• Turkish ship seized in Gulf of Aden

    Piracy off the Somali coast is becoming a serious problem; so far this year there have been 81 pirates attacks in the region, including 32 hijackings

  • TWIC deadline for Florida -- and the U.S. -- looms

    Florida port workers have until 13 January 2009 to pay the $132 and register for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential card; entry to all U.S. ports will require the TWIC card as of 15 April 2009

  • UAV-based anti-missile defense appears doomed

    DHS’s Project Chloe envisioned a UAV-based system to defend commercial airlines against shoulder-fired missiles; Northrop Grumman tests show the system to be more complex, and costlier, than originally anticipated

  • U.K. passports costs rise by 39 percent to pay for biometrics

    Fingerprinting and facial scanning are costly procedures, and the Home Office attempts to recoup the cost of adding biometric data onto the document

  • New UAV can fly safely close to the ground

    UAVs are useful, but they cannot fly close to the ground because they cannot avoid hazards such as buildings, trees, and power cables; Carnegie Mellon researchers develop a UAV capable of “seeing” — and avoiding — such obstacles

  • Briefly noted

    Massive overhaul of U.S. immigration services planned… USDA awards CRI $50 Million counter-terrorism and security support services contract… Unisys wins DHS contract… European intrusion detection market - what are the future trends?

  • CBP releases trade strategy document

    In fiscal year 2008, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency processed imports worth $2.2 trillion and collected $32 billion in revenue; these figures are only going to grow

  • Briefly noted

    FAA selects avionics manufacturers for nextgen technology… Who will be the next DHS secretary?… Biometrics, interoperability technology help identify criminal aliens

  • Briefly noted

    Australia opens national tsunami warning center… Document requirements announced for visitors to international peace garden… European data breach laws could land in 2011… Aberdeen: Unified threat management can shave IT costs

  • Global Entry arrives in Atlanta

    U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who pre-register for the program may use the Global Entry kiosk as an alternative to the regular passport control line

  • FAA issues final rule to increase airliner explosives survivability

    Aircraft manufacturers will have to ensure that cockpit doors can handle small arms fire or fragmentation devices, and that the flight deck and passenger compartment are protected from smoke, fumes, and noxious gases that could be released by an explosion

  • Use of cheap RFID chips make new U.S. passports vulnerable

    Americans can now apply for the U.S. Passport Card, which is also known as the Pass Card; the RFID chips are cheap Class One Generation Two models, which are vulnerable to cloning

  • Briefly noted

    U.S. plans pilot program to bar unsafe imports… Restrictions on liquids coming to an end

  • EU votes down millimeter wave scanners

    Millimeter wave scanners offer a new level of security at airport checkpoints, but they also offer anatomically correct images of people’s private parts; EU votes against using them

  • CBP adds food specialists to inspect imports

    Worries about imported food, and about animal disease and the invasion of lakes and rivers by foreign species, increase; Border Protection adds food specialists for better point-of-entry inspection