• E-Verify implementation delayed yet again

    DHS created E-Verify to allow employers to check on line the eligibility of employees to work in the United States; implementation of the system has been delayed for the fourth time; new deadline: 8 September 2009

  • Congress requires competition for for aviation security services

    Despite heavy lobbying by airport managers, Congress insists that TSA must hold open and full competition for security background screening services for aviation workers

  • Obama creates cyberczar post

    Czar will be in charge of coordinating efforts to secure government networks and U.S. critical infrastructure; president says the new White House cybersecurity office would include an official whose job is to ensure that the government’s cyber policies do not violate privacy and civil liberties

  • House passes TSA authorization, tells agency to consult GA

    The House of Representatives the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act; bill sends a message to TSA to increase general aviation (GA) industry participation on security initiatives

  • Obama to call for better security for computers

    President Barack Obama today will outline his administration’s plans to bolster U.S. cybersecurity; the president will announce the creation of a cyber czar position

  • The government's new mail room // by Keith James

    How CRF regulations overhaul mail security — and the keys to timely compliance

  • Tensions arise over White House reorganization plan

    President Obama plans to merge the staffs of the White House National Security Council and Homeland Security Council — while stipulating that John Brennan, his homeland security adviser, will still be reporting directly to the president; tensions rise

  • IG: TSA's financial data jeopardized by lax controls

    Inspector General reports finds that TSA’s financial statements are vulnerable to tampering; TSA does not review computer accounts to ensure people who have left the agency are locked out, and does not check the privileges associated with each active account regularly to ensure that level of access remains necessary

  • U.S. will create cybersecurity czar

    President Obama is set to name a cyber security czar; announcement to be timed with the release of the administration’s much-anticipated cybersecurity review; the czar would have two bosses — the national security adviser and the White House economic adviser — in order to strike a balance between homeland security and economic concerns

  • New security measures on passenger planes may hurt cherries growers

    About a quarter of the cherries grown in Washington state — some 1.3 million 20-pound boxes — are flown in the cargo hull of passenger planes to Pacific Rim countries like Japan and Korea; growers of highly perishable crops like cherries worry that a new requirement that all cargo on U.S. passenger flights undergo a security scan could create lengthy delays, leaving crops to rot in hangars as they await inspection

  • Court: use of GPS to track criminals requires warrant

    The New York State’s supreme court ruled that the police cannot use GPS to track a criminal suspect without a warrant; majority decision said: “the use of these powerful devices presents a significant and, to our minds, unacceptable risk of abuse”

  • GAO: U.S. government agencies weak on cybersecurity

    GAO reports says that 23 out of 24 major U.S. government agencies have weak cybersecurity programs, potentially placing sensitive data at risk to exposure

  • Food poisoning outbreaks prompt oversight efforts, II

    President Obama had an organic vegetable garden planted at the White House, and his nominees to the FDA are pushing a more aggressive approach to food safety; many are are pinning their hopes on the Food Safety Modernization Act, which would essentially split the FDA, creating a separate agency to focus on food safety

  • Food poisoning outbreaks prompt oversight efforts, I

    In 1973, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employed 35,000 inspectors; in 2007, the FDA employed 6,700 inspectors; at the same time, food imports into the U.S. increased exponentially

  • NERC approves strengthened cyber security standards

    The North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s (NERC) independent Board of Trustees last week approved eight revised cyber security standards; entities found in violation of the standards can be fined up to $1 million per day, per violation in the United States