Secret Service to monitor social media in massive Super Bowl security operation

The Secret Service will be combing through messages on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites Sunday as it seeks to thwart possible threats against the Super Bowl.

It’s part of a massive security operation for the big game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

{mosads}According to the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service will be conducting open source monitoring of social media for “situational awareness.”

Officials told NextGov that they will be using social media tracking technology as they seek to discern between real and bogus threats at the Super Bowl.

They’ll also provide air space security, though a department spokesman told NextGov, there would be “no drones.”

A spokesman for the Secret Service told the website that the agency will continuously screen social media sites, including Facebook and Al Jazeera Blog.

Separately, a report in SecureWorldExpo said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be supplying roving command centers and trucks that could sustain power generation and mobile communications during a disaster at the Super Bowl.

FEMA will also provide a network of BioWatch detectors to guard against a possible biological attack.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited Phoenix late this week for a briefing on security at the Super Bowl.

For a complete look at the security preparations, click here.

The Department of Homeland Security’s funding runs out on Feb. 27. Congress is working on legislation to extend funding, but the spending vehicle has become the battleground for a fight over the president’s immigration executive orders.