• Briefly noted

    Massive overhaul of U.S. immigration services planned… USDA awards CRI $50 Million counter-terrorism and security support services contract… Unisys wins DHS contract… European intrusion detection market - what are the future trends?

  • Briefly noted

    FAA selects avionics manufacturers for nextgen technology… Who will be the next DHS secretary?… Biometrics, interoperability technology help identify criminal aliens

  • Briefly noted

    Australia opens national tsunami warning center… Document requirements announced for visitors to international peace garden… European data breach laws could land in 2011… Aberdeen: Unified threat management can shave IT costs

  • Global Entry arrives in Atlanta

    U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who pre-register for the program may use the Global Entry kiosk as an alternative to the regular passport control line

  • Use of cheap RFID chips make new U.S. passports vulnerable

    Americans can now apply for the U.S. Passport Card, which is also known as the Pass Card; the RFID chips are cheap Class One Generation Two models, which are vulnerable to cloning

  • CBP adds food specialists to inspect imports

    Worries about imported food, and about animal disease and the invasion of lakes and rivers by foreign species, increase; Border Protection adds food specialists for better point-of-entry inspection

  • Visa Waiver Program expanded

    Six more countries admitted to the Visa Waiver Program: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea

  • DHS, Michigan reach agreement on enhanced driver's license

    The Michigan agreement, similar to that reached with other states, seeks to create an enhanced driver’s license — which denotes both identity and citizenship — as a compliance option to fulfill Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requirements

  • "Guilt" detector to catching smugglers

    Researchers are looking to increase security at border crossings by developing a computer system that can detect guilt

  • Hacker reveals how to compromise e-passport systems

    An anonymous technology researcher discusses the ease with which e-passports may be compromised by hackers

  • U.S. considers waiving visa requirement for Israelis

    U.S. may add Israel to the Visa Waiver program in 2009, after Israel implements a new biometric passport for Israeli citizens

  • Briefly noted

    Dems want DHS to target criminal illegal immigrants… “A delicate balance” between port security and business requirements… Somalia: Pirate’s vital routes attacks cause shipping costs to soar

  • Alternatives to the H-1B visa, pt. 2: L-1 "International Transferees"

    The demand for H1-B visas far outstrips its supply; one alternative is the L-1 visa which allows companies to transfer employees to, and allows investors to form start-up operations in, the United States

  • Coast Guard chooses new patrol boat

    Years after Congress urged the U.S. Coast Guard to speed up its patrol boat replacement program, the service finally picked a design and a shipbuilder for its new cutters; the winner: Bollinger Shipyards

  • Coast Guard to expand biometric project

    There has been a 75 percent in the number of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the Mona Passage from the Dominican Republic into Puerto Rico in the past two years; the Coast Guard is not sure the drop is all due to the service’s biometric measures, but it thinks the technology has something to do with it