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Yesterday Secretary Napolitano reached out to the public with a message to encourage citizen participation in the fight against terrorism. (Yes, I said it: terrorism. And so did she.) The message isn’t a new one but it is good to hear repeated.

Yet another embarrassing situation for TSA occurred earlier this week when TSA screeners at Fort Lauderdale airport decided to confiscate a toy sword and bright red wooden gun from two young boys on the way back home from Disney World.

This week, DHS, various federal departments, a range of state, local and tribal governments as well as members of the private sector, and international participants are taking part in the National Level Exercise 2009 (NLE09). Exercises such as these are essential and rewarding on many levels.

Mickey McCarter of HS Today spoke with Security Debrief contributor Randy Bearsworth about his recent appointment to Secretary Napolitano’s 60-day task force regarding the current terror alert system. Breadsworth, who most recently co-chaired the Presidential Study Directive-1 (PSD-1): Organizing for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, spoke with HS Today about the goals of the system and future of notifying both the public and government partners in the case of an emergency.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Wednesday called for more public participation to guard against terrorist threats, part of the Obama administration’s strategy to keep the country safe.

Cyber Security is not a new issue. We have grappled with security of all sorts for decades, and the protection of information and communications means did not start yesterday. But, to dismiss the changes that have occurred in the last few years in connectivity, in interdependence across sectors, and in threat levels to them as “nothing new”, is dangerously ludicrous.

Sunday’s Washington Post Magazine (July 26, 2009), profiled the intense and what can only be described grueling process to become a Special Agent of the US Secret Service. Taking you through the backgrounds of some of the members of Special Agent Training Class No. 283 and the various obstacles and challenges that each has to overcome to graduate, Laura Blumenfeld’s article ‘The Making of an Agent,’ captures why this unique federal law enforcement branch and the men and women that make it up is as unique as it is.

It’s clear to me that privacy remains the overriding concern of the Obama Administration as it continues to wrestle with Cyber Security.

Just as they did under the old and more urgent-sounding moniker of the “9/11 Commission,” and then again under the less-urgent and more bureaucratic-sounding “9/11 Public Discourse Project,” Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean are back on the national scene, beating the drums to make sure that the nation continues to maintain a focus on homeland security and evolve it security capabilities.

A recently article by Albor Ruiz, of the New York Daily News, unfairly characterizes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as demonizing our society. It’s a shame that the media focus on the sensational without providing context and balance, including the steps agents take to ensure their safety as well as the community at large during any operation.

Last week AT&T conducted it’s largest-ever network disaster recovery exercise at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The exercise is conducted several times per year to test the communications giant’s ability to bounce back from a plethora of emergency situations — from hurricanes to wildfires to terrorist attacks. Is your company regularly conducting tests and exercises? Are you ready? According to a recent study conducted by AT&T, the answer to that question is a deafening “no!”

Americans have been lulled into a false sense of security since being so far removed from the attacks of September 11, 2001. Though many suggestions of the 9/11 Commission have been enacted, there are still many significant holes in our country’s maritime and port security.

Absent an identity tool tied to E-Verify, employers have been left to serve as document detectives. Senator Schumer’s suggestion for a biometric employment card doesn’t sound all that different than enhanced security goals hoped to be achieved by Real ID. Regrettably this identity solution received a major blow in the past few weeks when the Administration announced that it was retreating from Real ID’s implementation.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today launched the DHS YouTube Channel and announced the redesign of DHS.gov—steps to enhance the Department’s web presence, increase transparency and provide accurate, up-to-date information to the public.

As any administration ends or goes through a transition, people change out jobs in the federal government. Individuals with experience and expertise leave government and move back to the private sector. As experts depart government service, they should utilize their knowledge and expertise to better equip our society to face the challenges that abound today.

USNews.com: July Political Cartoons

If we stay “conservative” on cybersecurity, we will fail, as the adversaries we face are anything but. They are willing to try a thousand times to achieve one successful penetration. We have to be just as agile and versatile if we are to stay ahead of them. This will require open mindedness on an unprecedented level.

Mexico must follow Colombia’s lead and not fold under the pressure of the wrath playing out on her streets today. Drug cartels, just like terrorist organizations, work very, very hard to destabilize governments around the globe. They rely on corruption, intimidation and violence, the hallmarks of organized crime, to create permissive environments where they can grow and thrive; areas where they can literally get away with mass murder.If Mexico loses the will to continue this fight, then life in Mexico and the United States will change as we know it.

The presidential elections of June have brought to the surface, like never before, the deep rifts that exist within Iranian society and its power structure. What is really happening there? And more importantly, what should the United States do about it? The delicate and serious nature of the current situation in Iran requires a very wise approach by the Obama Administration. The stakes are very high and the opportunity is unique.

The G-20 will not just affect Pittsburgh. This has significant implications for corporations and government alike, for whom the time to identify this issue as a posing a threat, and finding a solution, is rapidly running out.