Dual-Benefit Solutions

Fabric Kills Avian Flu Virus (Tokyo Asahi Shimbun) “A newly developed fabric destroys the avian flu virus and could prove an effective means to block the spread of new strains of influenza,” reports the Asahi Shimbun. A “team of researchers at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine and Nisshinbo Industries Inc. said the virus-busting fabric can be used in masks and work clothes.… After the cloth was in contact with avian flu virus for 10 minutes, 99 percent of the virus was destroyed, according to the researchers.… The research team said the fabric’s virus-destroying effect lasts even after it is washed in an ordinary washing machine around 100 times.” [View article]

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Federal News

DHS Begins Biometric Passport Test (Washington Technology) “Live testing of passports containing Radio Frequency Identification contactless chips began this week at San Francisco International Airport for selected incoming visitors from Australia, New Zealand and Singapore,” reports Washington Technology. “The three-month collaborative pilot project sponsored by the Homeland Security Department and the three countries is intended to gauge the effectiveness of the RFID e-passports, which contain biometric information, along with RFID readers and software.” [View article]

U.S. Foreign Aid to Be Restructured “We must now use our foreign assistance to help prevent future Afghanistans--and to make America and the world safer,” said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday as she “announced a major change in the way the US government directs foreign assistance.” In a new position, a Director of Foreign Assistance will serve concurrently as administrator of the Agency for International Development. Rice expects the reorganization to ensure that foreign assistance is used as effectively as possible to meet broad U.S. foreign policy objectives, more fully align the foreign assistance activities carried out by the Department of State and the Agency for International Development, and demonstrate responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. [View press release]

Defense Dept. Exercise Will Test Smart ID Cards (Federal Computer Week) A Defense Department “exercise to uncover operational problems in issuing and using uniform federal identity cards will begin in April,” reports Federal Computer Week. The exercise, which will involve 10 Defense Department “sites and each military service, will test ‘the whole enchilada’ of requirements for Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, said Bob Gilson, a management and program analyst at DOD’s Common Access Card office.” [View article]

NRC Seeks Comments on Securing Radiation Sources The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is requesting public comment on the protection and security of radiation sources. The Radiation Source Protection and Security Task Force is mandated to evaluate and provide recommendations relating to the security of radiation sources in the United States from potential criminal or terrorist threats, including acts of sabotage, theft or use of a radiation source in a radiological dispersal device (“dirty bomb”). Comments may be submitted through 10 February to the Chief of the Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mail Stop T6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001; by email to NRCREP@nrc.gov; or by fax to (301) 415-5144. Mark all comments “RSPS-TF” in the subject line. [View press release] [View Federal Register notice]

GAO Examines Risk Management for Critical Infrastructure A Government Accountability Office report released this week examines how three Department of Homeland Security components--the Coast Guard, the Office for Domestic Preparedness, and the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate--base their efforts on risk management. The Coast Guard is the furthest along, says the GAO, while the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate “has made the least progress.” And “progress will depend increasingly on how well risk management is coordinated across agencies, because current approaches in many ways are neither consistent nor comparable. Also, weaving risk-based data into the annual budget cycle of program review will be important.” [View abstract] [View full report]

DHS Works to Increase Security of Open-Source Software (NewsFactor Magazine) “The $1.24 million Vulnerability Discovery and Remediation Open Source Hardening Project” is “an effort to develop automated auditing capabilities for open-source software,” reports the NewsFactor Network. “… Stanford University, Coverity, and Symantec will create a system that analyzes open-source software products such as Linux, Apache, MySQL, Mozilla, Sendmail, and more than 40 other open-source products per day. The three-year project, funded by the DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate, will be managed by software engineers at Stanford, including code analysis and maintaining the database of bugs and vulnerabilities.” [View article]

Michigan DoT photo

DHS Promises Cheap IDs for Crossing Borders (New York Times) “Inexpensive identity documents” will “be developed for Americans whose routine takes them regularly across the Mexican or Canadian borders,” reports the New York Times. Last spring, the Department of Homeland Security “said that all Americans would need passports to enter the United States from either country beginning in 2008. That proposal had met sharp criticism.” [View article]

DHS Seeks Dispatch System for Security Guards (Washington Technology) “The Homeland Security Department unit that supervises 12,000 security guards at federal buildings is looking to create a comprehensive electronic dispatch system for the first time,” reports Washington Technology. “The Federal Protective Service, part of DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, has published a request for information seeking off-the-shelf IT systems that would dispatch its officers and maintain electronic records of their activities.… The new automated system must be ‘comprehensive, convenient, secure and easily accessible’ and will be used to dispatch personnel; manage, track and prioritize patrol activity for 12,000 officers in multiple time zones; provide real-time incident reporting; maintain case records; and interface with state and local government systems … The solution must have geographic information systems software and include a comprehensive application customization, implementation, training, maintenance and support.” [View article] [View request for information]

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National News

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Bin Laden Warns of Attacks, Offers Truce (Chicago Tribune) “Al-Jazeera aired an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden on Thursday, saying al-Qaida is making preparations for attacks in the United States but offering a truce to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan,” reports the Associated Press. “The voice on the tape said heightened security measures in the United States are not the reason there have been no attacks there since the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackings. Instead, the reason is ‘because there are operations that need preparations, and you will see them,’ he said.” [View article]

Spy Agency Data After Sept. 11 Led FBI to Dead Ends (New York Times) “In the anxious months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the National Security Agency began sending a steady stream of telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and names to the F.B.I. in search of terrorists,” reports the New York Times. “The stream soon became a flood, requiring hundreds of agents to check out thousands of tips a month. But virtually all of them, current and former officials say, led to dead ends or innocent Americans.” [View article]

State Dept. Expert Cites High Chance of WMD Terrorism (CNN) “There is a ‘very high’ probability that a terrorist group will strike using nuclear, chemical or biological weapons,” says “State Department counterterrorism coordinator Henry Crumpton,” quoted by the London Daily Telegraph, according to the Associated Press. “‘It is simply a question of time.’ Crumpton said a biological attack was potentially the most troubling scenario.” [View article]

Suits Filed to Stop Spying (Detroit Free Press) “Lawyers, scholars, journalists and civil liberties groups … went to court Tuesday to force President George W. Bush and the National Security Agency to abolish the secret eavesdropping program begun in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” reports the Detroit Free Press. “The lawsuits, the first to challenge the controversial program, were filed in federal courts in Detroit and New York City by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, respectively.” [View article]

Man Sentenced to 160 Years for Bomb Plot (Miami Herald) “A counterfeiter who hated the federal government so much he dreamed of causing more destruction than Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to a maximum 160 years in prison for plotting to blow up Chicago’s federal courthouse,” reports the Associated Press. “Gale Nettles, 66, was sentenced to eight consecutive 20-year terms” on 12 January for the plot and for counterfeiting. [View article]

Al-Qaeda Application Said to Be Padilla’s (Miami Herald) “After the U.S. military invaded Afghanistan to oust its Taliban rulers, authorities found a locker full of applications to join al Qaeda’s holy war overseas,” reports the Miami Herald. “Among the alleged applicants: Jose Padilla, the former ‘enemy combatant’ who once lived in Broward County” (Florida). Stephanie Pell, a prosecutor for the Justice Department, “said [that] Padilla’s date of birth, Oct. 18, 1970, was on his application along with his adopted Muslim name, Abu Abdullah Al Mujahir,” and that “his co-conspirators and others called him ‘The Puerto Rican,’ a reference to the American-born Padilla’s Hispanic heritage. Padilla’s attorney, Michael Caruso, questioned the authenticity of Padilla’s alleged mujahideen application, saying there was ‘no direct evidence’ he filled out the form.” Caruso asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry “Garber three times if he could call an FBI agent to the witness stand to ask about the document. Garber rejected his requests” and denied Padilla’s bond. [View article]

Translator’s Conviction Raises Legal Concerns (Washington Post) “Mohammed Yousry, a … translator and U.S. citizen who worked for radical lawyer Lynne Stewart … could face 20 years in prison for translating a letter from imprisoned Muslim cleric Omar Abdel Rahman to Rahman’s lawyer in Egypt,” reports the Washington Post. “In June 2000, Stewart released to a reporter a version of the letter, which discussed a cease-fire between Islamic militants and the Egyptian government. Prosecutors said that the lawyer and the translator, by these acts, conspired to use Rahman’s words to incite others to carry out kidnappings and killings. No attack took place.… legal experts, civil liberties lawyers and a juror say Yousry’s conviction raises many troubling questions, not least how a court-appointed translator working on instruction from lawyers could be held responsible for navigating complicated and dangerous legal waters.” [View article]

U.S. Faults Saudi Efforts on Terrorism (Los Angeles Times) “Although Saudi Arabia has cracked down on militants within its borders, the kingdom has not met its promises to help prevent the spread of terrorism or curb the flow of money from Saudis to terrorist cells around the world, U.S. intelligence, diplomatic and other officials say,” reports the Los Angeles Times. They state that “countless young terrorism suspects are believed to have escaped the kingdom’s tightening noose by fleeing across what critics call a porous border into Iraq. U.S. counter-terrorism and intelligence officials confirm an aggressive role by Saudi fighters in the insurgency in Iraq, where over the last year they reportedly accounted for more than half of all Arab militants killed.” [View article]

U.S. Sends Bird Flu Team to Turkey (Reuters) “The United States is sending a team of experts to Turkey to help deal with its outbreak of bird flu, which has spread in flocks and infected 18 people,” reports Reuters. The team of experts from the Department of Agriculture, Agency for International Development, Department of Health and Human Services, and State Department “will join experts already there from the World Health Organization, including two experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” [View article]

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International News

Europe Is Vulnerable to 9/11-Type Attack (Washington Post) “When it comes to dealing with a hijacked airliner,” the countries of the European Union “cling to a patchwork of contradictory rules and regulations,” reports the Washington Post. “… On a continent where many countries are so small that planes can pass through their airspace in minutes, aviation and security officials say the conflicting approaches make it almost impossible to prepare an adequate defense against hijackers bent on crashing a plane into a target.” [View article]

France Warns of Nuclear Response to Terrorism (Johannesburg, South Africa, Mail & Guardian) French “President Jacques Chirac for the first time on Thursday raised the threat of a nuclear response to states that launch ‘terrorist’ attacks against France,” reports Agence France-Presse. “‘Leaders of any state that uses terrorist means against us, as well as any that may be envisaging--in one way or another--using weapons of mass destruction, must understand that they would be exposing themselves to a firm and appropriate response on our behalf,’ he said. ‘That response could be conventional, it could also be of another nature,’ Chirac said in a clear reference to nuclear weapons during a visit to a French nuclear base in the northwestern region of Brittany.” [View article]

Britain Plans Total Electronic Surveillance of Roads (Christian Science Monitor) “In March, Britain will enhance its reputation as the surveillance capital of the West with a global first: recording the movements of all cars on the road and storing the data for at least two years,” reports the Christian Science Monitor. “It’s a network of thousands of cameras harnessed to software that can read car license plates, check them against a central database, and alert police to suspected criminals or terrorists.… In regional trial runs, the number of arrests per officer shot up from around 10 per year to 100 per year. Convictions also increased. But civil liberty activists are aghast at yet another move by the authorities to spy on citizens in the name of security and law and order, warning of a growing bank of Orwellian technology.… In their defense, police say they need the best technology available to reduce perennially rising crime rates and face an acute terror threat.” [View article]

$1.9 Billion Pledged to Battle Bird Flu (San Francisco Chronicle) “Alarmed by a spate of bird flu infections and recent deaths in Turkey, 33 countries and multilateral institutions pledged $1.9 billion Wednesday to fight the disease,” reports the New York Times. “The pledges, at the conclusion of a two-day conference in Beijing, are greater than the $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion that the World Bank had said was needed over the next three years. The money will pay for tasks like the strengthening of veterinary and medical surveillance for outbreaks, the stockpiling of surgical masks and other protective equipment and expanding research.” [View article]

New Zealand Bird Flu Campaign Will Target 1.4 Million Households (New Zealand Herald) “Households throughout the country will be told how to prepare for a bird flu pandemic in a nationwide letterbox drop. The Herald understands the Ministry of Health is planning to send out brochures with a covering letter and fact sheet to 1.4 million households in March. The brochures will contain information on setting up emergency kits, hygiene and guides for those working from home or running a business, should a pandemic strike.” [View article]

Muslim Cleric Says Killing of Non-Muslims ‘OK’ (Yahoo! News) “Abu Hamza al-Masri, the one-eyed, hook-handed Muslim cleric accused in Britain of race hate and inciting murder, preached that killing non-Muslims was justified in any circumstances, his trial was told,” according to Agence France-Presse. “‘Killing an adulterer, even if he is a Muslim is OK. Killing a “kufar” (non-believer) who is fighting you is OK. Killing a “kufar” for any reason you can say it is OK even if there is no reason for it,’ he told an audience. London’s Central Criminal Court was told … that Hamza--who was born in Egypt but is British by marriage--said Islamic beliefs should be spread with the help of the sword in the September 1999 talk, a video tape of which was played to jurors.” Hamza “faces a total of 15 charges, including nine of ‘soliciting to murder’. Four concern using language aimed at stirring up racial hatred while another relates to a document” called “The Encyclopaedia of Afghani Jihad,” said “to be a ‘terror manual’ that was dedicated to Osama bin Laden and advised hitting landmarks like London’s Big Ben, the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower.” [View article]

Border Killing Inflames Mexican Anger at U.S. Policy (New York Times) Guillermo Martínez “was fatally shot by a United States border patrol agent just after dark on Dec. 30,” and his family says that he was crossing for a job; “investigators on each side, however, say he might have been trying to smuggle migrants across,” reports the New York Times. “Whatever his reasons for sneaking over the border, the shooting of Mr. Martínez, 20, has fanned the flames of anger in Mexico over what many” in Mexico “see as an increasingly hard line in the United States against illegal immigrants.… politicians of all stripes … have condemned the shooting as a racist violation of human rights.” His death and a proposed 700-mile border fence “have become symbols of what many Mexicans see as the deteriorating relationship between the countries and a rising tide of xenophobia in the United States.” [View article]

Al-Qaeda Takes Aim at Israel (Christian Science Monitor) “Al Qaeda, which originally announced its presence on the global scene in 1998 as ‘The World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders,’ for the first time has claimed an attack on the Jewish state from neighboring Lebanon,” reports the Christian Science Monitor. “Abu Musab Zarqawi … issued a warning to Israel on the group’s website, boasting that Katyusha rockets fired two weeks ago from southern Lebanon were just the ‘beginning of a welcome operation to strike deep in enemy territory, at the instructions of Osama bin Laden.’” [View article]

Are Israeli Actions Helping Hamas Win Palestinian Elections? (Jerusalem Haaretz) “Everything Israel does, it seems, only bolsters the credibility of the Islamic Resistance Movement, whose acronym is Hamas, as well as that of the group’s new political party list, which goes by the name Change and Reform,” writes columnist Bradley Burston in Haaretz. “… Everything Israel did, from assassinating Hamas suspects at a time when Hamas was, technically at least, observing an Egypt-brokered period of relative calm, to issuing dire warnings of what might happen if Hamas were to achieve 30, 40, or even 51 percent of the vote, served to fuel the Hamas juggernaut.” [View commentary]

Canada Quietly Deports Algerian Terror Suspect (CBC News) “An Algerian terrorist suspect has been quietly deported from Vancouver after being held in custody for more than four years,” reports the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “Samir Ait Mohamed was accused of belonging to the same terrorist cell as Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian who lived in Montreal. Ressam was sentenced to 22 years in a U.S. prison for plotting to bomb the Los Angeles airport. Mohamed was deported to Algeria on” 11 January. [View article]

Italy Will Use Soldiers and Surveillance for Security at Winter Olympics (Canadian Press) “Italian authorities are rolling out a massive security operation to protect the 2,500 athletes, 5,000 officials and one million spectators expected to attend the Turin Games,” to be held 10-26 February, reports the Canadian Press. “… About 9,000 police officers have been mobilized for the Olympics, and a central control room is hooked to 21 onsite operational centres--with connections to police and intelligence services of numerous countries.” The government will “increase controls, particularly at the frontier with France--about 15 kilometres from Sestriere, hosting Alpine skiing--while guaranteeing free access under the European Union’s open borders policy.” [View article]

Islamic Terrorist Plot in Italy Revealed (Bangkok [Thailand] Post) “Islamic terrorists planned to blow up a cathedral, two underground stations and a police building in northern Italy, a court in Milan heard” on 12 January, reports Deutsche Presse-Agentur (the German Press Agency). “Zouaoui Choki, a Tunisian supergrass, told judges he was part of a sleeper terrorist cell charged with collecting funds and recruiting would-be suicide bombers. But the group was also planning an attack, which should have been carried out in 2002.” [View article]

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State and Local News

California: Three Charged in Ecoterror Bombing Plot (Sacramento Bee) “Three people described as members of an ‘eco-terrorist’ organization scouted Nimbus Dam, a nearby fish hatchery and a forest genetics facility as possible targets to bomb, according to an FBI affidavit filed Tuesday in federal court,” reports the Bee. “Three days after visiting the sites, Eric Taylor McDavid, 28, Zachary O. Jenson, 20, and Lauren Weiner, 20, were arrested in Auburn as they emerged from a Kmart with materials that the FBI suspects were to be used to build explosive devices. The three are charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to use fire or explosives to damage property.” [View article]

Trucks at Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports Get Radio ID Tags (Computerworld) “PierPass, a nonprofit company owned by marine terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, plans to equip up to 10,000 trucks with WhereNet Corp. RFID (radio frequency identification) tags to enhance security around the trucks entering the two facilities,” reports Computerworld. “WhereNet is also installing RFID readers at each marine terminal to read the truck tags as a driver arrives at each port and approaches a security check point.” [View article]

States Cite Issues With National Driver’s Licenses (MSNBC) “State motor vehicle officials nationwide who will have to carry out the Real ID Act say its authors grossly underestimated its logistical, technological and financial demands. In a comprehensive survey obtained by The Associated Press and in follow-up interviews, officials cast doubt on the states’ ability to comply with the law on time and fretted that it will be a budget buster.” The law “demands that states link their record-keeping systems to national databases so duplicate applications can be detected, illegal immigrants caught and driving histories shared,” and “civil libertarians … contend [that] it will create a de facto national ID card and new centralized databases, inhibiting privacy.” [View article]

DHS Offers Cybersecurity Guidance for States (Government Computer News) “The Homeland Security Department’s new preparedness unit is urging state governors to prepare cybersecurity plans, adopt a new national XML-based model for information-sharing and implement newly developed common rules for geospatial content,” reports Government Computer News. “… The IT-related guidance is included in the fiscal 2006 grant application kit for the distribution of $3.9 billion in federal homeland security grants to states and localities this year, published by the preparedness directorate. Cybersecurity guidance was attached as an appendix for the first time.” [View article] [View grant application kit]

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Private-Sector News

Siemens and GE Work Jointly on Container Security (MSNBC) “General Electric and Siemens, the largest conglomerates in the US and Europe respectively, launched their first direct co-operation on Wednesday, in an effort to prevent terrorists tampering with ship containers,” reports the Financial Times. “The security initiative aims to equip most container traffic with devices that register when they have been opened.” [View article]

Industry Aids Registered Traveler Program (Federal Computer Week) “Companies that are implementing the Transportation Security Administration’s voluntary screening program for airline passengers have created” an industry group to be an “advocate for the program and other large-scale credentialing efforts,” reports Federal Computer Week. The Voluntary Credentialing Industry Coalition “brings together biometrics and access-control technology companies working on Registered Traveler, said Jim Miller, chairman and chief executive officer of ImageWare Systems, a partner in the group,” which “will ‘focus the public policy debate on how to best implement a system with as much speed as possible’ because Congress wants Registered Traveler running by the middle of this year.” [View article]

Tech Firms Focus on Solving Biometric Problems (San Antonio Business Journal) “For the past several years, the U.S. government has continued to work to secure the nation’s borders by monitoring travelers through the use of high-tech methods such as digital fingerprinting, a form of biometric data,” reports the San Antonio Business Journal. “That effort has led many security companies to invest in developing and tweaking their systems by incorporating more sophisticated forms of biometric data.… Although fingerprinting is helping with border control, some local biotechnology officials say securing the borders completely with biometric data may never be possible.” [View article]

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Education

The Homeland Security Institute lists these education programs as a service to readers who may be interested; it does not endorse them or their courses.

Emergency Management Readers for College Courses Two new books by Irmak Renda-Tanali and Claire B. Rubin with syllabi are intended for college-level courses: Managing Change Through Post-Event Evaluations, a textbook on emergency management and homeland security, and Catastrophic Event Prevention Planning, which introduces students to the concepts of emergency and disaster management. The books may be ordered from Pearson Custom Publishing; call (800) 428-4466. Syllabi may be purchased from the authors; email Irmak Renda-Tanali at rendatan@comcast.net or Claire B. Rubin at cbrubin@comcast.net.

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Upcoming Events

January

Furthering the Role of Technology in Homeland Security (26 January; New Orleans) This conference, sponsored by the Louisiana Technology Council, will be a forum for state, federal, and international homeland security decision makers to present plans and lessons learned from homeland security initiatives over the past few years and to discuss lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, better protection from natural disasters and terrorism, and opportunities for local businesses on homeland security initiatives. A keynote speaker is Charles McQueary, Homeland Security Under Secretary for Science and Technology. [View conference website]

2006 Railway Security Forum and Expo (30-31 January; Washington, DC) Railway Age, the Association of American Railroads, the American Public Transportation Association, the American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association, and the Railway Supply Institute will hold their second annual conference on freight and passenger rail security. It will cover best practices, emergency preparedness, hazmat shipments, security technologies, and more. [View conference website]

February

Airport Security Planning Courses for General Aviation (13-14 February, Columbus, OH) Ohio University and Robinson Aviation will hold two courses for general aviation facilities. For further information, please visit www.ohiou.edu/gasecurity/.[View course website]

Terrorism: Threats, Training, Tactics, and Technology (13-15 February; Fairfax, VA) Nationally renowned experts will explore terrorism, emerging threats, training, tactics, and technology. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of issues related to terrorism. Confirmed speakers are Brian Michael Jenkins, Ambassador Cofer Black, Admiral John Poindexter, Michael Scheuer, Walter Purdy, Colonel Danny McKnight, Jennifer Hardwick, Lieutenant John Sullivan, Lieutenant Roger Kelly, Don Hewitt, Rebecca Givner-Forbes, Ned Moran and a special guest from London. [View conference website]

5th Annual Critical Infrastructure Resilience & Infrastructure Security for the Built Environment Congress & Expo (15-17 February 2006; Washington, DC) This event will bring together government and industry officials from around the world to discuss and formulate solutions to protect the homeland. Issues such as physical security, cyber-security, standards, interoperability, biometrics, threat and vulnerability assessments, research and development efforts, and first responder requirements will be discussed. [View conference website]

March

Radiological Device and Nuclear Event Symposium (7–9 March; Richmond, VA) The symposium will be a forum for government and industry to discuss radiological and nuclear threat materials, their specific hazards, and capabilities for detection, protection, decontamination, and medical response; present results from recent Defense Dept. and Homeland Security Dept. research and development studies; and display new equipment, software, algorithms, and procedures for dealing with radiological and nuclear incidents. Contact Joseph Roehl at (540) 729-3927 or jroehl@scentczar.com. [View conference website]

Border Trade Alliance 2006 International Conference (23 March; Arlington, VA) This conference will explore the latest in infrastructure development and strategies for utilizing it. Among the topics to be covered:

• Next-generation ports of entry: The low-risk port of entry concept
• Bringing Free and Secure Trade to your border community: A Nogales case study
• New ports, new technology (technology providers and integrators discuss their innovations for the borders)
• Navigating the presidential permit process
• U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican infrastructure challenges and solutions

May

General Police Equipment Exhibition & Conference (2-4 May; Leipzig, Germany) This is a fully closed specialized trade fair with accompanying international congress, meetings (partly open) and lecture programs catering to the police and allied security markets. With its exhibition and fringe events, it promotes the interministerial and interdisciplinary transfer of information between government offices and frontline forces; advising the security community on new products and product developments together with current trends in education and training; and enhancing public security, the fight against terrorism and increased homeland security. [View conference website]

June

2006 Techno Security Conference (4-7 June; Myrtle Beach, SC) The conference will bring together private industry, government and law enforcement decision makers, and technical enthusiasts in the fields of information and network security, digital forensics, incident response, operational and physical security, auditing, and cyber-crime. Eight simultaneous tracks will feature interactive high-intensity training sessions, hands-on labs, professional certification opportunities, and networking opportunities. Topics will include homeland security; wireless security; web hacking; contingency planning; vulnerability assessments; incident response; computer, personal digital assistant, and enterprise forensics; password recovery and disk-wiping tools; intrusion prevention; Internet investigation techniques; street smarts for investigators; biometrics; and steganography. [View conference website]

6th International Conference on Complex Systems (25-30 June; Quincy, MA) This conference will investigate the properties or characteristics that appear to be common to the very different complex systems now under study and will encourage cross-fertilization among the many disciplines involved. [View conference website]

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Calls for Papers

International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium (26-28 September; Cambridge, UK) The theme of the 11th symposium is “Coalition Command and Control in a Networked Era.” It is sponsored by the U.S. Defense Department Command and Control Research Program. Abstracts, outlines, or initial draft papers must be submitted by 30 January via email to ccrts-iccrts@dodccrp.org. [View conference website]

Military, Aerospace, Space and Homeland Security Packaging Issues and Applications (6-8 June; Washington, DC) The International Microelectronics and Packaging Society is sponsoring a Topical Workshop and Tabletop Exhibit. Deadline for abstracts is 10 February. [View conference website]

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