National Terrorism Advisory System

The National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) is a terrorism threat advisory scale used by the United States Department of Homeland Security since April 26, 2011. The system was announced on January 27, 2011 by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano during a speech at George Washington University. Her official announcement followed reports of the NTAS that had surfaced the day before. The NTAS is the replacement for the often-criticized, color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System introduced by the George W. Bush administration in 2002. Napolitano said the color-coded system often presented "little practical information" to the public, and that the NTAS will provide alerts "specific to the threat" with "a specified end date." On December 7, 2015, a day after an Address to the Nation by the President from the Oval Office, a plan to add a new "intermediate" threat level to the NTAS was announced by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson to reflect a "new phase" in the global terrorist threat against the homeland following the November 2015 Paris attacks and the 2015 San Bernardino attack.

When introducing the National Terrorism Advisory System, Napolitano said, "Today I announce the end of the old system of color-coded alerts. In its place, we will implement a new system that's built on a clear and simple premise: When a threat develops that could impact you—the public—we will tell you. We will provide whatever information we can so you know how to protect yourselves, your families, and your communities." Her speech at George Washington University was timed to complement US President Barack Obama's 2011 State of the Union Address, which occurred two days earlier.

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