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There were many things that surprised me during a State Department-sponsored trip to Mexico this week, where we took a tour of U.S. border security operations before heading into Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City to meet with groups organizing against the spiraling violence in that country. I was surprised, for instance, that a representative from one of the Juarez drug cartels did not meet me at the airport, a block-typed sign with my name on it in one hand and a diamond-handled .45 in the other. I was surprised by the Border Patrol video with shrieking death metal background music. I was surprised by the mixture of courage and nonchalance of the college students living in Juarez who have grown sick of the murders and extortions and kidnappings in their city and who want desperately for the world to know that these cartels do not define them. I was surprised that traffic lights in Mexico City are optional …

The US-CCU has issued a superb report on its year long analysis of the 2008 Russian Cyber Campaign against Georgia that accompanied their kinetic military assault into Ossetia. The full report has a great deal of detail on IP addresses and other essentially proprietary information, and therefore has not yet been released to the public.

I am still a bit surprised when I hear this question: How many terrorists has the Department of Homeland Security caught? Probably for most employees at DHS, it’s an odd question. Which is why it’s a critical public relations matter. Most Americans still don’t understand the mission of DHS.

The Department of Homeland Security’s new focus seems to target well-intentioned employers and neglect the rest. In tough economic times, DHS should focus on ensuring a level playing field for honest businesses, and regulating unscrupulous firms who use illegal workers to cut costs and gain a competitive advantage.

On the morning of Aug 19th, Gov Exec Magazine and Nextgov.com hosted an excellent panel on Coordinated Cyber Defense at the National Press Club. The panel consisted of Brian Fredericks the lead for defending the DIB networks in the Department of Defense’s OASD NII (Defense’s CIO), Jim Lewis, CSIS’s Cyber Leader, LtGen Ken Minihan, former DirNSA, now working for Paladin Capital Group, and Allan Paller, Dir of Research, SANS Institute. The panel was moderated by Jill Aitoro, the Cyber reporter for the two hosting organizations.

Defying one fatal blow after another the Registered Traveler (RT) program has managed to survive in a way that would make Lazarus envious. After a federal court prohibited Verified Identity Pass/Clear, now out of the RT business, from selling the personal data of its participants, there seemed to be no resurrecting RT.

By doing little more than holding a cheerleading session for a failed approach to immigration reform, the White House has done little to engage the American people in discussing real and honest solutions. Instead, they have only further polarized an already divisive issue.

We all know that President Obama has a lot on his plate right now. He is still trying to get the economy moving, North Korea is being troublesome, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan grind on, and of course there is the contentious Heath Care Reform debate. As a citizen, I am sympathetic to the President’s plight, as a cyber security specialist, I am running out of patience.

When it was first announced that my hometown of Pittsburgh had been selected to host the G-20 Summit I have to say I was genuinely thrilled at the news.  The entire world was going to see the “City of Champions” as I know it – a place where great neighborhoods and excellence in commerce, education, [...]

“Watching the Libyans dancing in the streets and giving that guy, a terrorist, a guy who mercilessly killed hundreds — watching all that on the news this morning made me sick. It was like a whole new bomb going off.”

In what has been a lightly reported story this past week – but one for which it is impossible to overstate the importance of – President Felipe Calderon terminated 1000 customs officials (700 in some reports) from their positions as inspectors at ports of entry throughout the country. This is another indication of the dedicated and serious manner in which President Calderon has continued to wage war with the drug cartels that exploit the border for their own illegitimate purposes.

Yesterday, DHS, in partnership with the Commerce Department and Health and Human Services (HHS) released new guidance to the private sector on preparations for the 2009-2010 Flu Season. With heightened concern over a resurgence of the H1N1 virus, the Administration is pulling out all of the stops to educate schools, businesses and the American public about the forthcoming vaccine, as well as measures that that every person should take to protect themselves from H1N1 infection and more importantly, what they should do if they become ill.

TSA’s engagement with social media is essential given the dynamics of today’s world, especially for a government agency that interfaces in-person with 2 million people everyday in our nations airports.

In reading Dan Fowler’s article, “Emergency Management Chief Decries ‘Culture of Entitlement’” in CQ this morning I was struck by the frank talk and courage of the comments made by National Emergency Management Association President Nancy Dragani. While speaking at a Heritage Foundation Forum, Dragani noted the shift of our culture from one of personal responsibility to one of expectation and entitlement in terms of disaster and emergency response.

We would like to apologize to our readers for the technical difficulties experienced over the last two weeks. Our server was going through its death rattle and we had to put it out of its misery. We apologize for any inconvenience, and do not expect any more down periods.

The front page, banner headline of today’s Washington Times states the following: “Disaster plans leave the disabled behind.” In what they term as an exclusive, Times Reporter, Audrey Hudson reports on the findings of newly issued report by the National Council on Disability that details the gaps that exists in including the country’s disabled population in emergency planning.

The Politico logs a headline that reads: “President Obama: Immigration bill coming this year.” On the same morning, CQ Homeland Security asserts: “Obama Says Immigration Overhaul Will Slide to 2010.”

Got that?

Currently, goods driven from the interior of Mexico arrive at the border where they are transferred to another truck with driver that crosses the border and clears customs. The cargo is then transferred to a third – U.S. based – shipper and delivered to its final destination. My niece could spot the glaring inefficiencies in this current system. She’s seven.

Admiral Thad Allen, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, has been on a mission for going on three years now: To raise awareness of the security vulnerabilities presented by small boats on America’s largely unregulated and unrestricted waterways.

Reuters reported Friday that, President Obama “expects Congress to overhaul the country’s immigration system…”early next year.” Speaking to Hispanic reporters at the White House, Obama said he hopes a bill for comprehensive immigration reform will be drafted by the end of this year.” He has tasked Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano with working with Congress to draft the bill. This is a prescription for disaster…and here is why.