State and Local Gov’t
Network administrator "hijacks" City of San Francisco’s IT System
July 17th, 2008
You might have heard by now of the network administrator for the City of San Francisco who allegedly has effectively "hijacked" that city’s FiberWAN network by changing the passwords of all of his colleagues in city government, such that he is the only person who can gain access to a vital portion of the city’s computer network.
Industry Day on preparedness training requirements slated for July 31
July 15th, 2008
The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), a unit of FEMA that is based at the former Fort McClellan in Anniston, AL, wants to identify commercial contractors who can help it develop and manage a broad range of training courses it offers to the nation’s first responders.
ICE wants to identify criminal aliens in local jails
July 15th, 2008
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is moving ahead with its Secure Communities initiative, under which it hopes to "revolutionize" the way in which it shares information with state and local correctional facilities to identify high-risk criminal aliens who can be deported.
Life of security zone around LNG port in Massachusetts Bay is extended
July 15th, 2008
The Coast Guard intends to extend the life of two temporary safety zones that surround the submerged turret-loading buoys about 18 miles offshore, east of Boston, MA, known as the Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port. The buoys enable liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to unload their gas, so it can be transferred underwater and merged into New England’s gas pipeline network.
FDA to issue grants to enhance state and local "food defense"
July 1st, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a new grant program under which it plans to award up to $40,000 to each of six different state or local food regulatory agencies to develop innovative ways to integrate food defense strategies -- aimed at thwarting terrorist attacks on the food supply -- into more traditional food safety and inspection methodologies.
DHS announces $80 million REAL ID grants for state programs
June 20th, 2008
The Department of Homeland Security announced fiscal year 2008 REAL ID demonstration grant awards totaling nearly $80 million to assist states in improving the security of state-issued driver’s licenses (DL) and identification documents (ID).
Relieving traffic congestion at U.S. borders
June 1st, 2008
The pendulum at the U.S. southern and northern borders seems to swing regularly between tightening restrictions on vehicular and pedestrian border crossers in order to enhance security and loosening restrictions on the same border crossers in order to speed the flow of legitimate trade.
FCC is re-thinking its 700 MHz public safety network strategy
May 30th, 2008
It’s back to the drawing boards for the Federal Communications Commission, which tried and failed earlier this year to garner more than $1.33 billion in total bids for licenses to implement a nationwide public safety communications network in the 700 MHz band.
