Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says a new threat warning system will be announced “in the coming days,” according to NBC News.
Back in October, Johnson ordered a review of the National Terrorism Alert System, or NTAS, after the number of threats of attacks within the United States increased. The current system has been criticized for not issuing enough alerts; such alerts were issued only in the event of an “elevated threat” or “imminent threat.”
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Johnson said the problem with the NTAS is that it’s based on having a specific and credible piece of intelligence of a plot.
“We need to get beyond that to go to a new system with an intermediate level,” Johnson said. “We need a system that adequately informs the public about what we are seeing.”
The current system, the green-to-red system, used fewer alerts because it was criticized for holding the nation under constant alert for no reason. Today, with the growing terror threat, a system with more alerts appears to be on the horizon.
