The Department of Homeland Security provides a feed of National Terrorism Advisory System current alerts in the form of XML files. Developers can use these XML files to place information in their own applications or web pages regarding current alerts.
There are two separate sources for information on NTAS Advisories. All information is available from both sources. Which source to use is purely a matter of developer choice.
The two sources are referred to as DISCRETE and CONSOLIDATED. The difference between the two is that the DISCRETE data source gives alert start and end times, and a reference to a separate XML file which contains the rest of the data for that alert. By contrast, the CONSOLIDATED data source embeds all alert data for all active alerts within a single data source
DISCRETE
The DISCRETE XML file can be located at the URL
http://www.dhs.gov/ntas/1.1/alerts.xml
CONSOLIDATED
The CONSOLIDATED XML file can be located at the URL
<!ELEMENT alert (summary, details, locations, sectors, duration, detail_sections)>
<!ATTLIST alert
start CDATA #REQUIRED
end CDATA #IMPLIED
type (ElevatedThreat | Imminent Threat)
link CDATA #REQUIRED
>
<!ELEMENT summary (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT details ANY>
<!ELEMENT duration (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT locations (location*)>
<!ELEMENT location (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT sectors (sector*)>
<!ELEMENT sector (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT detail_sections (detail_section*)>
<!ELEMENT detail_section (detail_title,detail)>
<!ELEMENT detail_title (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT detail (#PCDATA)>
Sample Alerts (alerts) file
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<alerts>
<alert start='2013/04/14 14:39' end='2014/04/14 14:38' href='https://www.dhs.gov/ntas/samplealert.xml' />
</alerts>Description of elements
- alert
A single active alert. Contains the following attributes- start
The effective start date/time of the alert, in the form YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM, expressed in GMT - end
The effective end date/time of the alert, in the form YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM, expressed in GMT - type
The type of the alert. Possible choices are- Imminent Threat
- Elevated Threat
- link
a URL to a PDF document which provides further details about the alert
- start
- summary
A short plain text summary of the alert. - details
A longer explanation of the alert. May contain HTML - sectors
A possibly empty list of sectors which are impacted by this alert - sector
An individual sector impacted by an alert. Represented as plain text - locations
A possibly empty list of locations which are impacted by this alert - location
An individual location impacted by an alert. Represented as plain text - duration
A plain text description of the expected duration of this alert May be blank - detail_sections
A list of information specific to the threat detailed by the alert - detail section
An individual detail section containing a specific piece of information for the alert. - detail_title
An individual detail section title. May contain HTML - detail
An individual piece of detail related to the threat. May contain HTML
Sample individual alert
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<alert start="2011/04/14 14:39" end="2012/04/14 14:38" type="Elevated Threat" link="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/15_1214_ntas_sample_elevated_alert.pdf">
<summary><![CDATA[This is a summary of the alert]]></summary>
<details><![CDATA[<p>This is a more detailed description of the alert</p>]]></details>
<locations>
<location><![CDATA[A location or region]]></location>
<location><![CDATA[Another location or region]]></location>
</locations>
<sectors>
<sector><![CDATA[An impacted sector]]></sector>
<sector><![CDATA[Another impacted sector]]></sector>
</sectors>
<duration><![CDATA[Freeform text description of the duration of the alert]]></duration>
<detail_sections>
<detail_section>
<detail_title><![CDATA[Freeform detail title]]></detail_title>
<detail><![CDATA[<p>Freeform text description of threat details</p>]]></detail>
</detail_section>
<detail_section>
<detail_title><![CDATA[Freeform detail title]]></detail_title>
<detail><![CDATA[<p>Freeform text description of threat details</p>]]></detail>
</detail_section>
<detail_section>
<detail_title><![CDATA[Freeform detail title]]></detail_title>
<detail><![CDATA[<p>Freeform text description of threat details</p>]]></detail>
</detail_section>
<detail_section>
<detail_title><![CDATA[Freeform detail title]]></detail_title>
<detail><![CDATA[<p>Freeform text description of threat details</p>]]></detail>
</detail_section>
</detail_sections>
</alert>
<!ELEMENT alerts (alert*)>
<!ELEMENT alert (summary, details, locations, sectors, duration, detail_sections)>
<!ATTLIST alert
start CDATA #REQUIRED
end CDATA #IMPLIED
type (Elevated Threat | Imminent Threat)
link CDATA #REQUIRED
>
<!ELEMENT summary (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT details ANY>
<!ELEMENT duration (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT locations (location*)>
<!ELEMENT location (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT sectors (sector*)>
<!ELEMENT sector (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT detail_sections (detail_section*)>
<!ELEMENT detail_section (detail_title,detail)>
<!ELEMENT detail_title (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT detail (#PCDATA)>
Description of elements
- alerts
Root container of all other elements - alert
A single active alert. Contains the following attributes- start
The effective start date/time of the alert, in the form YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM, expressed in GMT - end
The effective end date/time of the alert, in the form YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM, expressed in GMT - type
The type of the alert. Possible choices are- Imminent Threat
- Elevated Threat
- link
a URL to a PDF document which provides further details about the alert
- start
- summary
A short plain text summary of the alert. - details
A longer explanation of the alert. May contain HTML - sectors
A possibly empty list of sectors which are impacted by this alert. - sector
An individual sector impacted by an alert. Represented as plain text - locations
A possibly empty list of locations which are impacted by this alert - location
An individual location impacted by an alert. Represented as plain text - duration
A description of the expected duration of this alert May contain HTML - detail_sections
A list of information specific to the threat detailed by the alert - detail section
An individual detail section containing a specific piece of information for the alert. - detail_title
An individual detail section title. May contain HTML - detail
An individual piece of detail related to the threat. May contain HTML
Sample CONSOLIDATED feed
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<alerts>
<alert start="2011/04/14 14:39" end="2012/04/14 14:38" type="Elevated Threat" link="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/15_1214_ntas_sample_elevated_alert.pdf">
<summary><![CDATA[This is a summary of the alert]]></summary>
<details><![CDATA[<p>This is a more detailed description of the alert</p>]]></details>
<locations>
<location><![CDATA[A location or region]]></location>
<location><![CDATA[Another location or region]]></location>
</locations>
<sectors>
<sector><![CDATA[An impacted sector]]></sector>
<sector><![CDATA[Another impacted sector]]></sector>
</sectors>
<duration><![CDATA[Freeform text description of the duration of the alert]]></duration>
<detail_sections>
<detail_section>
<detail_title><![CDATA[Freeform detail title]]></detail_title>
<detail><![CDATA[<p>Freeform text description of threat details</p>]]></detail>
</detail_section>
<detail_section>
<detail_title><![CDATA[Freeform detail title]]></detail_title>
<detail><![CDATA[<p>Freeform text description of threat details</p>]]></detail>
</detail_section>
<detail_section>
<detail_title><![CDATA[Freeform detail title]]></detail_title>
<detail><![CDATA[<p>Freeform text description of threat details</p>]]></detail>
</detail_section>
<detail_section>
<detail_title><![CDATA[Freeform detail title]]></detail_title>
<detail><![CDATA[<p>Freeform text description of threat details</p>]]></detail>
</detail_section>
</detail_sections>
</alert>
</alerts>
The NTAS alert system replaced the legacy color-coded HSAS alert system in 2011. As of December 2015, backward compatibility to HSAS is no longer supported.