• Envisage Technologies to provide Indiana DHS with software

    On Wednesday Envisage Technologies announced that it was working with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) to implement the third phase of its state-wide readiness strategy; Envisage will expand its Acadis Readiness Suite, an integrated software tool that automates complex logistical tasks that normally require a host of various databases, software, and systems, to include secure certification of users; state officials say that the added software capabilities will help agencies more accurately assess resource needs and respond more quickly in emergencies

  • Data breaches compromise nearly 8 million medical records

    The revelation that millions of people have had their personal medical records stolen could slow the Obama administration’s efforts to digitize the nation’s health care records; in the last two years alone nearly eight million people have had their medical records stolen or compromised; 1.7 million patients, staff members, contractors, and suppliers at several New York hospitals had their information stolen when thieves removed them from an unlocked van; to ensure that medical records are safe, HHS has begun imposing penalties on health care providers who compromise their patient’s records; but some health care experts wonder if enforcing HIPAA alone will be enough to address the problem

  • Floyd County gets additional $75,000 for CBRNE unit

    Floyd County in Georgia has received two DHS grants worth $75,000 to replace and repair equipment for its chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE) response unit; the bulk of the money, approximately $65,000, will go towards replacing aging equipment, while the rest will go towards repairs; the CBRNE team was originally created four years ago with nearly $350,000 in DHS funding as part of the state’s terrorism prevention initiative

  • Scientists charged with manslaughter for not issuing earthquake alert

    The 6 April 2009 earthquake which shook the Italian city of L’Aquila killed 308 of the city’s residents, injured thousands, and caused wide-spread damage to buildings and infrastructure; prosecutors have decided to bring seven geologists to trial for failing to alert city residents about the impending tremor; the geologists, all members of Italy’s Major Risk Committee, met on 31 March 2009 to discuss the possible risk to the Abruzzo region, of which L’Aquila is the capital; the region had experienced several small tremors in the months before the meeting; in a press conference following the meeting, the geologists reassured residents of the region that no major quake was imminent, and that they had no reason to leave their homes

  • Industry leaders, policy makers to meet at SIA Government Summit

    The Security Industry Association (SIA) is gearing up to hold its annual Government Summit conference in Washington, D.C. once again; each year the two day event brings security professionals, business leaders, and policy makers together to discuss the latest federal and state trends as well as the latest legislation and regulations that affect the security industry; the event’s headliners are Bill Kristol and Bill Press; the two will debate one another on a wide range of issues including the impact of the 2010 mid-term elections, the 2012 presidential campaign, as well as policy matters; the conference will be held on 21 June to 22 June at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, D.C

  • Saudi woman driver released from jail

    Saudi women are not allowed to drive because, according to Saudi senior clerics, prohibiting women from driving is a protection against the spread of vice and temptation because women drivers would be free to leave home alone and interact with male strangers; the prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers or rely on male relatives to drive; on 21 May, a 32-year old woman posted on the Web a video of herself driving, and was promptly arrested and thrown in jail; her posting was part of a campaign calling on Saudi women to show up on 17 June in their family cars — driving, not being driven — for drive-around rallies for women’s rights in major Saudi cities

  • U.S., Canada harmonize perimeter security approach

    No other two countries in the world have a larger volume of trade between them as do the United States and Canada; in the first eleven month of 2010, for example, that trade between the two countries reached $480 billion; that trade — and, especially, significant growth of that volume of trade — have been hampered by ever tighter security arrangements the United States has been implementing along the U.S.-Canada border since the 9/11 terrorist attacks; the main reason the United States has insisted on beefing up border security is that Canadian immigration and customs laws have been judged to be not up to what the United States would regard as acceptable standards; the U.S. message to Canada was thus straightforward: the higher the security walls around Canada, the lower the security wall between Canada and the United States; Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper agrees, and Canada is now working with the United States on harmonizing perimeter security arrangements; some Canadians are unhappy, saying the deal will result in sacrificing cherished Canadian values and practices

  • Ventura County, CA loses $2.8 million in funding

    In the latest Homeland Security budget, Ventura County, California is expected to lose about 70 percent, about $2.8 million, of its federal grant money, a large setback for the county’s emergency responders; with the loss of federal money, county officials believe police and fire departments will be less prepared to respond in an emergency; prior to 9/11, the county had little money available for emergency preparedness, but following 9/11 the county has received more than $22 million to bolster response capabilities; officials are most concerned about the loss of training opportunities

  • Justice Department threatens to cancel flights to Texas

    Last week, Texas lawmakers were forced to back away from a bill that would have outlawed airport pat-downs after the U.S. attorney general’s office threatened to cancel flights to Texas; the Texas House passed a bill that would have made it illegal for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents from conducting thorough pat downs at airport security checkpoints unless they had probable cause; the U.S. attorney general said that the law would be unconstitutional, and if passed, TSA would be forced to cancel flights to Texas

  • Senators outline long-term transportation spending plan

    On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of senators announced that they had come to an agreement on a long-term transportation spending bill; since 2008, highway and transit construction programs have had an uncertain fate, but the proposed bill would allocate roughly $56 billion a year to highway and transit construction; it is unclear what the final bill will look like as the Senate, House, and executive branch each have diverging views on highway funding; funding the transportation bill will be no small feat; a two year Senate bill would require $12 billion in additional fuel tax revenues and a six year bill would require an addition $70 billion

  • Potential China Taiwan deal on rare earth metals

    Taiwan could soon start receiving shipments of rare earth minerals from China in a move that could help bolster its technology and chemical companies; last week, officials from China and Taiwan met to discuss a potential deal that would ease some of China’s export quotas and tariffs on rare earth shipments; the deal with Taiwan would likely do little to affect global prices or trade as Taiwanese companies purchase far less than their Japanese, European, and American counterparts; but some analysts believe the deal would still benefit Taiwanese companies by giving them a competitive advantage

  • Napolitano visits Mumbai in advance of U.S.-India strategic dialogue

    On Wednesday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano visited Mumbai, India where ten gunmen killed more than 160 people in a November 2008 terrorist attack; Napolitano met with local counterterrorism and law enforcement officials to discuss their policing and counterterrorism strategies; Napolitano’s visit comes as part of a four day visit to India which will culminate in a formal dialogue with India’s top security chief Home Minister P. Chidambaram; the meeting will be the first formal dialogue between the two countries; topics for discussion will include counter-terrorism, but also financial fraud, counterfeiting, and currency smuggling; the high level strategic dialogue is designed to bolster ties between the United States and India by increasing communication and information-sharing practices on terrorism and national security issues; as Napolitano meets with her Indian counterpart, Tahawwur Rana is on trial in Chicago for assisting David Coleman Headley provide intelligence to Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organization in their attack on Mumbai; India has been on a heightened state of alert since bin Laden’s death and has increased security along its borders

  • U.S. can curb carbon emissions while boosting domestic oil production

    A report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin urges the United States to accelerate efforts to pursue carbon capture and storage (CCS) in combination with enhanced oil recovery (EOR), a practice that could increase domestic oil production while significantly curbing emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2)

  • Minneapolis airport security drill upsets Muslim rights group

    A national Muslim civil rights group is calling on DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to investigate the reinforcement of racial profiling in training exercise after a recent security drill at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport; the drill took place on 12 May and involved a man of Middle-Eastern descent who attempted to smuggle a device made to look like a bomb hidden inside a shaving kit; in response to the exercise, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) sent a letter to Secretary Napolitano on Monday requesting that she review “the use of outside trainers who offer hostile, stereotypical and grossly inaccurate information about Muslims and Islam”

  • Study urges DHS to stop seizing laptops at border

    A recent report called on DHS to stop its border agents from searching electronic devices like laptops and smartphones of individuals entering the United States without reasonable suspicion of wrong doing; the study, released last week by the bipartisan legal think tank The Constitution Project, argued that computers and cell phones contain far too much personal information and searching these devices without probable cause violates privacy considerations; border patrol agents have routinely conducted searches of individuals and their belongings entering the country, it is only recently become a potential legal issue due to the vast amount of personal data that electronic devices can now hold