Developing a Strategic Plan and Performance Goals"

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-275.pdf

Steve Karoly (February 2021). "The Three Biggest Challenges for U.S. Transportation Security in 2021"

https://www.hstoday.us/federal-pages/dhs/the-three-biggest-challenges-for-u-s-transportation-security-in-2021/

David P. Pekoske (2020). "Insider Threat Roadmap 2020" Transportation Security Administration 

https://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/3597_layout_insider_threat_roadmap_0424.pdf