On March 12, 2002 President George W. Bush signed Homeland Security Presidential Directive-3, calling for the creation of the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) and was formally implemented in July, 2002 ( ,2003). This new standardized system outlined the basic vocabulary and framework for assessing the risk of terrorist threats for the entire nation. More importantly, it was a way to more effectively communicate terrorist threats with all levels of the government, private sector, and the general public. The system was based on a hierarchal color-coded system comprised of five categories that ranked the likelihood of a terrorist attack. Ranked from lowest to highest, the color-coded system was green, blue, yellow, orange and red.
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Dissimilar to the color-coded system of the HSAS, the NTAS offers only two types of advisories: Bulletins and Alerts (Homeland Security, 2015). The addition of bulletins provides a more effectives means of communicating current developments or general trends regarding threats of terrorism and the necessary protective measures the public should take. Additionally, alerts are only implemented when there is credible information about a specific threat against the United States and will be shared with the public if the circumstances warrant it (Homeland Security, 2015). The two alert categories in the NTAS are, imminent and elevated threats. Imminent threat alerts occurs when there is a credible, specific, and impending threat against the United States, while elevated occurs when there is a credible threat, but only general information about the timing and target and what protective measures are recommended to mitigate the attack (Homeland Security, 2015). Furthermore, when an alert is activated the system offers a brief summary of the threat, steps for public preparedness, information on the affected areas, and expiration date of the alert, as well as further details on the nature of the threat and actions being taken by
Dissimilar to the color-coded system of the HSAS, the NTAS offers only two types of advisories: Bulletins and Alerts (Homeland Security, 2015). The addition of bulletins provides a more effectives means of communicating current developments or general trends regarding threats of terrorism and the necessary protective measures the public should take. Additionally, alerts are only implemented when there is credible information about a specific threat against the United States and will be shared with the public if the circumstances warrant it (Homeland Security, 2015). The two alert categories in the NTAS are, imminent and elevated threats. Imminent threat alerts occurs when there is a credible, specific, and impending threat against the United States, while elevated occurs when there is a credible threat, but only general information about the timing and target and what protective measures are recommended to mitigate the attack (Homeland Security, 2015). Furthermore, when an alert is activated the system offers a brief summary of the threat, steps for public preparedness, information on the affected areas, and expiration date of the alert, as well as further details on the nature of the threat and actions being taken by