The National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) is a terrorism threat advisory scale used by the US Department of Homeland Security since April 26, 2011.[1][2] The NTAS is the replacement for the often-criticized, color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System introduced by the George W. Bush administration in 2002.[1] Janet Napolitano said that 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."[3] On December 16, 2015, Secretary Jeh Johnson activated the bulletin capability for the first time. The Department of Homeland Security added an intermediate threat level in 2015, after the department identified a "new phase" in the global terrorist threat against the homeland.