• Philippine government buys hovercrafts for coastal security

    As law enforcement authorities look for versatile machines to help them deal with changing threat environment, hovercraft manufacturers may be rewarded

  • Border Patrol takes possession of Project 28

    Six months after the 13 June deadline, Boeing hands over keys to Project 28, the system of towers and surveillance cameras on the Arizona-Mexico border, to Customs and Border Patrol; border patrol agents will test the system for forty-five days

  • Growing unease with DHS Terror Watch Lists

    As DHS’s consolidated Terrorism Watch List grows — there are now about 800,000 names on it — criticism by individuals who find themselves on the list for no reason, and by privacy and advocacy groups, grow as well; DHS established Travelers Redress Inquiry Program to allow individuals to have their inclusion on the list examined, but problems persist

  • New T-ray source would improve airport security, cancer detection

    Terahertz radiation does not have sufficient energy to “ionize” an atom by knocking loose one of its electrons, which is good news, because this ionization causes the cellular damage that can lead to radiation sickness or cancer; T-ray absorption patterns could not only detect but also identify a much wider variety of hazardous or illegal substances than X-ray

  • Unmanned aircraft will challenge air traffic control

    The rapid growth in the number of UAVs flying the skies for a variety of purposes leads to serious discussion of a UAV air-traffic control system to monitor their flight and prevent accidents

  • Boeing may not be paid for SBInet until system is usable

    Legislators are upset with continuing technical difficulties afflicting Project 28 — and with what they regard as DHS’s and Boeing’s spin of these difficulties (both now describe Project 28 as mere “test bed” for border protection technologies)

  • UAVs to be used for mid-air refueling

    U.S. Air Force, Boeing conducts tests to see whether a UAV can perform mid-air refueling

  • DSC receives Home Office funding for improved explosive detector

    U.K. company has developed technology to produce from vapor single crystals of the compound semiconductor cadmium telluride, which can be used as detectors of X-rays and gamma rays

  • Continental first in nation to use paperless boarding

    Continental passengers at Houston airport can now board planes by showing their cell phones or PDAs to security checkers; checkers scan rectangular bars on the cell phones’ or PDAs’ screens, which contain passengers personal and travel information

  • Terrorists smuggle 8 Chinese missiles into Saudi Arabia

    Last week the Saudi authorities said they arrested 208 al-Qaeda-linked militants in six separate arrests in recent months; members of one of the cells were found to have Chinese missiles with them

  • Land travel phase of WHTI to begin along Canadian border 31 January 2008

    As of 31 January 2008, for all land and sea border crossings between the United States and Canada, citizens of each country will need to present a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)-compliant document

  • New X-ray technique developed

    The tomographic energy dispersive diffraction imaging (TEDDI) harnesses all the wavelengths present in an X-ray beam to create 3D pictures; could be used to detect hidden explosives, drugs, and human cancers more effectively

  • Slow start for TWIC

    More than one million workers with escorted access to 361 U.S. ports could register for the security clearance — more than four years after the program was to have started

  • Ground transportation security market may reach $500 million in 2008

    Since 9/11, the investment in bolstering the security of aviation security far exceeded the investment in improving the security of ground transportation; that imbalance is now being redressed as both government and the private sector are investing more in upgrading ground transportation security

  • Maritime Security: Better tracking of small craft needed

    The Coast Guard use the Port of Miami to test the Visualization Tools for Situational Awareness and Emergency Response program; the Viz Tools program enhanced security at the port, but those in charge say there is still a gap in port security, and to plug it there is a need to know more about about registered small craft in the Miami area; more than 170,000 of these small boats and craft are registered