• $150 million anthrax vaccine contract goes to firm with close Democratic Party ties

    The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on the evening of 29 December that it was awarding PharmAthene $150 million to develop and produce an anthrax vaccine; FOXNews notes the strong ties to the Democratic Party of senior company executives

  • Hughes shows digital signage iPhone application for instant emergency response

    Hughes’s mobile application enables single-touch, instant delivery of emergency notifications for Hughes MediaSignage networks; application allows network administrators instantly to disseminate critical information and emergency notifications from their iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad devices

  • VTOL, ducted-fan UAV for security monitoring of the London Olympics

    A U.K. company developing a ducted-fan, VTOL UAV says the ability of the vehicle to take off vertically and maneuver around the tops of buildings would make it ideal for security monitoring at the London Olympics and other urban law-enforcement mission; the U.K. start-up says that compared to other UAVs, the Flying Wing can work more aptly against wind gusts, making it suitable for helping troops in mountainous Afghanistan

  • HTS unveils vehicle identity recognition system

    HTS offers a vehicle identity recognition system which recognizes the vehicle’s manufacturer logo (car model), vehicle body and plate color, special icons on the plate itself (such as handicap), and country or state name; the system will help police to detect vehicles with false license plates, such as stolen cars, and detect any discrepancies between the vehicle type and its license plate number

  • Nigeria ordering Rapiscan backscatter imaging systems for the country's international airports

    The government of Nigeria is deploying Rapiscan’s Secure 1000 Single Pose backscatter whole-body scanners at the country’s four international airports; the systems will be used to screen passengers traveling to the United States as well other countries

  • Dynasil's RMD receives $2.5 million from DHS to continue work on nuclear detection

    RMD specializes in developing scintillator crystals, which convert radiation to visible light; DHS gives the company $2.5 million — in addition to an earlier award of $5.6 million — to continue work on the crystals, which will enable more accurate detection of radioactive materials

  • DHS awards L-3 Communication $164.7 million for millimeter wave scanners

    The drive toward deploying whole-body scanners at U.S. airports accelerates; L-3 receives a $164.7 million order from TSA for the company’s ProVision millimeter wave (MMW) advanced imaging technology; more than 200 ProVision systems are deployed worldwide at airports and other facilities

  • Bill would prohibit use of private security contractors in war zones

    Two U.S. lawmakers introduce a bill which would prohibit the use of private security contractors in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan; one-fifth of the U.S. armed forces in Iraq consists of private contractors, while in Afghanistan that number reached one-third

  • Israel unveils world's largest UAV

    The Eitan is 79 feet long, has a wingspan of 86 feet — about the size of a Boeing 737 airliner — and can stay aloft for 20 hours at high altitude; powered by a 1,200-horsepower turbojet engine, it has a maximum altitude of 40,000 feet and can carry hundreds of pounds of equipment, such as high-resolution cameras and electronic systems and presumably weapons; Israel says the UAV has the capability of reaching the Gulf

  • UAVs set to give U.K. defense a lift

    The U.K. government is funding new research aimed at getting permission to fly drones anywhere in Britain, in a move which could benefit defense companies BAE Systems, EADS, and Thales but upset civil liberty concerns.

  • Private security firms eyeing Haiti contracts

    Private security firms eager to gain lucrative security contracts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti; a mid-march conference in Miami would bring together security companies and Haitian officials to examine the market; critics, including some current and former Haitian officials, worry about the trend toward privatizing essential reconstruction services

  • Intellectual Ventures: A genuine path breaker or a patent troll?

    Intellectual Ventured has amassed 30,000 patents, spent more than $1 million on lobbying last year, and its executives have contributed more than $1 million to Democratic and Republican candidates and committees; the company says it wants to build a robust, efficient market for “invention capital”; critics charge that some of its practices are closer to that of a patent troll

  • Gartner: only 6 percent of companies survive longer than two years after losing data

    Gartner Group says that 43 percent of companies were immediately put out of business by a “major loss” of computer records, and another 51 percent permanently closed their doors within two years — leaving a mere six percent “survival” rate; Zenith Infotech says it can help

  • Smiths Detection, 20/20BioResponse in global distribution agreement

    The agreement is for BioCheck powder screening test kits; the biological threat assessment tool will strengthen Smiths Detection’s portfolio of emergency and first response solutions

  • Hackers to compete for $100,000 for smartphone, browser hacks

    Hackers will compete for a $100,000 in prizes for exploits that successfully penetrate Apple’s iPhone 3GS, Research in Motion’s Blackberry Bold 9700, a Nokia device running the most recent version of Symbian, and a Motorola phone running Google’s Android