• Qinetiq to lead effort to reduce friendly fire accidents

    Qinetiq, General Dynamics United Kingdom, and Rockwell Collins have been awarded £3 million by the U.K. Ministry of Defense to develop the Joint Data Network Combat Identification Server Technical Demonstrator

  • Random checks as effective as terrorist profiling

    Profiling is a waste of time and resources in security screening; the problem is that too much time is spent repeatedly screening members of the profiled group who are not actually terrorists,

  • Square root bias and airport security screening

    Say someone from profiled Group P is 16 times more likely to be a terrorist than someone from the average Group A; using the square root bias, people from Group P should be screened only four times more often then people in Group A (4 is the square root of 16); this reduces the number of people from Group P who are subjected to repeated screenings from 16 to 4 — but it still screens people from Group P more than the average person

  • BriefCam launches CCTV video synopsis technology

    Video synopsis technology allows one day of surveillance camera footage to be condensed into a few minutes, thus allowing security personnel to focus on evens that require attention while reducing costs

  • New technology would limit invasion of privacy posed by CCTVs

    CCTVs proliferate to every corner, and worries grow about eroding privacy; a scientist offers a solution: face-blurring technology which would prevent the distribution on one’s image captured on CCTV without the authorization of those who sign up for the service

  • Reducing casualties from friendly fire

    With all the advances in information gathering and precision, instances of death and injury from friendly fire still occur; U.S. Army awards BAE Systems and Thales a contract to develop a millimeter wave-based identification system

  • Tampa authorities use a new Super Bowl security system

    The system uses a software program called E-SPONDER, which is built into Microsoft Surface, a tabletop, touch-screen display

  • Their brothers' keepers: Spy satellites spy on each other

    If you thought spy satellites in the sky only look down at what is going on on Earth, think again; the United States admits two covert inspection satellites got real close to a failed geostationary satellite to see what was wrong with it; experts worry this is the beginning of anti-satellite arms race

  • India to see a large, broad growth in expenditures on domestic security

    A series of terrorist attacks, culminating in the coordinated attack in Mumbai last month, convinced both government and industry in India that more security — much more security — is required to cope with mounting threats to domestic peace; business opportunities abound for companies in IT security, biometric, surveillance, detection, situational awareness, and more

  • Researchers develop silent UAVs

    UAVs are used more and more in surveillance and operational roles on the battlefield — and by the police; the larger UAVs are very noisy, announcing their presence and allowing the adversary to hide or escape; Georgia Institute of Technology researchers work on equipping UAVs with a “whisper” mode

  • ScanEagle offers and example of dual-use technology

    Initially developed to track dolphins and tuna from fishing boats in order to ensure “dolphin-safe” tuna in supermarkets, the ScanEagle UAV system has evolved into a mainstay with the U.S. Navy — and others as well

  • Obama administration to support telco immunity over domestic spying

    Eric Holder, nominee for attorney general, says the incoming Obama administration will support congressional legislation immunizing U.S. telecommunication companies from lawsuits about their participation in the Bush administration’s domestic spy program

  • U.K. military employs hovering droids in Afghanistan

    Hovering petrol-powered prowler patrols to check Afghan ambush alleys so soldiers do not have to; device may be used by law enforcement in urban areas — and future systems may carry weapons

  • U.K. Home Office denies remote snooping plan

    There have been discussions among EU ministers about giving police more authority to snoop on crime and terror suspects remotely, but the legal framework to do so is yet be created; what is more, techies says it cannot be done

  • Not yet ready for prime time: RFID technology

    RFID technology is incorporated into more and more documents (e-passports, enhanced driver’s licenses); trouble is, the technology still suffers from privacy and security vulnerabilities