Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activity
Terrorists have a wide variety of weapons and tactics available to achieve their objectives. Specific threats of most concern to museums, libraries, zoos, planetariums, and aquariums include those that involve:
• Improvised explosive devices
• Arson
• Small arms attack
• Chemical, biological, or radiological agents
Terrorist activity indicators are observable anomalies or incidents that may precede a terrorist attack. Indicators of an imminent attack requiring immediate action may include the following:
• Persons in crowded areas (e.g., common areas, food courts) wearing unusually bulky clothing that might conceal suicide explosives or hide weapons (e.g., automatic rifle)
• Unattended vehicles illegally parked near buildings or places where large numbers of patrons gather
• Unattended packages (e.g., backpacks, briefcases, boxes) that might contain explosives
• Unauthorized access to heating, ventilation, and airconditioning (HVAC) areas; indications of
unusual substances near air intakes
Indicators of potential surveillance by terrorists include:
• Persons using or carrying video/camera/observation equipment over an extended period
• Persons having maps, photos, or diagrams with facilities highlighted
• Persons parking, standing, or loitering in the same area over a multiple-day period with no apparent reasonable explanation for doing so
• Persons questioning employees off-site about practices pertaining to the facility
• Employees changing working behavior or working more irregular hours
• Persons observed or reported to be observing facility receipts or deliveries
• A noted pattern or series of false alarms requiring a response by law enforcement or emergency services
• Unfamiliar cleaning crews or other contract workers
• An increase in the number of incidences when buildings are left unsecured
• An increase in threats from unidentified sources
• Sudden losses or thefts of guard force equipment
Common Vulnerabilities
The following are key common vulnerabilities of museums, libraries, zoos, planetariums, and aquariums:
• Easy accessibility of facilities to large numbers of public patrons
• Accessibility of items having unique value and/or significance
• Presence of dangerous animals in zoos
Protective Measures
Protective measures include equipment, personnel, and procedures designed to protect a facility against threats and to mitigate the effects of an attack. Protective measures for public institutions include:
• Planning and Preparedness
− Develop comprehensive security and emergency response plans and conduct regular exercises of the plans.
− Maintain a constant awareness of the current threat condition and available intelligence information.
− Establish liaisons and regular communications with local law enforcement and emergency responders.
• Personnel
− Conduct background checks on all employees.
− Incorporate security awareness and appropriate response procedures for addressing security situations into training programs.
− Maintain an adequately sized, equipped, and trained security force.
− Check training rosters to ensure that personnel have received proper training on the Homeland Security Advisory System and specific preplanned measures.
• Access Control
− Provide appropriate signs to restrict access to nonpublic areas.
− Identify and control access by all employees, vendors, delivery personnel, and contractors.
− Install electronic access control systems and intrusion detection systems in sensitive areas.
− Identify key areas in or next to buildings and prohibit parking in these areas.
− Issue photo identification badges to all employees and require that badges be displayed at the facility.
• Barriers
− Provide adequate locks, gates, doors, and other barriers for designated security areas.
− Inspect barriers routinely for signs of intrusion.
− Install barriers at HVAC systems, hatches, and power substations and routinely patrol these areas.
• Communication and Notification
− Install, maintain, and regularly test the facility security and emergency communications system.
− Communicate threat level information to employees.
− Take any threat (phone, fax, e-mail) seriously.
− Encourage employees and the public to report any suspicious activity that might constitute a threat.
• Monitoring, Surveillance, Inspection
− Install closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, intruder alarms, and lighting to cover key areas.
− Regularly inspect lockers, mail room areas, trash bins, parking lots, garages, and all designated security areas under access control.
− Consider using night vision/infrared CCTVs to monitor areas requiring dim lighting (e.g., theatres, shows, and zoo/aquarium dark habitat facilities).
• Infrastructure Interdependencies
− Provide adequate security and backup for critical utility services (e.g., electricity, natural gas, water,
telecommunications).
− Locate fuel and utility supply facilities at a safe distance from buildings and high-traffic areas.
• Cyber Security
− Implement and review hardware, software, and communications security for computer-based
operational systems.
− Eliminate any information that might provide security information to adversaries from the Web site.
• Incident Response
− Develop and maintain an up-to-date emergency response plan.
− Review unified incident command procedure for responding to an event with local law enforcement and emergency responders and government agencies.
• Report Suspicious Activity
− If you observe suspicious activity, you should call an emergency at once.
