Infrastructure protection

UC Davis scientists use bacteria to fight earthquake liquification
Application of Bacillus pasteurii during or after construction creates a shell of calcium carbonate around sand grains; approach avoids use of dangerous chemicals; funding required for larger studies
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Duke students invent "wisdom door"
System uses nine sensors to measure height, weight, and girth; passing through the door can activate any number of responses, including home entertainment preferences; tandem use with RFID envisioned
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DHS to offer $1-2 million in tunnel-sensing technology
Concerned about illegal immigration, government asks private sector for a solution; sensors, IT, and geospatial imaging to play a role; temperature differences between soil within the tunnel and without may be a key indicator
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Delta to install vehicle barriers at U.S. embassies worldwide
Shallow foundation system to be deployed to China, Austria, Saudia Arabia, and various cities in Germany, among others; more than 1,000 have already been sold; U.S. Air Force plans to use same to protect all of its bases around the world
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India dumps airport Backscatter machine
Revealing images upset socially conservative security guards; cultural values often underappreciated by security officials
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TSA finds most railroad security measures inadequate
$7 million study finds advanced explosives and screening methods suffer high false positive rates; yet traditional methods such as X-rays and canines suffer from poor economies of scale; study may upset congressional plans to boost railroad security spending
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RAND lists thirty-nine options for mall security
Shopping centers seen as a tempting terrorist target; RAND recommends vehicle barriers, bag and coat searches, and information campaigns; implementing procedures claimed to reduce risk 95 percent
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The virtue of security syndication // by Ilan Meller
In addition to doing everything they can to make themselves more secure, individual organizations may enhance their security by forming a security syndicate with other organizations for the purpose of sharing security-related information; with more organizationas sharing more terror-related “dots,” it may be possible to connect these dots more effectively to form a larger, clearer threat picture
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MIT students invent wall crawling device
Intended for first responders, the Atlas Powered Rope Ascender uses the capstan effect to pull a firefighter carrying one hundred pounds of equipment up a thirty-story building in thirty seconds; students have already sold units to Army and look to commercialize
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DHS offers infrastructure protection course
It is one thing for a committee of experts to write lengthy and detailed plans on how to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure, and it is another thing to have these plans implemented effectively by thousands of government and private sector organizations; DHS offers a Web-based course which will help the relevant people to do so
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Uniform European critical infrastructure protection policy a step closer
It is not easy to fashion a coherent and unfirom critical infrastructure protection policy for an organization with more than a dozen sovereign nation states; the EU is moving a step closer to achieving this goal
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Marines in Iraq demand LE System's laser-based crowd control system
Dazzler creates a wall of blinding green light that forces drivers away from senstive areas; while the brass favor a B.E. Meyers-produced device, the troops on the ground prefer LE; safety officials put their foot down
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Magal wins a $6 million contract to secure Israeli army bases
Deal follows recent successes with U.S. water authorities, banks concerned about underground tunnelling, and a Scottish hospital; company will install perimeter detection and command and control systems
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DARPA seeks to replicate black ice for use in Iraq
Envisioned mobility control system would force enemies to slip, while a reversal agent applied to U.S. vehicles permits effortless apprehension; companies interested in developing “polymer ice” have until April to respond
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Northrop teams up with RADA in Israeli missile defense bid
Israel will choose a winning plan within a month, and so Northrop positions itself tactically by teaming up with a major Israeli defense company; Skyguard system uses a deuterium fluoride laser to shoot down rockets; RADA Electronics moves beyond avionics
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