In the wake of the foiled air cargo bombing plot last month that originated in Yemen, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to pilot test new security strategies this year related to obtaining data about shipments sooner than current requirements to better identify shipments of concern before an aircraft takes off, the heads of CBP and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) tell Congress. “The receipt of pre-departure advanced air cargo data will enable the NTC-C (National Targeting Center-Cargo) to identify shipments of concern earlier in the transportation supply chain and prior to departure, enabling examination or prohibition of shipments of concern until all potential risk concerns are resolved,” says Alan Bersin, CBP Commissioner, and John Pistole, TSA Administrator, in a joint statement before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. CBP currently gets advance manifest data about cargo carried on passenger flights or cargo-only aircraft four hours in advance of arrival to the U.S. or at wheels-up for flights less than four hours. That data is processed through the agency’s Automated Targeting System to identify potential threats and determine high risk shipments. The plot to ship two bombs from Yemen inside of separate printer ink cartridges and have them put aboard aircraft that were ultimately bound for the U.S. was thwarted based on a tip from Saudi Arabia intelligence officials. Pistole says that current security systems would not have detected the package bombs without the intelligence warning. Both Bersin and Pistole say they are working with the trade community to find ways to get advance manifest data sooner for air cargo shipments to allow screening to be done before departure from an originating airport.
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