Border Security

News

IG reviews DHS contracts awarded through ‘other than full and open competition’
Wed, 2010-03-10 04:12 PM
DHS’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released the results of its congressionally mandated review of the department’s contracts awarded during fiscal year 2009 through “other than full and open...
It takes DHS about 35 seconds to collect fingerprints from all 10 digits
Tue, 2010-03-09 02:30 PM
It takes more than twice as long for the US-VISIT program to collect 10 fingerprints from each non-citizen arriving into the U.S. at an airport or land border as it did prior to 2007, when only two...
Neurotechnology’s MegaMatcher Accelerator 2.0 now available
Tue, 2010-03-09 02:28 PM
Vilnius, Lithuania-based Neurotechnology, a provider of biometric identification technologies, has released MegaMatcher Accelerator 2.0, which the company calls a packaged hardware and software...
Obama names retired Army major general to lead TSA
Tue, 2010-03-09 02:21 PM
Following a 33-year career in the U.S. Army, primarily in the intelligence arena, and another six years building his own professional services company, known as Harding Security Associates (HSA),...
Duos to deploy illegal train rider and contraband detection system along border
Mon, 2010-03-08 11:47 AM
Jacksonville, FL-based Duos Technologies reports that it has won a contract, worth nearly $795,000, to deploy what it characterizes as an enhanced illegal-train-rider and contraband-detection system...
FLIR introduces line of IP thermal security cameras
Fri, 2010-03-05 12:55 PM
Portland, OR-based FLIR Systems, Inc., the manufacturer of thermal security cameras, has introduced a line of IP thermal security cameras that it emphasizes are “affordable,” with models available...
Optelecom-NKF announces compact H.264 Siqura camera line
Fri, 2010-03-05 12:14 PM
Optelecom-NKF Inc., the supplier of video surveillance solutions, has unveiled its compact H.264 Siqura MD6x PTZ IP camera series.The mini-dome (MD) camera line offers two pan / tilt / zoom (PTZ) IP...
Civitas Group adds two new directors
Thu, 2010-03-04 12:56 PM
Washington, DC-based Civitas Group LLC, a well-known investment and advisory firm serving the homeland security and national security markets, has added two new directors.Andrew Weis has joined the...
Homeland Security Policy Institute names new steering committee members
Wed, 2010-03-03 11:45 AM
The George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) has appointed 14 new steering committee members.  HSPI describes the group as a “bipartisan cadre.” It includes two...
NIST plans 700 MHz demonstration network for public safety communications
Wed, 2010-03-03 10:58 AM
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) plans to develop a 700 MHz Public Safety Broadband Demonstration Network, which will provide a “multi-vendor, neutral host environment” in...
Detecting danger under vehicles
Mon, 2010-03-01 01:51 PM
Sacramento, CA-based Traffic Safety Corp. has unveiled the TS300, its under-vehicle security and safety inspection fixture.According to the company, the TS300 fixture is designed to aid security and...
GSA to study expansion of land border port of entry in San Diego
Mon, 2010-03-01 10:38 AM
The General Services Administration, which is planning to acquire 10 additional acres to the east of the Otay Mesa land port of entry in San Diego, CA -- and will modernize the existing car and bus...

News Analysis

IDenta says explosives ID kits identify underwear bomber’s PETN
Add Jerusalem-based Identa Corp. to the handful of companies that issued statements in the wake of the failed Christmas day attack on Flight 253, saying they have technology that can detect PETN, the powerful explosive that could have brought the...
HID Global extends iCLASS for Dutch Rijkspas program
Irvine, CA-based HID Global, the secure identity specialist, reports the launch of its Rijkspas-compliant ICLASS smart card reader, designed for Dutch government agencies adopting MIFARE DESFire EV1 smart card technology.The reader features DESFire...
Former NSA deputy director joins Proximex advisory board
Sunnyvale, CA-based Proximex, the developer of products for the physical security information management (PSIM) market, has announced that William Crowell, a security consultant and a former Silicon Valley CEO and NSA deputy director, has joined the...
General Dynamics opens new data center for USCIS
General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of Falls Church, VA-based General Dynamics, has opened a new enterprise data center in Westminster, CO, to serve as the technology operations and maintenance infrastructure support (TOMIS)...
DHS designates foreign countries eligible for H-2A and H-2B visa programs
DHS has published its annual list of countries whose nationals may petition to enter the U.S. under H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant status, in effect becoming legal guest workers.Under DHS regulations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)...

Commentary and Opinions

OPINION / Video conferencing technology offers new opportunities for homeland security collaboration

By William Sapp

In an operating environment where threats are imminent and the response must be equally swift, video communication technology can offer DHS and its communities of interest new ways to collaborate to improve homeland security operations.

Whether responding to a natural disaster or sharing intelligence to thwart a terrorist plot, video conferencing technology allows organizations to connect quickly and collaborate meaningfully.

Security diversions at the checkpoint: A Sikh perspective

Leaving Seattle recently, I was in for a surprise. As six of my colleagues and I stood in line for an airport security check, we were all told to step aside for secondary screening. They wanted to search our turbans -- mandatory religious articles of our Sikh faith. Each of us was pulled out of line while other passengers stared at the group being corralled. As several screeners investigated our turbans, the wasted time and resources made me uneasy.

OPINION / Two years later, where are we?

By Jim Giermanski

    In 2007, I wrote two articles on why 100 percent scanning was not doable. I laid out four fundamental reasons why 100 percent scanning would not work: its foreign acceptance, its limitation to seaports only, the non-existence of required technology, and the non-inclusion of land ports within the concept of critical infrastructure.

Two years later, where are we?

 

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Fairport, NY-based Bosch Security Systems, Inc. has introduced the GVS1000, which the company describes as the industry's l...

IDenta says explosives ID kits identify underwear bomber’s PETN

Add Jerusalem-based Identa Corp. to the handful of companies that issued statements in the wake of the failed...