• American Technology Corp.: LRAD worked as intended in February incident

    San Diego-based American Technology Corporation says its product — long-range acoustic device (LRAD) — was never deployed during the February 2009 MV Biscaglia pirate incident; LRAD is a critical part of a layered defense strategy; it is effective in giving crew members time to determine the intent of unidentified vessels that do not respond to radio calls, and let the pirates know that they lost the element of surprise

  • U.K. border agency notes first failure since becoming independent

    The U.K. Border Agency became an independent government agency on 1 April; the next day, the system it uses to collect fingerprints from foreign visitors and compare them to a large biometric data base, malfunctioned

  • Mexico police seize anti-aircraft weapon near U.S. border

    A day before President Barack Obama is to visit Mexico, the Mexican police finds a truck-mounted anti-aircraft weapon on the U.S.-Maxico border

  • Piracy boosts maritime security business

    In London, the business capital of the world’s maritime industry, firms shape decisions on arming ships and negotiating with pirates

  • Pilot association says new Israeli air security system flawed

    Israel is trying a new air security system built for it by Elbit; on Saturday, a Delta Airlines plane approaching Israel’s air space failed to adhere to the security system requirements, and was intercepted by Israel Air Force’s planes; pilot association questions the safety of the system

  • Lieberman wants U.S.-Mexico border security funding in supplemental

    President Obama has submitted a $83.4 billion supplemental request to Congress which contains $66 million in additional aid to Mexico’s anti-drug efforts (Congress has already allocated about $700 million to Mexico — including $300 million in the recently enacted fiscal 2009 omnibus spending bill); leading senators say more should be done to shore-up border protection, and they propose an amendment to the supplemental which would add $550 million in border security funding

  • What to do about high-seas piracy?

    The debate intensifies over what to do about the growing problem of piracy on the high seas; here is a sample of the points being discussed

  • IAF's fighter jets intercept Delta Airlines plane for lack of communication

    A state of emergency declared at Ben-Gurion Airport after Delta Airlines airplane headed to Israel failed to contact control tower due to technical problem

  • U.S. saw record number of visitors in 2008

    Dire predictions about how enhanced security at U.S. port of entry notwithstanding, 2008 saw a record 50.5 million foreign visitors come to the United States

  • High-seas piracy triggers higher insurance rates for shippers

    Here is a problem ideally suited for contemporary courses at business schools: Shippers face a a choice: if they send their ships to sail through the piracy-infested Gulf of Aden, they now have to pay much higher insurance; they can instead choose to take long trips around the Africa’s southern tip; both choices add millions to the cost of each journey; which one is preferable?

  • CBP unveils plan to modernize U.S. land ports of entry

    Funds from the stimulus package — $720 million to be exact — will be directed toward address infrastructure needs at ports of entry

  • U.K. border security agency to exchange fingerprints with U.S. and others

    U.K. Border Agency (UKBA) said that by December 2008 it had enrolled more than 3.6 million sets of fingerprints from visa applicants, finding more than 5,200 cases of identity swaps; the agency now wants to exchange fingerprint information with the United States, Canada, and Australia

  • Texas university offers maritime degree

    The growing security mandates imposed on U.S. sea ports, and need to manage these mandates with but minimal disruption of the flow of commerce, have led Texas Southern University to begin to offer a new degree program in maritime transportation; the bachelor’s and master’s degrees will prepare students in three areas: maritime logistics, security, and environmental compliance

  • Manchester airport recalibrate facial recognition machines to shorten lines

    Five facial recognition machines at Manchester airport produced many false negatives, causing long lines of irate passengers; to shorten lines, the machines’ sensitivity was recalibrated from 80 percent to 30 percent; experts say the machines are now useless: tests show that at 30 percent, the machines cannot distinguish between Gordon Brown and Mel Gibson — or between Osama bin Laden and actress Winona Ryder

  • Rapiscan wins U.K. contract for its mobile cargo scanner

    The company says the Eagle Mobile 4500 can scan shipping containers and trucks in less than twenty minutes while also being capable of penetrating dense cargo at increased inspection rates without impeding the flow of commerce; Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs wants several of these scanners deployed at U.K. ports of entry