News / Analysis
America’s quest for homeland security includes the development of federal programs to protect our aviation, maritime and ground transportation sectors, efforts to detect a “dirty bomb” before it can emit deadly radiation, the search by the FBI for Muslim terrorists and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, his Al Qaeda followers and Islamic extremists pursuing jihad.
Your chance to pitch DHS about cyber security
November 20th, 2008
Attention cyber-security vendors: Mark Jan. 6, 2009, down on your calendar.
That’s the day the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) is hosting Vendor Day, in Arlington, VA, where you will find a forum about business opportunities in support of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI).
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Turning pirates into PUCs
November 19th, 2008
Kim Hall, a self-described “pirate girl” who studies the surge in piracy off the coast of Africa for the U.S. Navy, says the number of pirate attacks has been growing in recent months, but the number of successful attacks has actually been declining.
This surge in attacks at sea is explained by the poverty in Somalia, home base for many of today’s pirates, and the lucrative nature of the profession.
Californian ponders FEMA’s future
November 19th, 2008
FEMA would probably have helped itself if it had embraced the idea of being consolidated into the newly established Department of Homeland Security – much as the Coast Guard did – rather than fighting the idea.
At least that’s the opinion of Matthew Bettenhausen, once a DHS official and now the director of homeland security for the State of California and a member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cabinet.
Trust but verify
November 19th, 2008
Herzliya, Israel-based ioimage, the video surveillance specialist, elected to protect sensitive areas of the Vatican, is currently installing additional units to complement its existing monitoring.
As the Great Communicator might have put it: Trust in a Higher Power – but verify.
Internet Security Alliance’s message to President-Elect Obama
November 18th, 2008
If the Internet Security Alliance (ISA), a non-profit collaboration between the Electronics Industries Alliance and Carnegie Mellon University' s Cylab, the cyber-security research and education center, could send a Blackberry message to President-Elect Obama summarizing the reason why his administration needs to address the issue of cyber security, it would probably be this:
“Our physical security is threatened by vulnerabilities in our electronic information systems.”
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AMAC Int’l prez pleads guilty to illegal exports of space launch info to China
November 17th, 2008
The president of Newport News, VA-based AMAC International Inc. (AMAC), a high-tech company with a branch office in Beijing, has pled guilty to charges that he illegally exported space launch technical data and defense services to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and offered bribes to Chinese officials.
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Day 4: Born of Necessity
November 17th, 2008
A scanning system that can detect and analyze a human pulse from one meter away. A new filter that can cleanse the air of CBRNE threats. Or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can carry a payload capable of identifying a biological threat infecting the air through which it flies.
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The Original Suicide Bombers
November 17th, 2008
Before the suicide bombers of al-Qaeda, before even the Palestinian suicide bombers of Hamas, there were the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, better known as the Tamil Tigers, who, according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), “pioneered the use of suicide bombers.” The Tigers have used the tactic “hundreds of times,” the IISS says.
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