• Domestic terrorism by members of extremist groups a serious threat: FBI

    The FBI and other government law-enforcement agencies have been convinced for a while that terrorism from extremist domestic organizations is just as dangerous as terrorism from foreign organizations, but efforts by authorities to detect and pre-empt violent extremists have faced serious legal and political hurdles, including free speech guarantees and pushback from political lobbies suspicious of the government’s motives

  • ONR sensor and software suite tracks, hunts down more than 600 suspect boats

    A new sensor and software suite sponsored by the Office of Naval Research recently returned from West Africa after helping partner nations track and identify target vessels of interest as part of an international maritime security operation

  • A third Bell 412 helicopter delivered to NYPD for counterterrorism missions

    The NYPD dedicated many hours to designing the specifications of the department’s third Bell 412 to meet the diverse needs of the police department; one of the counterterrorism additions to the Bell 412 is a radiation detection system that can identify radiation signatures from an altitude of 200 feet in an effort to protect the city from nuclear bomb threats

  • Computer-based methodology for cultural intelligence and security

    Cultural differences are a major challenge facing intelligence agencies, researchers from Israel and the United States have developed computer-based methodology to improve knowledge, apply data, and better decipher these nuances and biases

  • DHS forced to release list terms it monitors on social media

    Following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Electronic Privacy Information center (EPIC), DHS was forced to release its 2011 Analyst’s Desktop Binder; the binder, among other things, contains a list of words DHS uses as triggers of suspicious communication when the department’s analysts monitor social media

  • Reason-based behavioral recognition system wins award

    A reason-based behavioral recognition system for video surveillance developed by Houston, Texas-based BRS Labs wins an award at London’s Counter Terror Expo

  • Security industry helps develop DOJ/DHS Suspicious Activity training video

    The National Association of Security Companies says it endorses the DOJ/DHS Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) training video for private sector security personnel

  • DHS resisted calls for intelligence on Occupy movement

    Internal documents released by DHS demonstrate the efforts made by the department to avoid gathering intelligence on last year’s Occupy movement

  • Bolstering police anti-child porn technology

    Microsoft Corp. and NetClean the other day announced a joint effort to combat the sexual exploitation of children by making Microsoft PhotoDNA technology available and accessible to law enforcement agencies worldwide to help enhance child sex abuse investigations

  • Using people with cell phones as surveillance nodes

    Eighty-eight percent of Americans now own a cell phone, forming a massive network that offers scientists a wealth of information and an infinite number of new applications; with the help of these phone users — and their devices’ cameras, audio recorders, and other features — researchers envision endless possibilities for gathering huge amounts of data

  • DHS seeks camera that sees hundreds of kilometers at once

    DHS is interested in adding powerful military technology to its growing arsenal of surveillance equipment; the agency is considering new cameras that will be able to track and monitor several moving objects simultaneously over as much as four square miles

  • House grills DHS for monitoring Twitter, Facebook

    Earlier this year reports surfaced that DHS had awarded General Dynamic an $11 million contract to engage in monitoring of social networks; members of both parties including blasted DHS officials for potentially violating the First Amendment and collecting information on citizens engaged in protected political speech

  • FBI seeks system to monitor social networking sites

    The FBI, seeking to monitor conversations on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, recently placed a request for information from technology companies to develop a system capable of automatically sifting through the torrents of “publicly available” data for keywords relating to terrorism, crime, and other matters of national security

  • GPS shoe helps track seniors with Alzheimer’s

    For $300 consumers in the United States can now purchase a pair of GPS-enabled shoes to keep track of dementia-suffering senior citizens; after purchasing the shoes, buyers will have the ability to set up a monitoring service to locate lost family members who have Alzheimer’s disease

  • FBI limits GPS tracking following Supreme Court case

    Following the recent Supreme Court ruling that required law enforcement agencies to have a warrant before they could use GPS tracking devices on a suspect, the FBI has begun scaling back on its use of electronic surveillance