• Risk-based passenger screening may well make air travel safer

    In a new study, researchers demonstrate that intensive screening of all passengers actually makes the system less secure by overtaxing security resources; the reason: when overestimating the population risk, a larger proportion of high-risk passengers are designated for too little screening while a larger proportion of low-risk passengers are subjected to too much screening

  • Two U.K. citizens detained by DHS over Twitter jokes

    In an egregious error, Homeland Security agents apprehended two young British travelers bound for Los Angeles over misunderstood tweets

  • Hackers attack U.S. railways

    Last month hackers took control of passenger rail lines in the Northwest, disrupting signals twice and creating delays

  • New scanner allows passengers to take liquids on board

    A new bottle scanner enables aircraft passengers to carry liquid items larger than 100 ml once more; airports could now allow passengers to take items such as water, cosmetics, perfumes, and duty free through airport security channels from as early as 2013

  • Buffalo airport perimeter security found 100 percent accurate

    A recent Transportation Security Administration (TSA) report found that the new perimeter security system at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York was 100 percent accurate in tracking and detecting intrusions

  • Canada tests explosive detecting ticket readers

    In a pilot program, Canadian light rail passengers in Edmonton will be scanned for explosives as they pass through ticket turnstiles in a seamless system that avoids recreating the long lines of airport security checkpoints

  • TSA screens employees for radiation from body scanners

    In response to fierce criticism that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was needlessly exposing millions of airport passengers to potentially harmful amounts of radiation, the agency has agreed to measure radiation exposure levels from full-body scanners at 100 airports across the country

  • Accenture to bolster capabilities of US-VISIT

    DHS has awarded Accenture Federal Services a 13-month, $71 million contract further to enhance the capabilities of US-VISIT

  • More travelers worry about health effects of airport scanning

    More than 1 in 5 passengers in a recent survey (23 percent) said they would refuse to be examined in one of the whole-body scanners now in many airports; a third of people under 35 said they would decline the scans; the debate among health and radiation experts continue, with no consensus yet about the health effects of airport screening

  • Coast Guards blocks Hawaii bay to protect president

    The Coast Guard has established a security zone in the waters of Kailua Bay to protect the president on his family during their holiday vacation; unauthorized people entering the zones are subject to penalty of $40,000 for each violation or a criminal penalty resulting in imprisonment of twenty-five years; the exclusion zone will be in effect until 7 January

  • TSA union blasts DHS over labor dispute

    Union representatives of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees sharply criticized the agency’s leaders over its approach to labor negotiations

  • Accenture wins $71 million contract for US VISIT

    On Wednesday Accenture Federal Services announced that it had won a thirteen month, $71 million contract with DHS to bolster its immigration and border management systems

  • Underwater drones help NYPD secure harbor

    The New York Police Department (NYPD) has a new high-tech ally in its fight to keep the city safe from terrorists; to help sweep the city’s waterways and bridges of dangerous bombs, the NYPD’s Harbor Unit recently acquired six unmanned underwater drones that help sniff out explosives

  • New GOP bill targets TSA screeners

    A new bill introduced by House Republicans would prohibit Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees from wearing badges and uniforms that resemble a police outfit

  • Model airplane hits federal building

    Last week a three-foot model airplane crashed into a federal building in Waltham, Massachusetts; federal investigators from DHS and the FBI promptly began investigating the incident, but so far no evidence exists to suggest any foul play; earlier this year a 26-year old man from Massachusetts was arrested for plotting to attack the Pentagon with a remote-controlled plane packed with explosives