Cheese Quality Technology Detects Explosives Too New Zealand’s AgResearch institute has developed a technology that for the first time can precisely identify explosives concealed in aircraft luggage. It was created by farming researchers who were working on ensuring cheese quality. 3GX Technologies Limited will be responsible for making this new technology available to the travel industry. [View press release]

Bees Trained to Sniff Explosives (CNN) Researchers in the Stealthy Insect Sensor Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico “say they have trained bees to sniff out explosives in a project they say could have far-reaching applications for U.S. homeland security and the Iraq war,” reports Reuters. “… researchers said they trained bees to recognize substances ranging from dynamite and C-4 plastic explosives to the Howitzer propellant grains used in improvised explosive devices in Iraq.” [View article]

Air Force Will Create Cyber Command (Federal Computer Week) The Air Force plans “to create a Cyber Command to bring full-scale military operations to cyberspace, although no one knows if the tactics and policies that the Defense Department uses to wage war will be effective on the cyber battlefield,” reports Federal Computer Week. “… the new command will coordinate offensive and defensive network and electronic warfare and raise the importance of cyberspace as a warfighting terrain. Its military objective would be to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum and defend the country’s critical infrastructure” and “work to defeat terrorists by disrupting their radio-controlled improvised explosive devices, the satellite communications they use for planning attacks and the Web sites they create for training and recruiting. Homeland security will be a big part of the command’s responsibilities, which will include protection of telecommunications systems, utilities and transportation.… The Cyber Command will also offer forces to joint force component commanders for network warfare; global strike and integration tasks; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities … Countries such as China have been trying to extricate information from U.S. networks for more than a decade” and “Chinese attacks on [Defense Dept.] networks are on the upswing, and China is now the United States’ peer competitor in cyberspace.” [View article]

Critical Mention Gives Instant Access to Suspicious TV Broadcasts (Government Computer News) “The FBI now has access to an online service that its employees can use to screen TV broadcasts and provide alerts when specified words are used, either on English-language networks or networks broadcasting in Arabic,” reports Government Computer News. “Critical Mention Inc. of New York City provides the service, which it is furnishing to multiple users at the bureau.” Critical Mention’s “existing customers include many Fortune 500 companies.” [View article]

‘Strong Angel’ Tests Public-Private Disaster Relief (Government Computer News) “The Strong Angel series is a volunteer demonstration disaster response laboratory that brings together medical, humanitarian, military and technology experts from the public and private sectors, civilian and military agencies and domestic and international organizations,” reports Government Computer News. “The goal is to solve problems in global disaster response by field-testing and demonstrating technologies to facilitate humanitarian relief. It also could help develop enduring social networks that responders can call on in an emergency.” [View article]

Report Calls for Common Emergency Communications (Government Executive) “Public-safety officials at all levels of government must embrace innovative solutions for emergency communications systems capable of functioning across jurisdictions, according to” an Aspen Institute report issued Tuesday, notes National Journal’s Technology Daily. The report “found that the American safety community needs to abandon specialized systems and equipment, and adopt new strategies that take advantage of solutions already being implemented by the private sector and the military.… David Aylward, director of the Comcare Alliance, a nonprofit aimed at improving emergency response, said … ‘There is not one state in the union where the governor is doing what this report calls for.’” [View article] [View report]

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Sunfish Monitor Water Supplies (KSL TV and Radio, Salt Lake City) “San Francisco, New York, Washington and other big cities are using bluegills,” also known as sunfish, to monitor their water supplies, reports the Associated Press. Bluegills “are highly attuned to chemical disturbances in their environment.” Computerized systems monitor their vital signs. “The New York City Department of Environmental Protection reported” that “the system caught a toxin before it made it into the water supply: The fish noticed a diesel spill two hours earlier than any of the agency’s other detection devices.” [View article]

Medical Reserve Corps Now in All 50 States The Medical Reserve Corps, a national network of locally based medical, public health, and other volunteers who help strengthen the public health system of their communities, is now present in all 50 states; Washington, DC; Guam; Palau; Puerto Rico; and the U.S. Virgin Islands. [View press release]

Public Safety Communication Europe The Forum for Public Safety Communication Europe invites users, policy makers, industry (technology and service providers), research organizations and standardization bodies within public safety communication and information management systems to take part in this forum, which has been established to facilitate consensus building in the areas of development, provision, and use of public safety communication and information management systems. For more information, email info@publicsafetycommunication.eu. [View website]

Computer Game Trains Incident Commanders (Washington Times) “‘Incident Commander,’ manufactured by BreakAway Ltd. of Hunt Valley [MD], simulates crisis scenarios including a severe storm, a natural disaster, a school hostage situation and a terrorist attack,” reports the Washington Times. “The game was developed for the Department of Justice as part of the National Incident Management System … As many as 16 players can train simultaneously on computers at work or from home, assuming the role of the commander or a member of the operations team.” [View article] [View game website]

Joint Task Force Aids Government-Wide Cyberdefense (Government Computer News) “The Joint Task Force for Global Network Operations is the specific directorate within the Strategic Command that protects the” Global Information Grid, reports Government Computer News. “But the directorate and the individual services also receive assistance from the Homeland Security Department, the FBI and other federal agencies. ‘We have a very rich relationship with the [DHS] Computer Emergency Response Team,’ said Rear Adm. Elizabeth Hight, principal director for operations at the Defense Information Services Agency and deputy director of” the Joint Task Force for Global Network Operations. “‘We participate and communicate and collaborate with them every day.… I find that their willingness to work with us on [what] they’re seeing beyond the [Defense Department’s] borders has been a wonderful interagency exchange. We have made a habit of sharing information.’ Hight said that U.S. CERT shares information on topics such as new viruses, other malicious software and techniques being used by botnet masters.” [View article] [View Focus on CERT]

Washington, DC, Installs Security Cameras (Washington Times) Washington, DC, police are “installing surveillance cameras in four high-crime neighborhoods, nearly 30 days after officials declared a citywide crime emergency,” reports the Washington Times. “… They will operate 24 hours a day, but will only be reviewed by police when a crime is committed.… about two dozen cameras will be deployed by the end of this month and 23 more cameras in September … The crime emergency … will be extended indefinitely.” [View article]

FEMA Upgrades Mapping Capability (Government Computer News) “The Federal Emergency Management Agency has continued to make substantial investments in its geospatial and flood-mapping operations,” reports Government Computer News. “… Web maps and data have proved to be almost ideal mechanisms to reach out to disaster victims en masse and respond to their requests.” [View article]

National Geographic’s Topo! Pro Uses GIS-Based Mapping National Geographic Maps has developed a line of Topo! Pro products that provide simple, effective geographic information system–based mapping, enabling emergency response teams, city planners, firefighters, civil engineers, health professionals, National Parks and forest managers, utility managers, transportation managers, and municipal, county, state, and federal governments to make decisions based on graphical descriptions of precise points in time and space. The Topo! Pro series combines maps, data sets, and GIS technologies to create interactive mapping tools that can be used in the field, in the air, or in the office, in real time. [View website]

Virtual Earth Can Quickly Shift Into Crisis Mode (Federal Computer Week) The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has “developed a customized version of Virtual Earth, Microsoft’s online mapping service, to aid disaster recovery efforts,” reports Federal Computer Week. “During Katrina and Rita, NGA used Virtual Earth to create a portal that provided citizens, government users and partner organizations with maps and satellite imagery of the disaster area.” Bruce Harris, NGA Director of IT solutions, “intends for NGA Earth to expand beyond crisis support and provide everyday, worldwide assistance to the military and intelligence communities.” [View article]

Federal Center Hosts Art Studios (Seattle Stranger) “Seattle’s largest—and growing—artist colony is at the heart of a gated federal compound, in a place where having a glass of wine requires written permission and on-site photography is discouraged for national-security reasons,” reports the Stranger. In Federal Center South, “at the local headquarters for the secretive activities of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the ATF, FEMA, customs, and border enforcement,” the General Services Administration “provides studios, at half market rate, to almost 50 artists.” [View article]

UN and DHL Launch Disaster Response Teams in Latin America To speed up relief for areas in crisis, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in alliance with the international shipping company DHL, on Wednesday launched a disaster response team to cover emergencies in South America and the Caribbean. The team will be based in South Florida and consist of some 80 DHL experts—employee volunteers—specially trained to ensure that relief supplies reach people quickly and effectively in the case of a major natural disaster. The DHL experts cut bottlenecks at airports close to the scene of the disaster by helping to organize the handling, warehousing, and loading of relief supplies for onward transportation. DHL has been working with the UN since December 2005 to set up a global network of DRTs and to cover other areas of disaster management such as disaster preparedness. [View press release]

Rail Rescue Workers Get Their Own Poseidon Adventure (Metro magazine) The Washington (DC) Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Federal Railroad Administration, and ENSCO Inc. have created an emergency evacuation simulator that rotates a commuter rail car, donated by New Jersey Transit, up to 180 degrees in 10-degree increments. The simulator is used at the Turner Maintenance and Training Facility in Landover, MD, a 16-acre warehouse where “rescuers and rail professionals from all over the world” practice “disaster response, security and terrorism prevention,” according to Metro magazine. [View article]

Rail Rescue Vehicle Gets Responders to Off-Road Sites Pierce Manufacturing, builder of fire and rescue apparatus, has created Rail Rescue, a fire truck that can travel on railroad tracks. Recent fires and accidents in areas accessible only by rail prompted customers to ask for a vehicle like Rail Rescue. Rail Rescue vehicles are custom built for the rails they must travel on. [View press release]

New Liquid Soaks Up Dangerous Powders (Washington Business Journal) Mineral Sciences “has developed a liquid that soaks up dangerous powders such as anthrax or radioactive material from dirty bombs,” reports the Washington Business Journal. “… The company’s product absorbs chemical, biological, radioactive or poisonous powders through a chemical reaction. Once used, the liquid can be vacuumed, analyzed and heated to destroy biological threats or to transform radioactive and poisonous materials into bricklike form for long-term storage. Potential customers include first responders in emergencies, airports and stadium operators.” [View article]

National Fire Academy 2005 Annual Outstanding Research Awards The Homeland Security Department’s Preparedness Directorate and the U.S. Fire Administration last week announced the four applied research projects by students in the Executive Fire Officer Program.

The award-winning papers will be presented at the 18th Executive Fire Officer Symposium on 21-23 April at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, MD. [View press release]

Digital Fingerprint Matching Moves Toward Standardization (Government Computer News) The goal of less expensive, more accurate, “interoperable fingerprint matching systems for homeland security and other purposes has been driving a need for greater standardization among minutiae templates,” reports Government Computer News. Fingerprint minutiae templates “are computerized descriptions of the characteristics of a fingerprint that indicate the position and orientation of ridges and other distinctive features.” As an alternative to “images for fingerprint matching,” they use “less storage space and [transmit] more quickly. However,” conversion techniques “are generally proprietary and the systems are not compatible,” according to testing by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, hence the push for an improved interoperable standard. [View article]

National Database Will Keep Tabs on Animals (Federal Computer Week) “A new livestock industry group”—the U.S. Animal Identification Organization—“will oversee a national animal-tracking database to protect public health and the economy,” reports Federal Computer Week. “… The ViaHerd database system, built by ViaTrace, is also a crisis-management tool, [Charles] Miller [the organization’s chairman] said. ViaHerd can trace animals’ location and interactions back 48 hours before a natural or bioterrorism-related disease outbreak.” [View article]

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]

Photo Enlargement Software Helps Homeland Security and State Police Departments (PR Web) Evolved object-oriented programming languages such as C++ have provided the means to develop more effective photo enhancement capability through more sophisticated enlargement. A software product called Imagener, produced by Kneson Software, analyzes photos based on a broader content footprint to increase small or vague photo elements for verifiable identification. Imagener maintains visual quality of images, allowing state police departments and homeland security professionals to identify more content accurately. [View article]

DHS Advances Fingerprinting Technology (Government Computer News) “The Homeland Security Department is working with the departments of Defense and State, the FBI and the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology as well as technology vendors to develop a new generation of 10-finger ‘slap capture’ units for fingerprint collection,” reports Government Computer News. Homeland Security Secretary “Michael Chertoff’s decision [last] summer to require 10-fingerprint records of foreigners crossing the borders … will bring the DHS’ Ident database of two-fingerprint records, which it inherited from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, in synch with the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System.” [View article]