• Veterans of Israel’s secretive Unit 8200 head many successful high-tech start-ups

    Unit 8200 is Israel’s equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) or GCHQ in Britain; what sets the unit apart from its SIGINT counterparts in the United States and Europe is that it does almost all its research and development in-house; this means that, aside from interpreters and analysts, the unit is home to a huge cadre of engineers, technicians, and programmers; one result is that veterans of Unit 8200 have founded many of Israel’s successful high-tech start-ups

  • EU-U.S. security agreement allows cheaper, faster air cargo operations

    The European Commission and the U.S. Transport Security Administration (TSA) have declared that they mutually recognize their respective air cargo security regimes from 1 June 2012 on; this recognition, following extensive negotiation, will eliminate duplication of security controls and the need to implement different regimes depending on the destination of air cargo

  • Safety profiles protect people, pets, and emergency responders

    Sixty-three percent of all U.S. households have a pet, the highest level in two decades; there are 78.2 million dog and 86.4 million cat owners, with more than half stating they would leap into action for an injured pet; registering pets in the owner’s safety profile would allow for safer, and more successful, rescue by first responders during emergencies

  • Rescue dogs from across U.S. to participate in certification exercise

    Rescue dogs and their handler teams must be re-certified every three years; the certification includes command control, agility tests, barking alert skills, and willingness to overcome fears of tunnels and wobbly surfaces under the guidance of the handler

  • SIA June meeting to address security-related legislation, regulations, procurement policies

    The Security Industry Association’s annual event, to be held in Washington, D.C. on 19-20 June, offers participants insights about legislation, regulations, procurement policies, and other information which attendees may use not only to address problems they face, but, the SIA notes, also to anticipate, and prepare for, future changes in government policies, regulatory climate, and the private sector trends

  • Harris awarded DHS communications contract with a $3 billion potential value

    Harris has been awarded a 5-year, IDIQ DHS contract to support tactical communications for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its partner agencies; the contract has a $3 billion ceiling

  • Space Data, partners test high-altitude disaster communication

    Since 2004, Space Data has logged more than 250,000 flight hours in near space altitudes between 65,000 and 90,000 feet in conducting more than 20,000 flights of its balloon-borne platforms; near space technology has become a critical communications relay capability for the U.S. military, particularly for deployed forces overseas; the FCC wants this technology to be available for first responders

  • High altitude-based emergency communication system

    Oceus Network will conduct a test of its emergency communication system in high altitude: it will place its 4G LTE Xiphos portable 4G LTE broadband network on a balloon which will carry Xiphos to near-space altitude; by placing an emergency communication system on an airborne platform, a zone of coverage is created to restore critical communications in the first hours after a catastrophic event

  • NotiFind wins notification system award at DRI International 2012 Conference

    SunGard Availability Services’s crisis communication tool NotiFind was named Notification System of the Year by the DRI International Commission; the company says that the award shows industry recognition of the solution as a tested emergency and incident notification system

  • Advanced investigative facial recognition solution for law enforcement

    Animetrics shows ForensicaGPS, a new facial biometric tool for local, state, and federal law enforcement; the company says ForensicaGPS allows law enforcement to identify criminal suspects, even from a low-resolution photo or video surveillance

  • QinetiQ North America to provide cybersecurity services to DOT

    QinetiQ North America (QNA) was awarded a new task order by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to provide cybersecurity services to protect the U.S. transportation and control systems and critical infrastructure

  • TASC wins three task orders from DNDO

    TASC, Inc. was awarded three task orders by DHS to provide its Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) with advanced systems engineering and integration and other decision-support services. The task orders are valued at a total of $54 million, including base and option years

  • Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station gets new 20-year license

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) yesterday announced its decision to renew the operating license for Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts; the approval means the NRC has concluded there is no safety or environmental issue that precludes renewal of the plant’s license to operate for an additional twenty years

  • Movie-like emergency training system for law enforcement

    Raytheon’s VIRTSIM law-enforcement training system employs licensed motion-capture technology similar to that used in movies such as “Lord of the Rings,” “Avatar,” and, most recently, “The Avengers”; the system is being offered to the law enforcement community as an affordable, twenty-first century alternative to outdated training practices that do little to replicate real-life situations

  • NYC launches on-line auction of city fleet vehicles

    New York City operates 27,000 vehicles and equipment pieces covering sixty city agencies; each year, up to 2,500 of these vehicles are replaced by newer equipment and sold by auction to the general public; now customers can access hundreds of desirable vehicles with the convenience of an online auction