• GAO: Uneven progress on Container Security Initiative, but

    GAO says that Customs and Border Protection made important steps forward toward the effective implementation and operation of CSI, DHS’s major container security initiatives — for example, CSI is now operating in 58 foreign seaports, thus having 86 percent of all U.S.-bound cargo containers pass through CSI seaports – but much remains to be done

  • U.S. school bus system vulnerable to attack

    Billions of dollars have been invested in shoring up security for ports, railways, motor coaches, and air travel — but practically nothing has been done to improve security of buses carrying millions of children every day to and from school; President Bush gave TSA a year to develop a national assessment of school bus security, but TSA has yet to develop such a plan

  • Aviation still a major target for terrorists

    DHS secretary Michael Chertoff says that commercial aviation is still a major target of terrorists; U.S. and European counterterrorism experts agree that U.S. faces a major threat from European-born terrorists

  • Magnetic fingerprinting to contribute to air traffic safety

    European researchers develop an innovative system which monitors tiny fluctuations in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by a passing plane; system increases airport safety even in the worst weather conditions

  • Manchester airport installs first-in-U.K. iris scan access control

    The majority of airports around the world use access control cards to regulate the movement of people, but these typically require human presence at each entry point; the 25,000 staff at Manchester airport will now be using iris scans to enter restricted areas; double-door access system governed by iris recognition cameras

  • BAE in contract to defend Ospreys from ground fire

    After many years of development, and bitter debates over the craft’s safety record, the Marine Corps is ordering the tiltrotor VSTOL Osprey by the dozen; now there is a need to defend them from hostile ground fire, and BAE receives a contract to do so

  • Airport screeners use black lights to inspect ID cards

    TSA screeners at about 400 U.S. airports have began checking IDs with hand-held black lights; black lights help screeners inspect ID cards by illuminating holograms, typically of government seals, which are found in licenses and passports

  • Unisys awarded CBP $62 million RFID reader contract

    This year, various forms of U.S. IDs will be equipped with vicinity RFID technology; DHS selects Unisys to install RFID readers at the 39 busiest U.S. land border ports of entry

  • Panel says aviation security in Israel in "catastrophic state"

    The proficiency and competence of the vaunted Israel Air Force — most recently, and mysteriously, demonstrated over the skies of Syria on 6 September — apparently does not translate into the Israeli civilian aviation system

  • GAO: More federal efforts needed to thwart threats to oil tankers

    GAO publishes a detailed report on terrorist threats to tankers carrying crude oil, liquefied gases, and refined products to the U.S.; these threats pose a major challenge, since the U.S. imports 55 percent of the nation’s crude oil supply

  • Atlanta's Hartsfield second in U.S. to collect ten fingerprints

    DHS begins collecting ten fingerprints from international visitors at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; Washington Dulles airport began doing so in late November; eight additional U.S. airports to implement ten-fingerprint requirement in 2008

  • General Dynamics wins $100 million passport card contract

    The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will allow U.S. residents to travel by land and sea to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda using a passport card rather than a traditional passport (travel by air, and travel to other countries, would still require a passport); General Dynamics wins contract to produce the cards

  • Thales to develop autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)

    Thales, in collaboration with seven partners, will develop a fully autonomous underwater vehicle dedicated to maritime surveillance and security; specifications call for high levels of energy and decision-making autonomy

  • Wireless sensors to monitor bridges' health

    There are about 597,000 bridges exceeding 20 feet in length on public roads in the United States; more than 50,000 of them were found to be deficient in load-bearing ratings; wireless sensors embedded in the bridge’s concrete will monitor structure’s health

  • TSA orders Qinetiq security system

    The U.S. Transportation Security Administration orders a dozen of SPO units from Hampshire-based Qinetiq as part of a campaign to bolster airport security; SPO units are cameras which use millimeter wave technology combined with software algorithms to screen people one at a time — and do so from a distance of a few meters