• Going to South Africa for the World Cup? Stay low and keep out of the line of fire

    The U.S. Department of State issues a travel advisory to Americans going to South Africa this summer for the World Cup; the Department’s discussion of crime in South Africa makes for a depressing reading; noting that “South Africa also has the highest incidence of reported rape in the world,” the Department advises victims of violent crime, especially women who were raped, “to seek immediate medical attention, including antiretroviral therapy against HIV/AIDS”

  • Day of portable, brief-case size X-ray machine nears

    A California company is working on developing flat-panel image sensors which would enable it to make a briefcase-sized X-ray machine powered by a laptop battery; such a system might be used in the field by the military or instead of bulky bedside systems used in hospital intensive-care units

  • Floating security tools make the cloud more secure

    Cloud computing offers efficiency and economy — but the Achilles Heel of the technology is security; where there is a security need there is a business opportunity, and some companies begin to offer cloud security tools, hoping to enjoy the benefits of first movers

  • English Premier League soccer players advised to hire bodyguards

    Players in the English Premier League should consider hiring private security guards to ensure the safety of themselves and their families, according to the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA); advise came after police received reports of players forced to pay protection money to gang members — often people the players knew when they were growing up

  • Private security community find lucrative opportunities in Haiti

    Debate intensifies over the deployment of private security companies to earthquake-ravaged Haiti; some see these companies as a welcome alternative to the traditionally brutal, corrupt, and ineffective local security forces; others argue that aid money should not be spent on hiring outside contractors but on building a better local security force

  • Calls grow for federalizing government building security

    DHS’s Federal Protective Service (FPS) has a budget of about $1 billion, and employs 1,225 full-time workers and 15,000 contract security guards at more than 2,300 federal facilities nationwide; in fiscal 2009 the service obligated $659 million for guards, the single largest item in its budget; a GAO reports criticizes the work of many of the guards and the contracts which employ them, and lawmakers debate whether to federalize federal buildings security responsibilities

  • Thales's Watchkeeper makes maiden voyage

    Watchkeeper is a multi-sensor, all-weather unmanned air system (UAS) designed to remain airborne for more than sixteen hours in a single mission. It includes automatic take-off and landing (ATOL), along with a de-icing capability, expanding its ability to operate in all-weather environments

  • Indiana companies benefit from UAV trend

    Last year, for the first time, the U.S. Air Force trained more pilots to operate unmanned vehicles than it did pilots for traditional fighter planes; UAV carry out more and more intelligence and operational missions; Indiana companies benefit

  • New York Computer Forensics Show to be held in New York 19-20 April

    “Like it or not, every computer is a potential crime scene and must be treated with care” — this may serve as the motto for the New York Computer Forensics Show; IT professionals, lawyers, and accountants must acquaint themselves with the emerging field of computer forensics so they can better serve and protect the companies for which they work

  • First computer forensics private investigation firm opens in Nevada

    Expert Data Forensics is the first computer forensics-only PI firm in the state of Nevada; the firm says it has already helped in almost a hundred clients get the electronic evidence used to make a difference in the outcome of their cases; the data is retrieved from cell phones, PDAs, and computers

  • International companies in Mexico now target for cartel attacks

    Until recently, few criminals dared to touch the factories and offices of the hundreds of multinational corporations — or maquilas — in Reynosa, Maxico; amid a violent three-way war among two cartels and the military, the maquilas are no longer untouched; none of the 140 maquiladoras in Reynosa’s eleven industrial parks have pulled out of the area, but many have developed exit strategies in case the violence does not abate

  • Cybersecurity companies weather the economic downturn

    Cybersecurity companies may have suffered during the economic downturn — but they suffered less; some companies even saw an increase in revenues; “The things that we’re delivering have become more of a necessity than a nice to have,” says the president of an Iowa-based company which provides technical support and corporate security for desktop computers — and which increased its annual revenue by 41 percent in 2009

  • End-of-the-world shelter company selling bunker space

    A California-based company offers people a chance to survive the end of the world; for $50,000 per person, the company will sell you a spot in an underground shelter guaranteed to survive nuclear attacks, bio terrorism, chemical warfare, super volcano eruptions, asteroids, solar flares, tsunamis, earthquakes, pole shifts, the return of Planet X, and social and political anarchy;

  • Mexico to disconnect millions of cellphones to fight crime

    In a desperate effort to curb crime, the Mexican government moves to disconnect 30 million unregistered cell phones; the government wants to be able to track cell phone calls and messages, so it passed a law requiring that cell phone users register their phones by sending in their personal information; most of Mexico’s 84 million mobile phones are prepaid handsets with a limited number of minutes of use; these units can be easily bought in stores and either discarded or have call minutes added to them; many have registered their phones, but as of last Thursday, 30 million had not

  • Security concerns hobble World Cup; FIFA fears games played in empty stadiums

    It looked like a good idea — hold the first World Cup tournament in Africa; FIFA, the world soccer governing body, selected South Africa — ignoring suggestions that rampant crime and violence in the country would deter soccer fans from coming; now, in a stunning admission, FIFA says 500,000 tickets are still unsold; professional event organizers say the number is much higher; in the United Kingdom, only 67,654 World Cup tickets have been sold — fewer than the number of fans who typically attend a Manchester United home game