Transportation

DHS launches information-sharing program with states
More information should lead to more effective law enforcement, and DHS next month will begin to share some of the information in its files with the states; first will be the personal and biometric information collected from travelers in the US-VISIT program; DHS also said that the number of illegal aliens in the U.S. reached 11 million
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Boeing hopes to land SBInet contract
Boeing assembles impressive team to put itself in strong position to win the $2 billion SBInet contract, to be awarded in September; and a good thing, too, as company prepares to shut down C-17 production line; hard to believe, but the C-17 factory is the last major airplane factory left in Southern California
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The consequences of one nuclear bomb smuggled into a port in a container
A RAND study says that a 10-kiloton nuclear explosion at the Port of Long Beach could kill 60,000 people instantly, expose 150,000 more to hazardous radiation, and cause ten times more economic loss than the 9/11 terrorist attacks
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London arrests should prompt interest in fluoroscopic detection system
In tests conducted in spring 2004, TSA found that, compared with X-ray machine systems, screeners using the fluoroscopic system from Golan Group were more likely to detect IEDs — especially those “artfully concealed”; it is time to consider to act on the study’s conclusions
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mPhase Technologies board of directors approves spinout of magnetometer business
New company will take advantage of strong prototype test results, ongoing relationship with Lucent Technology Bell Labs
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TSA fights back against charge that X-rays can not stop shoe-bombers
At a press conference yesterday, officials defended themselves with X-ray images of shoes with and without bombs; the difference was easy to see, they said
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Concerns mount about American visa waiver program, European privacy laws
Britain is one of twenty-seven countries whose citizens do not need a visa to visit the United States, a sobering thought considering that most of those arrested in last week’s liquid bomb plot were British citizens.
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Passenger cargo remains a glaring security problem
Experts say that resistence from airlines is to blame; a pilot program in San Francisco provides a model for others
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Liquid explosives a known problem for Chinese authorities
In two incidents, passengers doused airline cabins with gasoline; one died after the plane went up in flames, the other was subdued after demanding transit to Taiwan
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University researchers promote biometric screening, emphasize speed
Researchers at the University of Buffalo are working on (and desire further funding for) a chemical detection system that scans passengers’ hands for minute traces of explosives
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BAE Systems' commercial aircraft missile defense system enters Phase III at DHS
The JETEYE system, adapted from the US Army’s infrared countermeasures system, has entered Phase III of testing. The 18 month program will help the company refine the technology and meet the DHS mean time failure rate.
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Leaked DHS report says X-rays are ineffective at detecting explosives
According to a 2005 DHS study, images on X-ray machines do not provide enough information to allow the detection of explosives. Still, transportation officials press forward and insist on shoe removal, saying it allows screeners to see if footwear has been tampered with a la Richard Reid.
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QRSciences promotes MRI-like radio waves as answer to chemical detection problem
Sitting pretty after recent reports that X-rays are ineffective explosive detectors, the Australian company pushes forward with its patented Quadropole Resonance technology.
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New security measures to have chilling effect on international trade
Post-London plot air cargo security measures — among them BA’s decision not to allow cargo to be carried on passenger planes — are already disrupting international trade; for example, only 2 percent of the volume of Britain’s trade is carried by air, but this small fraction translates to an impressive 25 percent of the value of all goods imported into and exported out of the U.K.
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EST says it has ability to detect TATP components
As worry about liquid bombs grows following the arrest last week of 21 suspected British terrorists, a company claims to have a long-proven record of detecting tri-cycloacetone peroxide and its component chemicals.
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