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Griffin, ICx merge, bolstering ICx’s chemical detection offerings
ICx wanted to bolster its chemical detection division, so it merged with detection specialist Griffin
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CompuDyne acquires SigInt specialist Signami
Signal intelligence is becoming big business, and versatile security solutions provider bolsters its offerings by acquiring a sigint specialist
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• Three CoreStreet OCSP products receive FIPS 201 approval • WidePoint receives GSA HSPD-12 approval for IT Schedule 70, SIN 132-6x series • Probaris SP/PIV wins HSPD-12 approval
U.S. government departments and agencies and private contractors doing business with them must comply with the HSPD-12-mandated FIPS 201 by 27 October 2006; during the past year many IT companies applied to the GSA to have their products and solutions approved, and the GSA is announcing such approvals at an ever-growing rate
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Application security vulnerable because of customization
Customization: The weakness of security applications or at least this is what one researcher claims; customization of off-the-shelf software, does it lead to vulnerabilities?
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L-3 acquires U.K. communication security specialist TRL Electronics
Leading U.S. defense contractor deepens its communication security offerings by acquiring a U.K. specialist in communication countermeasures protecting sensitive electronic data during transmission
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DHS distributes ICRI interoperable communication system to 43 communities
DHS is making a point of helping small and resource-poor communicates equip their emergency and first-response forces with interoperable communication gear; in the latest round, DHS has distributed interoperable equipment from Virginia-based C-AT to 43 communities
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Analysis: What the U.S. chemical industry can learn from its Israeli counterpart
One of the key issues in the debate over the impending chemical plant safety legislation is the issue of IST, or inherent safer technology: Security experts argue that the 300 or so U.S. chemical plants operating near population centers should be required to replace the most toxic and volatile chemicals they use and store with safer chemicals; the industry and its friends in Congress dismiss the call for IST conversion as being motivated by environmental concerns, not national security; what is the position of the Israeli chemical industry on the issue of IST and terrorism?
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Maryland industry-government critical infrastructure working group faces difficulties
Most of the U.S. critical infrastructure is in private hands, so it makes sense to create a structured government-industry collaborative system for dealing with emergencies related to critical infrastructure; trouble is, the kind of information industry participants should share in such an effort is not only helpful in coping with terrorist acts – it is also helpful to one’s competitors
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House panel passes chemical plant safety bill
The House panel has now joined a Senate panel in passing a draft chemical plant safety bill; both bills offer qualified federal preemption, and no IST
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Senate takes first step toward regulating chemical plant safety
The Senate takes a step – half a step, critics charge – toward a more meaningful safety scheme for chemical plants
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Federal IT spending to reach $6.3 by 2011
The need for interoperability and the threat of hacking will drive the steady growth in government IT spending
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Chemical plant security becomes a federal responsibility
Finally action is being taken; the Senate has approved legislation that would give DHS control of chemical plant security; but hopefully Secretary Chertoff’s idea of voluntary industry regulation isn’t on the table, otherwise we are back to square one
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U.S. updates national emergency broadcast system
In 1951 President Harry Truman launched a national emergency radio broadcasting system aiming to alert Americans in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack on the U.S.; that system, thankfully, was never used, but President Bush has now ordered its upgrading so it could be used to broadcast warnings about national emergencies to Americans’ PDAs, cellular phones, Web sites, e-mail boxes, TV, and radio
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Foreign companies line up to bid on Midway airport
Earlier this year the firestorm over a Dubai-based company’s plans to run operations in several U.S. ports caused many to rethink the question of foreign ownership of U.S. critical infrastructure assets; still, as the city of Chicago is getting set to lease its Midway airport, all the likely bidders are non-U.S. companies
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EAGLE contract will save DHS $40 million
The 25 EAGLE contracts DHS has awarded would help the department streamline and standardize its IT operations, but will also save it about $40 million a year it now pays other agencies for various services
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The long view
Water Wars: A Historic Agreement Between Mexico and US Is Ramping Up Border Tension
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship. Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, deliveries to which it is obligated by a 1944 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.
Trump Is Fast-Tracking New Coal Mines — Even When They Don’t Make Economic Sense
In Appalachian Tennessee, mines shut down and couldn’t pay their debts. Now a new one is opening under the guise of an “energy emergency.”
Smaller Nuclear Reactors Spark Renewed Interest in a Once-Shunned Energy Source
In the past two years, half the states have taken action to promote nuclear power, from creating nuclear task forces to integrating nuclear into long-term energy plans.
Keeping the Lights on with Nuclear Waste: Radiochemistry Transforms Nuclear Waste into Strategic Materials
How UNLV radiochemistry is pioneering the future of energy in the Southwest by salvaging strategic materials from nuclear dumps –and making it safe.
Model Predicts Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Waste on Underground Disposal Systems
The simulations matched results from an underground lab experiment in Switzerland, suggesting modeling could be used to validate the safety of nuclear disposal sites.