Dual-Benefit Solutions

HSARPA Funds Vehicle-Stopping Technology (Business Journal of Phoenix) “Engineering Science Analysis Corp. was awarded $100,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency … to develop a new vehicle-stopping technology that can be utilized by police departments, Border Patrol agencies, and the U.S. military,” reports the Business Journal of Phoenix. [View article]

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Federal News

FBI Mishandled Counterterrorism Case (Government Executive) “The Justice Department’s inspector general has found that FBI agents mishandled a counterterrorism case in 2002, falsified records to cover up their mistakes and retaliated against a whistleblower for exposing the problems.” The Inspector General’s “draft report on the case--obtained by Government Executive--also sheds rare light on problems with how the FBI internally handled allegations from the whistleblower, then-special agent Michael German.” [View article]

DHS to Distribute Commercial IT to Local Jurisdictions (Government Computer News) “The Homeland Security Department is preparing to distribute geospatial information-sharing software and other commercial IT to local jurisdictions through its Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program,” reports Government Computer News. The program “is operated by DHS’ Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness to help smaller communities that have not received direct federal homeland security grants. Earlier this year, the department awarded technology valued at $8 million to 697 jurisdictions under the program.” [View article]

CDC Selects National Biosurveillance Program (Government Computer News) “The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded a pair of contracts totaling $68.4 million to Science Applications International Corp. to help implement and support CDC’s BioSense national syndromic surveillance program,” reports Washington Technology. “BioSense charts incoming health data about current patient symptoms from numerous military and Veterans Affairs Department hospitals to identify spikes of activity that might signal a disease cluster outbreak or bioterrorism attack” and “to provide an earlier warning of possible public health threats than do traditional disease reporting systems.” [View article]

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National News

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Bush Accepts McCain’s Ban on Torture (Yahoo! News) “President Bush reversed course on Thursday and accepted Sen. John McCain’s call for a law banning cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of foreign suspects in the war on terror,” reports the Associated Press. [View article]

TSA Viper Deployment Restricted (Washington Post) “Just two days into an experimental program that would place undercover air marshals in train, bus, ferry and other mass transit stations, the Transportation Security Administration [on Wednesday] said its test has been scaled back, owing to confusion over the rollout,” reports the Washington Post. “TSA officials had planned to deploy” teams (known as “Viper,” for Visible Intermodal Protection and Response) “of air marshals, local law enforcement officers and bomb-sniffing dogs at seven locations around the nation this week to test whether the agency could deter criminals in public transportation stations and conduct surveillance of suspicious activity.” [View article]

Man Headed for Cockpit Grabbed by Passengers (WSOC-TV, Charlotte, NC) “A Mexican national is in federal custody in Honolulu after witnesses said he threatened a sleeping baby and lunged toward the cockpit during a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu Saturday night,” reports KITV-TV, Honolulu. “Passengers arriving on Saturday night’s Northwest Airlines flight told authorities they were scared when Santiago Lol Tizol, 37, raged through the aisles, ignoring the flight crew and threatening to kill the baby.… Passengers tackled and restrained Tizol when he lunged toward the cockpit.” Tizol “will be charged with interference with a flight crew.” [View article]

Federal Air Marshal Service Scrutinized (Newsweek) Rigoberto Alpizar’s killing last Wednesday “has thrust the Federal Air Marshal Service … into the spotlight,” reports Newsweek. “It was the first time in history that air marshals had killed someone, and the first time they had actually fired a weapon on the job, according to service spokesman Dave Adams. The service now faces an investigation by the Miami-Dade Police Department, a potential lawsuit by Alpizar’s family (though some legal experts say they’d have a tough case) and the inevitable scrutiny of watchdog groups and the media.” [View article]

Map Agency Limits Public Access to Data (Federal Computer Week) In the next two years, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency “will remove most of its aeronautical data and publications from public view,” reports Federal Computer Week. The agency “said it took this action primarily because of the growing number of international source providers claiming intellectual property rights. Mapmakers and librarians said Australia, which has the best maps for Indonesia--an important battleground in the war on terrorism--insisted that [the agency] no longer publish for public access the aeronautical charts and data Australia produces, pays for and shares with the agency.” The agency’s action “does not affect government agencies and authorized government contractors, and aviators can still get charts and data from the Federal Aviation Administration.” [View article]

Airlines and Defense Dept. Differ on Threat From Shoulder-Fired Missiles (Government Executive) “An airline industry representative and Defense Department contractors squared off [last] Friday over whether the government should protect commercial airplanes against shoulder-fired missiles,” reports National Journal’s Technology Daily. “Congress has been pressuring the Homeland Security Department since” 11 September 2001 “to install devices on the underbelly of commercial airplanes to protect against” man-portable air defense systems. “The department plans to finish testing different technologies next year and make a decision about deploying countermeasures.” [View article]

Aging Computers Hobble DHS (CNet News) “Aging, incompatible systems and outdated processes have contributed to a backlog of approximately 1 million people waiting for a decision from the” Homeland Security Department’s “Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau,” reports CNet News. “Computer problems at its Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau caused a snafu in which student visa holders were jailed overnight or barred from entering the United States. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration [Service’s] systems have come in for particular criticism from outside analysts and government auditors, who say these are simply not up to the task of serving the public, especially when coupled with a continuing reliance on paper forms. In some cases, for instance, information typed into one computer must be manually retyped into a second or third.” [View article]

People Mistakenly Added to FBI Criminal List More than 8,000 people between 2002 and 2004 were mistakenly identified for immigration violations when their names showed up on an FBI criminal database, according to a report released 8 December by the Migration Policy Institute. The report used statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security and found the FBI database to be wrong 42% of the time, and some law enforcement agencies “had error rates as high as 90 percent.” [View press release] [View report]

Federal Officials Practice Bird Flu Response (Washington Post) “Readiness for a possible avian flu pandemic requires not only government action but also preparations by families, businesses, schools and churches, White House officials said [on 10 December] after conducting a drill on the topic,” reports the Washington Post. “… the four-hour drill … involved some Cabinet members, military officers and others. The ‘tabletop exercise’ was meant to gauge government responses to a major U.S. outbreak of bird flu.” “It’s meant to push federal resources to the breaking point,” White House homeland security adviser Frances Frago Townsend said, adding that “participants are presented with a scenario, identify options and ask whether each of the federal agencies has a plan to fill gaps that have been identified.” [View article]

Prepaid Gift Cards May Be a Terrorist Tool (MSN) Law enforcement officials warn that prepaid gift cards, “many of which can be reloaded online or at checkout counters, are an ideal tool for credit-card thieves, drug rings, and even terrorist cells,” reports BusinessWeek. Many prepaid cards now blend banking privileges and this “link is the key to the problem, since the cards have ATM privileges but are not linked to personal bank accounts, which are closely monitored.” [View article]

U.S. Makes Strides Against Ecoterrorism (Christian Science Monitor) “The arrest of six animal rights activists and environmental radicals last week is the clearest sign in years that law-enforcement authorities now are able to infiltrate the shadowy world of ‘ecoterrorism,’” reports the Christian Science Monitor. “Among other things, the activists arrested last week are charged with attacks on a lumber company, a meat plant, an electrical transmission tower, and a US Department of Agriculture animal research facility, all taking place between 1998 and 2001.” Even though “the arrests are significant, many more crimes carried out in the name of protecting animals and the environment remain unsolved. The FBI reports 1,200 such incidents in recent years,” and “property damage has totaled more than $200 million.” [View article]

Katrina Caused Drop in Public Confidence The report “The Katrina Effect on American Preparedness” compared data from two surveys, one in July prior to Hurricane Katrina and one in October following the disaster. The report found “a significant drop in public confidence in government’s ability to handle disasters in the wake of the botched response to Hurricane Katrina” and a perception of a “‘preparedness divide’ between rich and poor.” More than half of Americans surveyed responded that “they were no better prepared after watching the event than before.” [View report]

First Question in a Disaster (Christian Science Monitor) “Whether it’s a terrorist strike or a devastating hurricane, first responders and others trying to help in a disaster need one urgent question answered: Who’s in charge? Without a firm and understood command structure, lives can be lost,” says the Christian Science Monitor. [View editorial]

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International News

Islamists Threaten Bangladeshi Women Who Don’t Wear Veils (Yahoo! News) “A banned Islamist militant group blamed for a series of bombings in Bangladesh has threatened to kill women, including non-Muslims, if they do not wear the veil,” reports Reuters. “… The statement by the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen came hours after [the 8 December] suicide bomb attack in a northern town that killed at least eight people … ‘Women will be killed if they are found to move around without wearing burqa (veil) from the first day of Jilhaj,’ … the Arabic month beginning early January.” In response to the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen bombings, Bangladesh president Iazuddin Ahmed “has approved an ordinance that allows law enforcers to tap telephones, a measure set to aid the fight against Islamic militants.” The law, signed on 11 December, will “make it easier for police to trace calls, particularly from mobile phones.” [View Reuters article] [View Agence France-Presse article]

The Ethics of Flu Survival (Calgary [Alberta] Herald) In healthcare, the main goal is to treat everyone fairly, “but during a pandemic, health-care workers may not be able to help everyone,” reports the Edmonton [Alberta] Journal. Canadian health officials plan to immunize healthcare workers first, since they will be needed to help flu patients; next would be “essential service providers, followed by people who are already living with chronic or acute diseases, then healthy adults, and finally, children under 18. Ethicists say vaccinating in this order is the best way to minimize the number of flu-related deaths, to keep society functioning, and to ensure [that] the most vulnerable get the help they need.” Dr. Eric Wasylenko, who works with the Alberta Pandemic Preparedness Ethics Working Group, said that “the right decision can become the decision that maximizes overall good for the society.… ‘We may have to make the choice that the person who is the most sick is not treated in favour of the person who can be saved.’” [View article]

Scotland Yard Warns of Christmas Terror Threat (London Times; Yahoo! News) “Scotland Yard has issued a nationwide alert that Islamist terrorist cells may be plotting a Christmas bombing campaign,” reports the London Times. The warning “said there was evidence to suggest that Islamist terrorists were planning to carry out bomb attacks against ‘crowded areas’ such as shopping centres, football grounds and train stations.” Indonesia, too, is considered a likely location for holiday terror attacks. “Australia issued an updated travel warning for Indonesia, warning of the possibility of a terror attack during the Christmas and New Year holiday period,” reports Agence France-Presse. [View Times article] [View Yahoo! article]

British Antiterror Operations Up 75% Since Bombings (Christian Science Monitor) The London “Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, has told a conference in London that there has been a 75 percent increase in the number of antiterrorism operations carried out by Scotland Yard since the July 7 bombings in London,” reports the Christian Science Monitor. “The Evening Standard reports that British counterterrorism officers are now receiving high-grade intelligence reports daily, rather than monthly, in the wake of the attacks. Mr. Blair said three further ‘conspiracies’ had been stopped since the summer.” [View article]

Israeli Mall’s Security Guards Leave en Masse (Jerusalem Haaretz) “Seven security guards at Netanya’s Sharon Mall have quit, while several others are planning to resign by the week’s end, one week after a suicide bombing there killed five people and wounded 95,” reports Haaretz. “Citing a number of reasons for their decision, the guards primarily complained about their wages, the way in which management treats them and the constant fear of terror attacks.” [View article]

EU Concealed Deal With U.S. to Allow Rendition Flights (London Telegraph) “The European Union secretly allowed the United States to use transit facilities on European soil to transport ‘criminals’ in 2003, according to a previously unpublished document,” reports the Telegraph. “The revelation contradicts repeated EU denials that it knew of ‘rendition’ flights by the CIA. The EU agreed to give America access to facilities--presumably airports--in confidential talks in Athens during which the war on terror was discussed, the original minutes show. But all references to the agreement were deleted from the record before it was published.” [View article]

The Terror of Racism (Melbourne, Australia, Age) “The unfolding racial violence in Sydney has links to the fight against terrorism and complicates that challenge,” writes Michelle Grattan in the Age. “While debate has been going on for months about how to fight terrorism, this extraordinary and frightening racial rioting has crept up on the Australian community. Worried about the Muslim community harbouring terrorists, we’re suddenly reminded that both the Lebanese and wider Australian communities contain lawless and aggressive thugs who can terrorise ordinary citizens.” [View commentary]

Japan Increases Aid to Asian Nations Fighting Bird Flu (Tokyo Asahi Shimbun) In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday, Japanese “Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ratcheted up Japan’s support of Asia’s fight against avian flu,” reports the Asahi Shimbun. “Koizumi promised additional financial help for Asian nations, pledging to help them stockpile enough of the flu drug Tamiflu for half a million people.” [View article]

French Police Claim Dismantling of Islamic Terror Network (Toronto Globe and Mail) “French counterterrorism agents dismantled an Islamic network suspected of preparing terror attacks, arresting about 20 people in raids early Monday,” reports the Associated Press. “… Anti-terrorism judges ordered the sweep in the Paris area and the Oise region north of the capital. The suspects were arrested in raids on homes and Internet cafes.” [View article]

Muslim Conference Admits Islamic Crisis (London Guardian) Last week’s Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Saudi Arabia, where “more than 50 Muslim countries met,” was extraordinary, reports the London Guardian. “Speaker after speaker acknowledged that the Muslim world is beset with challenges on an ever-widening range of issues. It is suffering from a deep-seated social, economic and religious malaise with which it has so far proved incapable of dealing.… the confessions of failure expressed with such frankness, by the very people who have been presiding over the mess--and broadcast to millions around the Muslim world--was little short of revolutionary.… The outcome was a 10-year plan that amounts to nothing less than an attempt to modernise Islam or, as one of the conference papers put it, to ‘revamp existing mindsets’.” [View article]

EU Will Track Phone and Internet Use (Yahoo! News) “The European Parliament on Wednesday adopted rules drawn up by the European Union to store phone and Internet data for up to two years to fight terrorism and other serious crime,” reports Reuters. [View article]

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State and Local News

NOAA photo

Hawaii Is First State Ready for Tsunamis (Federal Computer Week) “Hawaii is the first state in the country to be prepared for severe weather storms and tsunamis under voluntary federal guidelines,” reports Federal Computer Week. Under the National Weather Service “programs, all four of the state’s counties achieved the distinctions of StormReady and TsunamiReady, which the agency designed to help communities meet certain communications and safety guidelines and skills.” [View article]

California Unprepared for Tsunami (Associated Press) “Tsunami waves generated by a large offshore earthquake would threaten at least 1 million coastal residents in California and inundate the nation’s largest port complex, according to a new report” by the California Seismic Safety Commission, reports the Associated Press. The report “released Monday found gaps in the state’s readiness to handle a tsunami, including flaws in the existing warning system, lack of evacuation plans by coastal communities, and building codes that don’t take into account tsunami-strength surges.… In addition, many residents … would not know how to respond to warnings.” [View article] [View report]

Western State Legislators Hold Immigration Conference (Salt Lake Tribune) “State lawmakers from the West convened a regional conference” in Denver “on immigration Monday, saying they need to find solutions to problems the federal government is ignoring or addressing too slowly,” reports the Associated Press. “… Lawmakers from Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona suggested they were frustrated over a lack of consensus on how to deal with” benefits, education and employment, human trafficking, identification, and law enforcement. [View article]

Washington, DC, Area Will Get Disaster Victim Tracking System (Government Health IT) “By May, officials expect to have in place the beginnings of a regional system for tracking disaster victims in the Washington, D.C., area,” reports Government Health IT. “V. Nona Ogunsula, the project manager for the Prince George’s County [MD] Health Department, told a conference audience in Washington, D.C., that systems integrators had been invited to submit bids this month for a development contract.… The regional system will track supplies, human resources and victims” and “will be Web-based and accessible through a variety of devices, such as cell phones, wireless laptops and local-area networks.” [View article]

Federal Judge Clears Way for Construction of Border Fence (San Diego Union-Tribune) “A federal judge has lifted the final legal barrier to building a triple fence in the southwestern corner of the United States,” reports the Associated Press. “The Sierra Club and other environmental groups argued that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff lacked authority to waive environmental and other laws that have delayed completion of 14 miles of additional fencing in San Diego. In September, Chertoff waived all laws and legal challenges to building the final 3½-mile leg through coastal wetlands to the Pacific Ocean. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns on Monday said Congress clearly delegated the authority to Chertoff in June.” [View article]

Terror Drill at High Schools in Michigan Reveals Flaws (Detroit News) “Poor communication was the biggest problem that arose during a mock terror attack conducted at five Macomb County high schools this fall,” reports the Detroit News. “Emergency and law enforcement personnel from around the county took part in a drill Sept. 22 in which five high schools were taken over by ‘terrorists’ with automatic weapons and explosives. County commissioners received the results of that drill last week. Of particular concern was a breakdown in communication between responders.” [View article]

Dirty Bomb Drill Tests Charleston, SC (Charleston Post and Courier) “More than 300 people from some 40 regional, state and federal agencies took part” in a drill Monday “at the former Charleston Naval Base,” reports the Post and Courier. “The ‘dirty bomb’ drama” tested “the region’s readiness in case of a terrorist attack involving a weapon of mass destruction.” [View article]

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Private-Sector News

Cybersecurity Industry Asks for Greater Federal Leadership The Cyber Security Industry Alliance on Tuesday called on the federal government to assert greater leadership in the protection of the U.S. information infrastructure in 2006. Its “National Agenda for Information Security in 2006” identifies 13 specific actions required to improve information security for consumers, industry and governments globally. [View press release]

Airlines Endorse Risk Assessment of Passengers (Honolulu Pacific Business News) “The president of the Air Transport Association has told Congress that the airline industry supports risk-based analysis of passengers,” reports Pacific Business News. “James May testified Monday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on new actions by the Transportation Security Administration. ‘The significance of the TSA action lies not so much in the specific screening and prohibited-list changes announced, but in the fact that they result from a deliberate and careful risk analysis,’ May said.” [View article]

ManTech to Analyze TSA Alien Flight School Program (TMCnet) ManTech International Corporation will “provide analytic services for the vetting of non-U.S. citizens requesting flight training in the United States” under a “five-year, $10.5 million contract” from the Transportation Security Administration, according to Business Wire. [View article]

Explosives Detector Gets SAFETY Act Certification (TMCnet) Reveal Imaging Technologies’ CT-80 is the first explosives-detection system “to be certified as an approved product” for homeland security “under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (the SAFETY Act),” according to Business Wire. The “CT-80 is deployed at U.S. and international airports to meet the TSA standard to automatically inspect 100% of checked baggage for explosives.” [View article]

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Education Programs

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.

SANS MS Degree in Info Security Management The SANS (sysadmin, audit, network, security) Technology Institute is offering a master of science degree in information security management, designed to help a candidate become the highest-ranking management employee in an information technology security shop. In the government this is often called the designated approving authority or information assurance manager. In industry, titles such as chief security officer or chief information security officer are sometimes used. Besides the strong writing skills the Global Information Assurance Certification Gold program produces, the cohort training includes teamwork and oral presentation practice. [View program website]

Scholarships Available for One-Week Intensive Course in Complex Systems (9-13 January; Cambridge, MA) The New England Complex Systems Institute course has partial scholarships to attend a one-week course on complex systems concepts and methods, to be held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Applications should be sent to programs@necsi.org. Scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served and need basis. Members of underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply. [View program website]

Postdoctoral Positions Available to Study Complex Global Systems The New England Complex Systems Institute is seeking applicants for postdoctoral appointments in the study of complex global systems. The areas of study include the global economy, world health, global peace and conflict, environment and ecology, and global communication and social systems. Experience with modeling techniques and computer simulation tools is desirable. [View program website]

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Upcoming Events

January

Forbidding Science? Balancing Freedom, Security, Innovation, & Precaution (12-13 January; Tempe, AZ) Should controls on dual-use technologies be imposed at the research stage? How should the regulatory framework for the control of research risks be modified to address health, safety, social, economic, and ethical concerns? What should be the role of scientists in self-regulating scientific research? Is there a constitutional right to conduct scientific research in controversial areas? What is the role and utility of precaution, risk analysis, and technology assessment? What should be the role of the public and local governments? This conference, hosted by the Center for the Study of Law, Science, & Technology at the Arizona State University College of Law, will explore whether and how restrictions on scientific research should be imposed. [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]

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; 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]

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]

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