BIKINI Alert States (most serious at top):

style="background: #ff0000; color: white;"|>ED |}>	Information has been received about an attack on a specific target. It can also mean "red alert", meaning the United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...  is at war, especially if there's a likelihood of a nuclear strike Nuclear warfare Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...  .
style="background: #FF7E00; color: white;"|>MBER |}>	There has been specific information received and there is a substantial threat to government targets. It can also mean "high alert", which could be a transition to war Transition To War Transition to war is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization military term referring to a period of international tension during which government and society move to an open war footing... .
style="background: black; color: pink;"|>LACK SPECIAL |}>	There is an increased likelihood of an attack, but no defined target. It can also mean "potential terrorist threat".
style="background: black; color: white;"|>LACK |}>	There has been an assessment made that there is the possibility of an attack, but no defined target. It can also mean "possible civil unrest", meaning safety can't be guaranteed.
style="background: white;"|>HITE |}>	No information available about a specific threat. It can also mean "situation stable"

The BIKINI state was an alert state

Alert state

An alert state is an indication of the state of readiness of the armed forces for military action or a State against terrorism or military attack.Examples are the DEFCON levels of the US armed forces, and the British government's UK Threat Levels....

 indicator previously used by the UK Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 to warn of non-specific forms of terrorist

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 activity, established on 19 May 1970. According to the Ministry of Defence, the word bikini

Bikini

The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...

was randomly selected by a computer.

It was replaced by a more general and public terrorism alert status, UK Threat Levels

UK Threat Levels

The UK Threat Levels refer to the alert state that has been in use since 1 August 2006 by the British government to warn of forms of terrorist activity. Before then a colour based alert scheme known as BIKINI state was used...

, an alert state system in use by the British government since 1 August 2006.

Current alert states were posted at the entrance to government buildings and military installations with respect to security and terrorism conditions. Whilst similar to the DEFCON

DEFCON

A defense readiness condition is an alert posture used by the United States Armed Forces. The DEFCON system was developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and unified and specified combatant commands. It prescribes five graduated levels of readiness for the U.S...

 alert states used in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the BIKINI levels were defined by the section of the military or organisation rather than UK-wide, and as a result, countermeasures and reactions to differing states may differ as acutely as from building to building. The highest levels of alert, RED and AMBER, were only intended to be maintained for limited times. The WHITE state has never been used in the history of the system.

See also

• UK Threat Levels
  UK Threat Levels
  The UK Threat Levels refer to the alert state that has been in use since 1 August 2006 by the British government to warn of forms of terrorist activity. Before then a colour based alert scheme known as BIKINI state was used...
  
  
• Homeland Security Advisory System
  Homeland Security Advisory System
  In the United States, the Homeland Security Advisory System was a color-coded terrorism threat advisory scale. The different levels trigger specific actions by federal agencies and state and local governments, and they affect the level of security at some airports and other public facilities. It...
  
   (United States)
• Vigipirate
  Vigipirate
  Vigipirate is France's national security alert system. Created in 1978 by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, it has since been updated three times: in 1995 , 2000, and 2004....
  
  (France)

External links

• UK Counter-terrorism site, showing current threat level
• (Redacted) Memorandum by the Ministry of Defence on Defence and Security in the UK (January 2002) discussing BIKINI states
  • Note: Annex D referred to in the above is redacted in its entirety
• A (redacted) Examination of Witnesses in the Select Committee on Defence discussing the costs of changes to BIKINI states
• Threat Levels: The System to Assess the Threat from International Terrorism