• New report analyzes the airport security equipment sector

    A new report offers a detailed business analysis of the leading 125 companies in the airport security equipment sector

  • NY-NJ Port Authority centralizes security operations

    The Port of Authority of New York and new Jersey has created a stand-alone Security Department and is now searching for a Chief Security Officer to oversee all security and safety functions, resources, and personnel

  • Lego pirate proves, survives, super rogue wave

    Scientists have used a Lego pirate floating in a fish tank to demonstrate for the first time that so-called “super rogue waves” can come from nowhere in apparently calm seas and engulf ships

  • Bi-plane to revive supersonic travel

    Researchers say that the best way to revive supersonic air travel – which came to an end with the retirement of the Concorde in 2003 – would be by building a plane with two wings to a side; computer models show that a bi-plan produces significantly less drag than a conventional single-wing aircraft at supersonic cruise speeds

  • Reducing fatalities in traffic’s “twilight zone”

    There are more than 30,000 traffic fatalities each year in the United States, and about 2,000 of them occur in stoplight intersections; engineers call them “dilemma zone” — that area before a stoplight intersection where the traffic light turns yellow and the driver is not sure whether to stop or go ahead

  • House considers bill to send lost airport money to USO

    Lawmakers are considering a bill that would send unclaimed money left at airport security checkpoints to the USO, a major armed forces support group

  • Global Entry program expands to four additional airports

    CBP announced the expansion of the Global Entry program to four additional airports; the expansion will make the program available at airports serving 97 percent of international travelers arriving in the United States

  • New cargo screening unveiled

    Smiths Detection’s new HCVMe uses the power of a 4MeV X-ray accelerator and can scan loaded cargo containers with a steel penetration of 200 mm

  • Armed pilot program budget to be slashed in half

    The Obama administration’s budget proposes cutting more than half the funding for a program that trains airline pilots to wield guns in the event of a terrorist takeover; the program is voluntary and consists of an intensive eight-day training course and a recurring training every six months; thousands of U.S. airline pilots have been trained to carry weapons as a final line of defense against terrorism

  • Making bus transportation more secure: Learning from Israel’s experience

    A new report on ground transportation security draws on the experience of Israel with Palestinian terrorists’ attacks on buses; the report helps increase understanding of what can happen and of what can deter, prevent, and mitigate terrorist attacks against bus transit

  • DHS report concludes airport scanners are safe

    A new report by the DHS Inspector General concludes that the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) full body scanners are safe; the IG reviewed five independent studies and concluded that an airline passenger would have to be subjected to 17,000 screenings a year, or forty-seven a day, to reach the limit of acceptable radiation dosing

  • Air Marshals complain of rampant workplace discrimination

    A recently released DHS Inspector General report found that feelings of discrimination against homosexuals, minorities, and veterans were rampant among the Federal Air Marshal service

  • Court: Malaysian woman can sue DHS over No-Fly List

    A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a Malaysian woman to file a lawsuit against DHS and the FBI for mistakenly placing her on the No-Fly List and arresting her at San Francisco International Airport in 2005; Rahinah Ibrahim, who has never been accused of any crimes, was arrested and placed in a holding cell for two hours

  • Growing ubiquity of X-ray scanners could pose public health risk

    Body scanners are now routinely deployed in airports, border check points, and even the streets of some American cities; with the use of X-ray scanners by law enforcement agencies becoming increasingly commonplace, health advocates worry that the additional radiation exposure could pose a health risk; repeated exposures to low-doses of radiation can lead to cancer; currently federal health standards are primarily limited to medical X-rays and since the body scanners do not fall under this category, the decision on where and how to use the devices is entirely up to security officials

  • New bill to allow more private screeners at airports

    Private security companies could soon be taking over passenger screening at U.S. airports thanks to recently passed legislation that has cleared both the Senate and the House; the proposed law would require that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) allow airports to switch to private contractors unless it can demonstrate that the move is not cost-effective and hinders security