Transport / Border

  • Passive millimeter-wave technology promoted as solving privacy, health concerns

    There are three leading technologies in whole-body scanning: backscatter X-ray, active millimeter wave, and passive millimeter wave; the first raises privacy issue; the second raises health concerns; Florida-based Brijot, a champion of passive millimeter wave, says its technology addresses both sets of concerns

  • More U.S. airports deploy body scanners; new scanners -- and 40 existing ones -- used for primary screening

    The U.S Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said whole-body scanners will be deployed to nine more U.S. airports; the machines are among 150 units bought with money from the federal stimulus package; they join 40 machines already in use at 19 U.S. airports; both the new and existing machines will be used for primary screening

  • Airport security by the numbers

    In its 2011 budget request, DHS has asked for $214.7 million to buy and install 500 whole-body scanners; 75 percent of high-risk airports and 60 percent of second-tier airports will have body scanners deployed by the end of 2011

  • International Wireless Convention & Exposition, Las Vegas, March 8-12, 2010

  • Canada to use DHS's Secure Flight rules

    Starting in December, passengers on Canadian airlines flying to, from, or even over the United States without ever landing there, will only be allowed to board the aircraft once the U.S. DHS has determined they are not terrorists

  • Fired O'Hare Airport security chief sues city over firing

    James Maurer, former security chief at O"Hare, seeks more than $2 million in damages from the city for his dismissal last September; he says the reason for his dismissal were his repeated pleas to put correction of serious security lapses ahead of moving forward on costly plans to modernize the airport

  • Russia brings back armored trains to fight terrorists

    The war in Chechnya is officially over, but attacks on the railway system in neighboring Dagestan have become a major problem; the Russian military brings back the armored train to protect the region's railway system

  • Border Security Expo & Conference, Phoenix, Arizona – April 23 & 24, 2010

  • FAA investigating reports that young child was allowed to direct flights into JFK

    The FAA is looking into reports of a child directing air traffic at New York's JFK airport; a child's voice is heard giving instructions to at least three pilots

  • U.K. shipper complies with "known shipper" requirements by installing Avigilon surveillance system

    Avigilon helps Airberg conform with government-regulated security requirements, saving more than £700,000 each year; additional benefits include protecting the shipper's facility from theft and vandalism and minimizing the loss and damage of goods

  • How accurate is E-Verify?

    Many news reports about a DHS-sponsored evaluation of the effectiveness of the E-Verify project said that the study found that the program was accurate in only 54 percent of the cases submitted to it for verification; the heavily statistical analysis is not easily penetrated, but what the report said was that due primarily to identity fraud, the inaccuracy rate of E-Verify for unauthorized workers is approximately 54 percent

  • Counter Terror Expo 2010, April 14-15, National Hall, Olympia, United Kingdom

  • Airline passengers in Canada to pay more to fund increased air port security

    The Canadian government says there is a need to invest much more money to bolster air travel security in Canada -- but it does not want to raise taxes; the solution: an increase of the Air Travelers Security Charge charged to air travelers

  • U.K. begins trials of monitoring suspicious behavior Heathrow

    U.K. government begins trial of behavioral monitoring at Heathrow Airport; monitors will look not only for suspicious objects, but for suspicious behavior; the behavioral assessment will be used in conjunction with intelligence information and new technology, like the full body scanners, to improve the safety

  • E-Verify finds only one out of two illegals

    E-Verify was launched to allow employers to verify the legal status of job applicants; a study done for DHS finds that the program is ineffective: the inaccuracy rate for unauthorized workers at about 54 percent, meaning that one in two illegal workers makes it through the screening

  • Debate intensifies over private planes security measures

    There are 220,000 private planes operated in the United States, flying out of 19,000 airports, most of them small, community airports; in 2008 the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) proposed tougher security regulation of 15,000 of these planes -- mostly private jets -- which fly out of 4,700 airports; facing stiff resistance from owners and operators of these planes, TSA two weeks ago announced it would relax the proposed security requirements; last week's suicide attack on a Texas office building causes TSA to reconsider the whole issue

  • DHS budget has little money for radiation detector devices

    Placing radiation detectors at U.S. ports of entry would help prevent the smuggling of nuclear material into the United States -- but it is also a business issue for Washington state: 400 employees work at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington; the proposed DHS budget contains only $8 million for these detectors, and the Washington congressional delegation presses for more

  • HTS unveils vehicle identity recognition system

    HTS offers a vehicle identity recognition system which recognizes the vehicle's manufacturer logo (car model), vehicle body and plate color, special icons on the plate itself (such as handicap), and country or state name; the system will help police to detect vehicles with false license plates, such as stolen cars, and detect any discrepancies between the vehicle type and its license plate number

Border Security Special Report from Homeland Security Newswire

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The Long View

  • U.S. intelligence chief: Mexico not on brink of collapse

    There is a debate among different U.S. intelligent services about how close to a collapse Mexico is; Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence, says the drug cartels' escalating violence is a product of their weakening state not their strength

  • Country watch: Moribund MexicoMexican drug cartels employ more foot soldiers than Mexican army

    Mexico is spinning out of control; narco-terrorists have infiltrated the Mexican government, creating a shadow regime that complicates efforts to contain and destroy the drug cartels; Mexico ranks behind only Pakistan and Iran as a top U.S. national security concern -- but above Afghanistan and Iraq

  • Not yet ready for prime time: RFID technology

    RFID technology is incorporated into more and more documents (e-passports, enhanced driver's licenses); trouble is, the technology still suffers from privacy and security vulnerabilities

  • Immigration Alert: Employing immigrants during economic slowdown

    There are important employer obligations to consider when employing immigrants during an economic downturn

  • Grappling with the pirate problem

    The Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, and the Gulf of Aden, are among the most sensitive choke points in global commerce; trouble is, the stable, the comparatively wealthy Southeast Asian countries that line the Malacca Strait have committed their naval and coastal forces to stamping out hijackings and piracy, but the Gulf of Aden is bordered by poor or dysfunctional countries like Djibouti, Yemen, and particularly Somalia

  • Immigration matters / David B. PalinskyAlternatives to the H-1B visa, pt. 1: O-1 "Extraordinary ability"

    The U.S. immigration services received more than 163,000 petitions for the 65,000 regular H-1B visas allocated for FY2009; the homeland security, hi-tech, and services sectors, as well as academic and research institutions, need another way to bring to the United States qualified foreign workers and researchers; one such way is the O-1 "Extraordinary Ability" visa

  • Stimulus packageInitial $50 million of stimulus package for airport security awarded

    DHS announced the award of the first $50 million out of a total of $1 billion made available by the stimulus package for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA); money will fund explosive detection systems and advanced technology X-ray units that will streamline baggage screening at U.S. airports