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Schengen States Extend Border Checks, Ignoring EU Court
Though the top EU court recently ruled that Germany, Denmark and other Schengen states have no legal basis for extending border checks reimposed in 2015, the European Commission is not initiating infringement procedures.
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DHS Sued Over Vetting Program to Collect and Data Mine
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) the other day filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for records about a multi-million dollar, secretive program that surveils immigrants and other foreign visitors’ speech on social media.
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Send Surveillance Robot Dogs to the Pound, Not the Border
Last week, DHS said that robotic are “one step closer” to deployment on the U.S.-Mexico border. Covered with sensors and cameras that can relay information and footage in real time to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), these machines are less cute-video or selfie fodder and more of a civil liberties-invading hellhound.
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Robot Dogs Soon to Be Deployed at the Border
DHS ST is offering a helping hand (or “paw”) with new robotic dog technology that can assist with enhancing the capabilities of CBP personnel, while simultaneously increasing their safety downrange.
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Israel Completes Wall along Gaza Border
Israel says the new barrier extends underground and uses high-tech sensors to prevent Hamas fighters from using tunnels to enter Israeli territory.
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Northern Skies Provide the Backdrop for Testing Border Security Tech
The purpose of demonstrations and tests recently conducted in Montana North Dakota was to evaluate specialized air domain awareness technologies such as radar systems; electro-optical and infrared cameras; radio frequency detection systems; and acoustic devices to see how effectively each can monitor, safeguard, and secure the various terrains and airspace that surround the northern border between the U.S. and Canada.
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An App for Safe Handling of Drones
Nearly every day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents come across drones that may have been used to facilitate the movement of illicit drugs or people across the southern border. These drones usually carry smuggled narcotics and often contain surveillance cameras; however, they could easily be modified to carry other threats or hazards.
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Migration Is Rising, but So Do Border Barriers
The global population grew by a quarter over the past 20 years, but the numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers doubled in the same time frame. Today, one in 97 people is forcibly displaced. In 2015, it was one in 175. The trend of rising migration parallels another trend that attempts to halt or at least manage the first, as more and more countries are building, or announcing, various border wall complexes.
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Evaluating Border Security Technologies on the Plains (and in the Skies) of North Dakota
Safeguarding and securing the northern border against threats and illegal activities, such as human trafficking and smuggling of illicit drugs, presents unique challenges because of its various distinct landscapes and multiple points of entry into the country.
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Analyzing Forensic Signatures of Nuclear Materials to Prevent Smuggling
A scientific exercise scenario involved seized nuclear materials for which law enforcement requested nuclear forensic analysis to help discern whether the process histories of the two seized materials were consistent with one another and related to similar materials seized previously by authorities. The exercise was part of an international nuclear forensic drill in support of a simulated nuclear smuggling investigation.
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DSI Border Security & Intelligence Summit: Leveraging Intelligence Collection and Analysis to Mitigate Threats to the Homeland
Defense Strategies Institute will hold its 8th Border Security & Intelligence Summit on 29-30 July 2020 in Alexandria, Virginia. This year’s summit will focus on the policies and technologies aiming to help secure the U.S. homeland by bolstering the protection and security of the nation’s borders. The theme of this year’s summit is “Enhancing Homeland Security Through Intelligence Sharing and Targeted Enforcement.”
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DHS CBP Selects JEOL Mass Spectrometers for Five Labs
JEOL USA has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection (DHS-CBP) for five JEOL AccuTOF-DART Direct Analysis in Real Time, Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometers. The AccuTOF-DART systems will be used by CBP scientists as a non-destructive, rapid means to analyze many types of forensic samples including drugs, suspected controlled substances, unknown substances, and general organic materials.
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Catching Nuclear Smugglers: Fast Algorithm Enable Cost-Effective Detectors at Borders
Nations need to protect their citizens from the threat of nuclear terrorism. Nuclear security deters and detects the smuggling of special nuclear materials—highly enriched uranium, weapons-grade plutonium or materials that produce a lot of radiation—across national borders. A new algorithm could enable faster, less expensive detection of weapons-grade nuclear materials at borders, quickly differentiating between benign and illicit radiation signatures in the same cargo.
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Protecting U.S. Northern Border with the Slash CameraPole
The border between the United States and Canada is the longest in the world. It stretches across remote wilderness for 5,525 miles, from Maine to Alaska, and presents a formidable surveillance challenge. Though the terrain can be treacherous, illegal crossings and smuggling still occur. However, a unique opportunity for detection exists in the form of a cleared stretch of land at the border that is approximately 20-feet wide, 1,349 miles long, and is referred to as the “Slash.”
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Greece to Deploy Floating Barrier to Stop Migrants in Aegean Sea
The Greek government is considering installing a “floating protection system” to stop migrant arrivals from the Turkish coast. The system would involve setting up nets or barriers to stop boats making the crossing. The barrier would be put in place north of the island of Lesbos, where migrants often make the crossing over a relatively short stretch of water. The plan is one more indication that the conservative government, under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has taken a tougher stand on immigration since coming to power last year.
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