• DSIT in $12.3 million order for underwater security systems

    DSIT Solutions receives its largest order ever for underwater security systems; the contract calls for the delivery of a large number of AquaShield Diver Detection Sonar (DDS) and PointShield Portable Diver Detection Sonar (PDDS) systems to protect offshore oil platforms, coastal energy terminals, and high value vessels against underwater intrusion and sabotage

  • Right degree helps grads compete in DHS hiring boom

    Even amid the economic downturn, students who graduate with degrees in homeland security can breathe a bit easier knowing that they are more likely to find jobs than their fellow graduates; the agency’s hiring boom is expected to continue over the next several years as more and more baby boomers in their 50s begin to retire

  • Senate stalls on easing visa restrictions for highly skilled immigrants

    A bill meant to allow more high-skill immigrants from India and China to obtain green cards has been placed on hold by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) over concerns that it should do more to “protect Americans at home”

  • Court rules in favor of American Airlines in $30 million dispute with TSA

    On Tuesday a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against DHS ordering the agency to review its decision to deny reimbursing American Airlines $30 million for the additional security procedures it had been asked to put in place by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) following the 9/11 attacks

  • U.S. 2011 billion-dollar disasters

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recalculated the number of weather disasters in the United States which passed the billion dollar mark; NOAA added two disasters, pushing the 2011 tally to twelve billion-dollars-or-more disasters; these disasters caused more than 1,000 deaths and inflicted damaged estimated at $52 billion

  • Iridium offers emergency response service on satellite phone

    Iridium offers free SOS service on its Iridium Extreme satellite phone; individuals who need emergency help can now maintain contact with an operator during the emergency rather than rely on one-way SOS alerting

  • New severe-weather alert service launched

    Reddaway has announced a new Service Alert process that will inform customers about situations that may impact their supply chain

  • CBP buys new risk management tool

    Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Technology Innovation and Acquisition (OTIA) is replacing existing risk management systems with a product from a U.K. company to bolster the department’s risk and opportunity management capabilities

  • Safer fertilizer technology

    Honeywell will build a facility in California to produce a fertilizer with the agronomic benefits of traditional nitrate-based fertilizers, but with significantly lower explosive potential; the new fertilizer was independently tested, with guidance from the DHS and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and demonstrated significantly less or no explosive power

  • Lockheed Martin UK opens its U.K. cybersecurity center

    Lockheed Martin UK has officially opened its first Security Intelligence Center (SIC) at Farnborough; the role of the SIC will be detection, identification, and response to information security incidents; this is accomplished by bringing together three primary capabilities: pervasive sensors, data management, and analyst collaboration

  • Real disasters hurt annual national disaster drill

    This year the federal government’s annual nationwide disaster drill was hampered by actual disasters; due to an unusually severe series of natural disasters across the country, several states, local agencies, and federal employees were unable to participate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Level Exercise as they were too responding to real emergencies

  • Increased use of UAVs leads to new job opportunities

    The growing importance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is producing new job opportunities across the United States, with more likely to come as drones enter the civilian realm; the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International estimates that 23,000 jobs could be added over the next fifteen years if drones are allowed in U.S. skies

  • DHS to equip border agents with new body armor

    The Customs and Border Protection buys $48,629,750 worth of personal body armor from North Carolina-based KDH Defense systems

  • Some smartphones are more vulnerable to attack

    New research shows that some smartphones specifically designed to support the Android mobile platform have incorporated additional features that can be used by hackers to bypass Android’s security features, making these phones more vulnerable to attack

  • Raytheon tests smallest air-launched weapon in its portfolio

    Unmanned vehicles continue to evolve, and defense contractors build munitions form them; Raytheon has completed captive carry tests of its Small Tactical Munition Phase II configuration, paving the way for flight tests