• NJIT physicist: Terahertz imaging is the ultimate defense against terrorism

    THz imaging systems have an inherent advantage over millimeter wave imaging systems owing to the intrinsically improved spatial resolution that one can achieve with the shorter wavelength THz systems (typically 300 micrometer wavelength) compared to longer wavelength millimeter wave systems; instruments using terahertz imaging are widely used in laboratories and have shown some limited use in commercial applications — but a THz imaging system for security screening of people has not yet reached the market; the NJIT THz device has great promise

  • NYC takes extra measures to protect subway from terror

    The New York City’s subway system is a porous, 24-hour-a-day system with 468 stations and an average of 5 million riders a day; NYC security officials insist the city remains the nation’s No. 1 terror target, and they devote extra resources to protecting Wall Street, the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge. and other high-profile potential targets; their biggest worry — spurred by the recent bombing in Moscow and a foiled plot in New York — is the subway

  • TSA: Tablets and Netbooks need not be taken out of their cases to be screened

    TSA allows that electronic items smaller than the standard sized laptop need to be removed from a bag or a case at an airport security check-point to be scanned; TSA says this applies to the Apple iPad and netbooks, as well as the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble nook, and other e-book readers

  • How safe are U.S. subways?

    In a report last year, the GAO said: “Certain characteristics of mass transit systems, such as multiple access points and limited barriers to access, make them inherently vulnerable to terrorist attack and therefore difficult to secure; high ridership, expensive infrastructure, economic importance, and location in large metropolitan areas or tourist destinations also make them attractive targets for terrorists because of the potential for mass casualties and economic damage”

  • Senator Collins: U.S. airport full-body scanners inferior to those deployed in Amsterdam

    Maine’s junior U.S. senator says the full-body scanners DHS is deploying in the wake of the Christmas Day airline bomb threat are not the best devices available

  • U.S. institutes new, targeted security protocols for travelers to U.S.

    The United States is replacing broad screening of all in-coming travelers with a more targeted approach; the intelligence-based security system is devised to raise flags about travelers whose names do not appear on no-fly watch lists, but whose travel patterns or personal traits create suspicions

  • U.S. loosens security measures for travelers from 14 Muslim countries

    Following the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound plane, the United States imposed much stricter security measures on travelers to the United States from fourteen Muslim countries; DHS announced over the weekend that these measures will now be loosened, and that new measures, utilizing “real-time, threat-based intelligence” will be used instead

  • Half of New York City's subway cameras do not work; killer goes unidentified

    There are 4,313 subway security cameras on platforms and in the tunnels of the New York City’s subway system; trouble is, only 2,270 work; the other 2,043 cameras do not; the problem of missing video came to light after two men were stabbed to death on the subway early Sunday — and there was no camera in the station to catch an image of the killer

  • Five ways to make subway stations and cars safer

    Several new technologies and practices can make subways and mass-transit stations significantly safer; among the latest technologies: shields, vests, and blankets made from Demron, a fabric blend that blocks chemical, biological, and nuclear agents; the shields and vests would be used by first responders, while blankets would be thrown over radiation victims to keep them from irradiating others; another blanket — the Hi-Energy Nuclear Suppression Blanket — is designed to be placed over a dirty bomb about to go off; it traps chemical, biological, and nuclear agents and reduces by more than half the distance they can spread

  • FAA bolsters cybersecurity with help from IBM

    Malware introduced into the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) computer network which monitors and controls U.S. aviation can bring down a plane and cause havoc as surely as liquid explosives or underwear bombs can; the IBM is teaming up with the FAA to build a cybersecurity system which will improve defense against cyberattacks on the U.S. civilian aviation network; the flexible model used in the prototype system will be designed to look retrospectively at event occurrences and system compromises, and it will also be able to correlate historical traffic patterns with dynamic data from monitors, sensors, and other devices capturing information about network traffic and user activity in real time

  • IATA launches safety information exchange

    Four aviation organizations — the International Air Transport Association, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the Commission of the European Union — sign an agreement to create an international aviation safety data exchange; the four organizations will now start work on a way to standardize safety audit information and ensure compliance with local privacy laws and policies

  • TSA general aviation manager says new LASP due this fall

    Two years ago the TSA proposed strict security measures for general aviation’s larger planes; this Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) generated more than 9,000 negative comments and was ridiculed as being written by people with no knowledge of general and corporate aviation; TSA now says it seeks “a less adversarial relationship with the industry,” that a proposal for more limited security measures will be out in the fall for public comments

  • Children must go through full body scanners at U.K. airports

    U.K. transport minister says that to exclude children from going through full body scanners risked undermining the security measures at U.K. airports; the government’s code of practice on the scanners said airport security staff had all been vetted, including a check of criminal and security service records

  • Nigeria installs body scanners at airport

    Lagos international airport installs three full-body scanners at a cost of $300,000 each. Nigeria’s three other international airports — in the capital Abuja, the oil town of Port Harcourt, and the largest northern city, Kano — are also scheduled to be equipped with the scanners

  • Smartphones, PDAs may be used to avoid long security lines at airports

    TSA is looking at installing devices in airports that home in and detect personal electronic equipment; the goal is to track how long people are stuck in security lines; information about wait times could then be posted on Web sites and in airports across the United States; civil libertarians worry