• NATS selects Era's Squid for Gatwick

    Leading provider of airport navigation and traffic management services selects a vehicle-mounted surveillance and monitoring solution for its Gatwick operations: Era’s Squid monitors ground traffic at busy airports (and Gatwick claims it is “the world’s busiest single runway airport”)

  • Wind farms "a threat to [U.K.] national security"

    The U.K. has an ambitious plan calling for producing a third of Britain’s energy needs from offshore wind farms; there is a problem, though: The Ministry of Defense says that both onshore and offshore wind turbines create gaps in radar coverage of the coast line, allowing a sneak aerial attack on the country

  • CBP hails C-TPAT 2007 achievements

    DHS’s Custom and Border Protection agency says that Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program made major contributions to U.S. security in 2007 by keeping a close eye on the supply chain bringing goods into the U.S.

  • LAX implements game theory insights for better security

    Game theory algorithm, developed by USC graduate student, improves security by putting police on unpredictable schedules and in unpredictable locations, making it more difficult for terrorists to plan an attack which would exploit observable weaknesses in security routines

  • Hamburg’s Deutsche Bahn selects Verint solution

    Verint’s networked video solution aims to enhance security across Germany’s second city’s urban railway network

  • Trial for mandatory biometrics at Heathrow Terminal 5

    BAA is testing fingerprint security system on passengers at Terminal 1; system will be implemented in Terminal 5 when it opens; T5 will have one lounge for both domestic and international passengers, and new system aims to allow security authorities to have better monitoring of passengers in the lounge

  • EDI to use Xyratex to manage Beijing Airport security

    EDI Technology, a Chinese storage integrator, will use Xyratex F5412E RAID system from Xyratex, a U.K.-based enterprise data storage subsystems and storage process technology provider, for online and archive storage of video surveillance at Beijing Capital International Airport

  • Getting one's name off no-fly watch list a major hassle

    The U.S. lists 28 organizations as terrorist organizations; their total membership is estimated to be around 180,000 (of about 120,000 are members of the recently added Iranian Revolutionary Guard); yet, the U.S. terrorism no-fly watch list now contains more than 700,000 names — and it is growing by thousands every month; if your name got on the list by mistake, it is not easy to have it removed

  • airBaltic selects cockpit security from AD Aerospace

    One key security upgrade which resulted from the 9/11 attacks has been the installation of impregnable cockpit doors; locked doors means that the pilots need other means to monitor area right outside the cockpit — and airBaltic chooses AD Aerospace’s gear for that

  • TSA launches aviation security blog

    TSA launches a blog — Evolution of Security — aimed at encouraging conversations and exchanges between the traveling public and the agency’s experts on matters pertaining to air travel security

  • DHS to spend $400 million to bolster U.S. ports security

    DHS offers 14 different grant programs to help bolster security at U.S. ports; port security grant funding has increased in 2008 budget by $76 million, now totaling almost $390 million

  • CSX to give Maryland real-time information on hazardous cargo

    Baltimore no longer uses chlorine in their water treatment facilities, yet their citizens are exposed to the toxic substance as trains carrying the hazardous material to facilities elsewhere go through the city; Maryland, rail company reach an agreement on the issue

  • Israel begins radiation detection at Haifa Port

    More ports join the U.S.-led effort to check for radiological materials; the idea is to have U.S.-bound cargo containers scanned for radiation before they arrive in U.S. ports; the latest port to be added to the list is Haifa, Israel

  • As TWIC is implemented in more ports, hurdles emerge

    Port managers worry that there are still some unresolved issues with TWIC, the port employee credentialing system; one example: Will the card typically be used as a flash pass or will the readers need to be used? If readers have to be used, just think of this: A truck has long mirrors on the outside of the cab, preventing the driver from getting close enough to a reader to submit a fingerprint; moreover, truckers often have dirty hands, which may make it difficult to read the fingerprints; there are other issues

  • New ID requirement go into effect along U.S. border

    Beginning Thursday, U.S. and Canadian citizens crossing the border between the two countries will have to show a passport, passport card, or enhanced driver’s license before allowing to cross; business leaders worry this will have a chilling effect on local economies along the border