This Was The Week That Was

Critical infrastructure is an important issue, so DHS took a lot of heat for

delays in releasing the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP); it

was finally released 2 November, but DHS gave the public only two weeks to

download the 175-page document from its Web site… TSA collects a lot of

information about a lot of people, and this week the agency said it needed

more people to cope with the avalanche of FOIA requests from people wanting

to know what the agency has on them in its files… Several large IT companies

have joined to create the IT Sector Coordinating Council (IT-SCC), a

coordinating council to work with the industry and the federal government to

protect critical infrastructure… The European Biometrics Forum (EBF), an

advisory body to the European biometrics industry, has set up the

International Biometric Advisory Council (IBAC), an international advisory

council to offer opinions and recommendations on biometrics to the EBF…

Business leaders called on DHS to relax foreign student visa requirements,

saying the decline in the number of foreign students in the United States

hurt U.S. competitiveness…Confusing language in the RFPs for two of DHS’s

largest IT programs — EAGLE and First Source — will likely lead to more,

rather than fewer, bids, as companies will try to play it safe… The FSSCC

(Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for Critical Infrastructure

Protection and Homeland Security) has formed a Research and

Development Committee to identify areas in which research initiatives may

help meet the needs and priorities of critical infrastructure protection

within the sector… London rail authorities have launched a new sophisticated

surveillance program to increase rail security… Germany launched biometric

passports to its citizens… The U.K. has began to issue biometric passports to

members of the U.K. diplomatic corps.