• Will the World Cup change South Africa?

    Thabo Mbeki, the disgraced former South African president, grandly claimed that the 2010 World Cup would be the moment when the African continent “turned the tide on centuries of poverty and conflict”; a BBC reporter touring the country on the eve of the tournament notes the new stadiums and roads, but says the more likely aftermath is that South Africa will have spent billions of dollars on a 30-day advert for the country that quickly fades as the sporting world moves on

  • Operation targeting counterfeit network hardware from China yield convictions, seizures

    Departments of Justice and DHS announce 30 convictions, more than $143 million in seizures from initiative targeting traffickers in counterfeit network hardware made in China; this counterfeit network hardware is a technological sleeper cell: the Chinese have manufactured counterfeit Cisco routers and switches and offered them at exceedingly low prices; U.S. vendors upgrading or replacing U.S. government IT systems used these counterfeit devices — and the FBI and other government agencies are now worried that the gear offers the Chinese undetectable back-doors into highly secure government and military computer system

  • Good value in homeland security stocks

    To find companies that may be bargains, we should look at the price-to-sales ratio (PSR), or the stock price divided by sales per share; this is a useful way of looking at a company’s value compared to its ability to generate revenue: a PSR of 0.9 means that one dollar of a company’s revenue can be bought for 90 cents; using PSR, some homeland security companies looking cheap relative to sales

  • I-95 corridor to become U.S. cybersecurity corridor

    Two areas around Washington, D.C. are already centers of high-tech industry: Telecommunications companies and government contractors dominate the Dulles Toll Road corridor in Virginia, and biotechnology firms line the corridor along Interstate 270 in Maryland; experts say the corridor along the Interstate 95 corridor between Washington and Baltimore is becoming a cybersecurity center

  • Apple patents heartbeat-recognition sensors for iPhone

    Apple’s new patent will allow iPhones to identify user’s heartbeats & mood; by integrating this technology with the iPhone, the handset can authenticate the user by seamlessly picking his or her heart rate instantly as soon as they pick up their phone; no password required or tedious scanning of fingerprints or faces

  • TIE Technologies unveils BIO Metric and intelligent video technology development project

    Edward Andercheck, chairman and CEO of TIE Technologies: “Today’s science has made it possible to identify and authenticate the ‘one of a kind’ unique BIO Signature generated by individuals entering or leaving designated areas, thereby enabling the protection of buildings and weapon systems, and empowering security in large cities everywhere.”

  • Surveillance blimps assembled in Duluth

    ISL, a U.S. defense contractor developing dirigibles for military surveillance, has been using the former Northwest Airlines maintenance base in Duluth, Minnesota, since last fall; ISL’s plans to assemble the airship in Duluth hit a rocky patch with its clients, so the dirigible has been stored in the facility since last fall, lying uninflated on the floor

  • U.S. seeks the forfeiture of a business employing illegal aliens

    In the past, U.S. federal authorities have taken action against companies that have knowingly hired illegal immigrants; punishments included fines and jail time; now, in an unusual step, federal authorities are seeking the forfeiture of an operating San Diego-area bakery

  • A rapid check service making a come-back

    Verified Identity Pass (V.I.P.) had 160,000 subscribers to its service, which offered travelers a quicker passage through airport security checks if they had pre-registered with the company, giving it their biometric information and agreeing to a background check; a year ago it went out of business after a row with its creditors; the rapid check service, with the backing of new investors, is making a come-back

  • Manned troop supply helicopter converted to unmanned helicopter

    Lockheed Martin, Kaman convert a manned to an unmanned helicopter; the single-seat heavy-lift helicopter will deliver sling loads up to 6,000 lb at sea level and 4,300 lb at 15,000 ft

  • Guyana launches GPS tracking to combat crime, smuggling

    There has been a increase in vehicular robbery and car-jackings in Guyana recently, as well as an ongoing problem with Venezuelan fuel and drug smugglers, who use the sparsely populated coastal lagoons and jungles of northwest Guyana to ply their illegal trade; the Guyanese fuel industry is facing problems with the siphoning and theft of gasoline; two Guyanese companies now offer GPS vehicle tracking technology which will bolster the authorities’ ability to fight vehicular robbery, smuggling, and oil theft

  • Oil spill, flooding create perfect storm for commerce, shipping

    The Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Icelandic volcanic eruption, and flooding in Tennessee have created a “perfect storm” for businesses that rely on an efficient supply chain; in New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities the impacts of the spill may only be beginning; New Orleans is still down 200,000 to 250,000 residents in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The impending oil catastrophe could lead to further flight as jobs are lost and people default on their businesses and homes

  • Arizona's immigration measure would hurt H-1B workers, encourage businesses to relocate

    New immigration law could hurt Arizona’s technology industry, keep top foreign students from schools in the state; in the long run, and depending on how it is enforced, the law could slow down the willingness of companies to invest in Arizona if these companies hire — legally hire — a lot of non-citizens

  • The right approach to legal immigration // by Ben Frankel

    The problem with the debate about what to do about illegal immigration in the United States is that until it is resolved, nothing can be done about addressing the necessary reforms in the laws governing legal immigration; it is difficult to think of a law that needs more reforming than the current U.S. immigration law; there are many reasons for this, but the most important one is this: the law as currently written undermines the U.S. economic welfare and national security

  • Search-and-rescue dogs to be fitted with satellite navigation devices

    Spanish company develops dog collars fitted with satellite navigation technology; the collar will be used by search-and-rescue dog to help locate trapped victims after an earthquake or similar disasters; the technology combines information on the scenting abilities of the dog with data on its location