Border Security

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News

Mon, 2010-04-12 03:09 PM
Oakwood Village, OH-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. reports that its radiation measurement and security instruments business has been awarded two U.S. patents for radiation instruments.The RadEye...
Mon, 2010-04-12 12:25 PM
This may sound like child’s play, but Customs and Border Protection is deadly serious when it says it wants to find “role players” who can hide in concealed areas, stand or sit quietly for up to an...
Fri, 2010-04-09 04:11 PM
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has unveiled a redesigned and enhanced Web site for tribal communities.The DoJ calls its Tribal Justice and Safety Web site a “one-stop shop for tribal communities,...
Wed, 2010-04-07 03:39 PM
Geospatial Holdings, Inc., Pace Global Energy Services and Ridge Global report that they have created a strategic partnership to offer infrastructure services to the energy, telecom, electrical...
Wed, 2010-04-07 09:59 AM
Palm Beach Gardens, FL-based G4S Wackenhut is changing its name to G4S.The rebranding, the company says, is meant to “reflect the company’s vision of providing comprehensive security solutions.”It...
Tue, 2010-04-06 03:25 PM
In anticipation of the 2010 hurricane season, police, first responders and other government personnel will conduct training exercises designed to test an interoperable credential verification system...
Tue, 2010-04-06 11:55 AM
Not surprisingly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recognizes the need for, and the benefits of, building trust with ethnic and religious minorities.That’s especially the case with the minorities...
Tue, 2010-04-06 11:50 AM
DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner has named John Ryan to the newly created position of director for DHS operations at the joint FBI-DHS Border Corruption Task Force.
Mon, 2010-04-05 04:23 PM
Wilmington, MA-based Implant Sciences Corp., a supplier of systems and sensors for homeland security and defense markets, has been awarded an order for its QS-H150 portable explosives detectors from...
Mon, 2010-04-05 04:18 PM
Peabody, MA-based Analogic Corp., a provider of medical imaging and aviation security technology, reports that it has received an order from L-3 Communications Security and Detection Systems, Inc....
Mon, 2010-04-05 08:52 AM
Custom and Border Protection’s Canine Center, based in Front Royal, VA, is eager to purchase and train 23 of the “best dogs in the world” – drawn from working or sporting breeds, such as Labrador...
Mon, 2010-04-05 08:37 AM
GSN: Government Security News is proud to announce that Mutualink, Inc., of Wallingford, CT, has signed up as a silver sponsor of GSN’s 2010 homeland security awards program.

Commentary and Opinions

[Editor’s note: Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) made these remarks on the House floor on May 18, 2010.]

Mr. Speaker, U.S. Border Patrol agents have spotted yet another Mexican military helicopter incursion into Texas. That makes three times these helicopters have crossed the border into America this year, that we know of. On Saturday [May 15, 2010], another Mexican military helicopter was in Texas, hovering near the Roma-Miguel Aleman International Bridge. Two other times this year, Mexican helicopters were photographed in Starr and Zapata Counties in Texas.

By Rep. Ted Poe

[Editor’s note: Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, delivered the following remarks on the floor of the House on March 22, 2010.]

   Once again, there's a new push for an amnesty bill to pass this Congress. Yesterday, tens of thousands of people marched in Washington, D.C., wanting amnesty. And it was interesting. As I looked over this very peaceful crowd and all those people marching, I wondered why there were no American flags.

By Jonathan McDonald

Many government organizations are charged with combating terrorism, identifying criminals and effectively applying immigration policies. All these activities require that persons of interests (and organizations and networks) be accurately identified. Identification is an extremely complex process that is only compounded by increasing data volumes, complex relationships, and tightly coupled application and data architectures.

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.

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.

Company News

The country of El Salvador recently inaugurated a new Advance Passenger Information (API) system to enhance control of the nation’s air borders. Inaugurated in late May, the API system is now in use by all major airlines operating in the country. It is designed to monitor and control the movement of passengers and crew members during arrivals and departures of commercial air carriers.

Drug smugglers and illegal aliens face a more difficult future, as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Air and Marine has just expanded and increased the capabilities of its helicopter fleet.

ARINC Engineering Services, LLC, recently completed the delivery of three upgraded Huey II helicopters to the Office of Air and Marine (OAM). ARINC and its subcontractor, U.S. Helicopter, converted three standard UH-1H helicopters into the much more capable Huey II configuration, under a contract awarded in January 2009.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unit of DHS plans a sole source purchase of two additional automated fingerprint and palm print identification systems for remote workstations to supplement the two it already uses.

The remote workstation versions, which are known as AFIX Tracker RWs, are supplied by AFIX Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Pittsburg, KS.

Customs and Border Protection has awarded a small business set-aside contract worth almost $250,000 to QuestionMark Corp., of Norwalk, CT, for an enterprise license allowing up to 100,000 CBP personnel to use QuestionMark’s Perception assessment software.

The Perception assessment management system enables trainers, educators and testing professionals to author, schedule, deliver, and report on surveys, quizzes, tests and exams, according to the company’s Web site.

The Federal Aviation Administration has decided to award a sole source contract to L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics Corp., of Mason, OH, to supply infra-red and electro-optical cameras for the FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, based in Oklahoma City, OK. 

The Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) provides service and support to the U.S. Department of Transportation in general, and training, logistics, research, and data services for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

Hughes Network Systems, LLC, of Germantown, MD, a provider of broadband satellite networks and services, announced on July 26 it has completed a successful demonstration of its advanced airborne video solution to a key government agency, confirming full D-1 video resolution at air-to-ground user data rates of over 2 Mbps. 

American Science and Engineering, Inc., of Billerica, MA, a supplier of X-ray detection technology, announced on July 22 its receipt of a $23 million order for a government agency for a significant quantity of SmartCheck Personnel Screening Systems. The systems will be deployed in a rugged environment and will provide security officials with a fast, reliable and safe way to screen people for a wide variety of threats.

Syagen Technology, Inc., of Tustin, CA, has been awarded a development contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate to address the needs of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in effectively implementing its Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP).

 TSA developed the CCSP as a solution to help reach its mandate for conducting 100 percent screening of all air cargo on commercial airline flights after August 1, 2010.

 

Technology Sectors

Market Sectors

Recent Border Security Videos

Miguel Lazatan, Senior Marketing Manager, explains that Sony’s Security Systems Group provides Video Surveillance products ranging from cameras, IP network cameras and recorders to video management software. With high-definition video, video analytics is increasingly important in government installations. The company’s View-DR wide dynamic technology includes dynamic frame integration, X4 sensor and visibility enhancement.

Garrick Bell, Eastern Regional Sales Director, explains that with the company’s ITMCS technology, Morpho’s products can identify small amounts of explosives and narcotics. New products at ISC West include the handheld Hard Mobile Trace Unit and the Itemiser DX desktop detector, which can get an accurate analysis of substances within 5 seconds. Customers include government, law enforcement, first responders and a growing commercial business.

Josh Phillips, Director of Marketing, describes the business of Lenel as providing integrated security technologies, bringing the best of breed software applications and multiple technologies into a single platform. Government markets include military and civilian buyers and the DoD, which use the OnGuard system, whose 2010 integrated access control, ID management and video surveillance system offers enhanced video surveillance.

Fredrik Nilsson, General Manager for Axis North America, says that Axis clients worldwide include subways, airports, military, government and commercial perimeter protection. The trends in government, he believes, are high resolution video packaged into networks. In 2009, Axis increased R&D spending by 24 percent, because the company believed that a recession stimulates technology, and buyers prefer better quality video and lower installation costs.

Andy Teich, President of FLIR’s Commercial Systems Division, describes two new products. The FLIR Thermal Fence ties FLIR cameras together into a network that includes a network console and an analytics algorithm with many capabilities. The Guardsman is a handheld thermal imager designed for guard safety. Teich also explains that the company’s high-volume business in the auto market lowers costs on all FLIR Thermal Imaging products.

Recent Webinars

Centrify
Mon, 08/02/2010 (All day) - Wed, 08/31/2011 (All day)

The Contractor - Wants to bring her MacBook Pro onsite, but must log in with a CAC card.

The Sys Admin - Is in charge of security...

Centrify
Mon, 08/16/2010 - 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Use the resources you already have to easily deploy MACS with CAC and...

Thu, 06/10/2010 - 1:00pm

GSN Webinar - A Holistic Approach to Cybersecurity Using Dynamic Traffic Intelligence

No vendor can solve the entire problem. Learn how to use...

New Products

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

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