Transportation

Investigators expose Miami airport buddy punching system
Employees took time off and had others check them in and out of work; scheme shows weakness of single-factor authentication systems
- Read more
ACE electronic manifest program exanded to Arizona, Washington, and North Dakota
Trucking companies will have to comply starting in 2007, but meanwhile CBP is opening up more ports of entry to the program; shippers provide advance manifests for CBP review; expedited inspection is the main benefit
- Read more

State Department issues RFI for WHTI PASS card system
Agency provides detail on benefits of RFID cards; 17 November meeting with industry to be followed by request for proposals; fixed price contract desired
- Read more
The Netherlands selects ePassport authentication system from 3M
The use of biometrics for identifying people is gaining ground by the day; the Netherlands has just selected ePassport readers from 3M to verify the identity of the more than 40 million travelers who pass through Amsterdam Schiphol Airport each year; the government will place the readers at other border crossings as well
- Read more

GD to implement Safefreight's hazardous tracking solution
There are more than 800,000 hazardous materials and dangerous waste shipments in the United States per day; if even one of these shipments were to be seized by terrorists and used as a weapon, results could be catastrophic; GD selects a fleet-tracking solution from a Canadian company for implementation and demonstration as part of a TSA project to improve the safety of hauling dangerous materials
- Read more
TSA again delays deadline for passenger-airplane cargo security measures
About 7,500 tons of cargo is transported each day in the U.S. on passenger planes;about 50,000 employees, agents, and shippers have unescorted access to that cargo; TSA wants these employees to undergo rigorous background and criminal checks, but the airline industry keeps failing to meet the agency’s deadlines
- Read more

The U.S. and Israel will deepen cooperation on civilian aircraft protection
Israel was the first victim of a systematic terror campaign against its aviation (by the PLO in the late 1960s), so it has learned a thing or two about protecting passenger aircraft; the U.S. and Israel will now collaborate more closely in such protective efforts
- Read more
RAND puts ferries at the top of the list of emerging terrorist threats
With their wide decks, slow-moving ferries are extremely vulnerable to even the slightest explosions; suicide bombers, mines, and boat-borne IEDs among likely methods of attack; screening ferry crews and increased wharf surveillance are best responses
- Read more

DHS finds major staffing problems at TSA
Report notes inconsistent screener/administrator ratios; staffing decisions are being made without regard to the size of the airport; inspector general recommends adjustments and singles out Hawaii for special notice
- Read more
CBS exposes cargo security weakness with a dummy bomb
Known Shipper program failed to prevent an unknown television producer from transporting a lead-line case in the hold of an American airlines flight; CBS was even able to dictate which flight would carry the cargo; although the box was invulnerable to canine or mechanical inspection, nobody tried to open it
- Read more

NJ Transit tests DriveCam bus surveillance system
Windshield-mounted cameras record data inside and outside the vehicle; at a cost of $25,000 per unit, the cost is steep, but agency hopes to make up the difference by reducing driver error and lowering liability exposure
- Read more
U.S. Navy, DHS seek proposal for laser weapons
U.S. defense and homeland security agencies want information on building a laser weapon capable of thwarting a demanding range of threats, among them ” Jet Skis, small-boat swarm attacks, rockets, mortars, artillery rounds, shoulder-fired missiles, electro-optic sensors, and soft, unmanned aerial vehicles,” and more
- Read more

Coast Guard looks at threats from non-conatinerized cargo
Break bulk and roll on/roll off cargo present a unique challenge awaiting a solution; cars, cotton bales, and turbine equipment cannot be easily moved through a portal radiation screener; a dirty bomb in a car trunk is just one of the horrifying scenerios
- Read more
EDO to develop very-shallow-water mine-neutralizer system
Defending shallow coastal waters against terrorists who would lay mines in order to disrupt commerce and inflict damage is becoming a big issue for the world navies; the U.S. Navy has its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, and a New York company now wins a contract to develop mine sweeping operations in support of the LCS project
- Read more
Airline industry objects to new passenger flight data proposals
DHS may ask airlines to provide flight manifests an hour before departure; industry says change from 15 minutes will result in economic hardship and offers a 30 minute compromise; controversy is also building over revised definition of “departure”
- Read more

More headlines