Adfero Group HSPI

By Douglas Doan
Don’t look now, but it looks as if we are about to go through another bruising battle on immigration reform. Here’s an idea, let’s do something that would strengthen the country, make us more competitive, and fuel economic growth. It is actually quite easy.

The tortured saga of RT is pretty well known, but during his confirmation hearing Thursday, the nominee for Administrator for the Transportation Security Administration Erroll Southers indicated his strong support for a risk-based Registered Traveler program.

Erroll Southers, President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration, kicked his new career off in a very encouraging way today at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

What is cloud computing? Some call it nothing but a fad, and a dangerous one at that. Others believe it is the next big paradigm shift for technology. As with any major transformation, there are numerous nuances and definitions for cloud computing.

Like Stewart Baker, I’m mystified at the New York Times article complaining about the failure to have a comprehensive exit program in place. It seems typical of Congress — if you don’t like a particular program (say, interior enforcement) support some different program as “more effective.”

I give S&T high marks for beginning to open itself to the public and media in a transparent fashion. The roundtable gave me an opportunity to ask questions about how the Commercialization office might be tied closer with the acquisition process (something where the public and private sector would find benefit, I believe.)

Melissa Hathaway finally speaks out about her previous role in two administrations in building a national cybersecurity strategy. She commendably declines to criticize her previous bosses and insists the Obama Administration understands the urgency of cybersecurity. Is she being too kind? The cybersecurity realm is desperate for leadership — and progress.

This week has been a telling one for those of us who follow border security closely. Congress and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have made a series of bold moves that arguably make our borders less secure. At the same time, the changes will be hailed by some as overdue upgrades to a flawed border management policy that built fences between neighbors and sought to imprison illegal aliens for ‘just’ entering the country.

While Melissa Hathaway has left her government position, she certainly has not left the fight to secure America’s interests in cybersecurity.

At a time when the economy is in the toilet, when we’re fighting (and perhaps losing) wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, when healthcare is becoming a fading memory, and we’ve got to worry about Ahmadinejad trying to get his hands on a nuke with all the fervor of a Wall Street fat-cat chasing down a government bailout, Congress seems more concerned about finding ways to belittle one another than fulfilling the oath to serve.

By Edward Alden

The front page of the New York Times this week has re-launched the debate over whether the United States should finally complete the long promised comprehensive entry-exit system as a tool for preventing terrorist attacks. It should be a short debate: the answer is no. To confront the enormous logistical difficulties of creating a comprehensive entry-exit system for minimal investigative benefits doesn’t make a shred of sense.

Like most of the country, I awoke to the shocking news of the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to President Obama. Like the reporters sitting in Oslo this morning at the announcement, I also gasped. As proud as I am to have any of our Presidents recognized by the world with a distinguished award I’m still left scratching my head and saying, “What the hell?”

The pursuit of bureaucratic dominance after 9/11 gave us the divorce of counter-terror from counter-crime, creating a duopoly that is massively expensive in terms of money, manpower and effectiveness. Illegal immigration and smuggling are becoming a major focus of manpower, and runs the risk of the same bureaucratic wrangling that sacrifices effect and efficiency in the name of departmental primacy.

If Americans think we have problems with the recent disruption of a suspected terrorist cell in New York, they haven’t seen anything yet.

As more drugs and illegal aliens are being smuggled northbound, there has been a similar spike in guns and cash heading south. The same false dashboard compartments and hollowed suitcases that carry contraband into the United States are used to move the cash back into Mexico. With the flood of drugs heading north, and the flood of guns traveling south – and the illicit revenues flowing in both directions – it is disconcerting to realize that, nearly a year into the Obama Administration, there is still no nominee to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. No nominee to take charge of the ATF – the law enforcement bureau responsible for enforcing gun and explosives laws. That the man nominated to head of Customs and Border Protection still waits idly to be confirmed.

When he submitted his resignation in March of this past year, Rod Beckstrom, the then-Director of the National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC) delivered one of the more incendiary “I quit” letters. It would seem, as undiplomatic as Beckstrom’s resignation may have been by typical Washington standards, his ability to “call ‘em like you see them” was accurate.

In recent years, violence along the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated dramatically, due largely to the Mexican government’s efforts to disrupt Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTO). U.S. officials note the violence associated with Mexican DTOs poses a serious challenge for U.S. law enforcement, threatening citizens on both sides of the border, and U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials generally agree many of the firearms used to perpetrate crimes in Mexico are illicitly trafficked from the United States across the Southwest border. GAO was asked to examine (1) data on the types, sources, and users of these firearms; (2) key challenges confronting U.S. government efforts to combat illicit sales of firearms in the United States and stem the flow of them into Mexico; (3) challenges faced by U.S. agencies collaborating with Mexican authorities to combat the problem of illicit arms; and (4) the U.S. government’s strategy for addressing the issue. GAO analyzed program information and firearms data and met with U.S. and Mexican officials on both sides of the border.

A small vessel, such as a commercial fishing vessel or recreational boat, can be used as a waterborne improvised explosive device, as a platform for conducting an attack, or to smuggle weapons or terrorists into the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General recently released a report on DHS’ strategy to address small boat threats in U.S. waters. The threat of a small boat attack in the U.S is real and DHS leadership knows that understanding and control of small boat activity in and around the U.S. is key to addressing the small boat terrorism threat.

I had a wonderful opportunity this past weekend to gain some insights into the cyber security priorities and concerns out in the real world – beyond the Beltway and being implemented in real life.