Adfero Group HSPI

It is a legitimate question to ask what we are getting for our money. An even better question, and one that is not so frequently asked, is “Could we have gotten something better for the money we spent?” CBP celebrated 10,000 hours of Predator UAV flight recently, but bragging about that is similar to a hypothetical pizza parlor owner bragging about how the Humvee his shop uses to deliver pizzas has never failed in delivering pizza to his customers. In my mind, only a foolish person would buy a $20,000 slice of pizza, no matter what toppings were on it. Someone needs to ask if the Predator is CBP’s equivalent of that slice of pizza.

At an airport security checkpoint last week, a TSA officer guided a 95-year-old cancer patient to a private room to investigate “something suspicious on her leg.” It turned out to be a wet adult diaper, which she was asked to remove. TSA offered no apology and stood by protocol. This was another missed opportunity. Sometimes, even when we do the “right” thing, we should apologize. Instead, we now have a “viral” episode that places another brick on the wall between the public and the security agencies charged with protecting them.

I have called many times for better cyber personal hygiene and still believe we need to seek it, teach it, and require it as at least a partial mitigation element. I have even said that “you cannot secure against stupid.” Yet, a colleague argued that technology design should do a better job of protecting users. Here is an article – followed by my colleague’s commentary – on this interesting question: who is to blame for our cyber problems?

If you have been following the news reports concerning ATF’s Operation “Fast and Furious,” you are acutely aware that CBP agent Brian Terry was killed in the line of duty and some of the weapons found at the scene have been traced back to what is now known as “Operation Fast and Furious.” For various political reasons, including conspiracy theories, there has been and continues to be a feeding frenzy by reporters and commentators on both the left and the right. Everyone needs to take a step back, take a deep breath and look at the facts.

Here is a piece I wrote for the Defense Media Network on the recent TSA incident involving a 95-year-old leukemia patient. This instance, like some of the other eye-popping and jaw-dropping cases of the past few months and years raises a lot of questions – I’d like to know where this woman, in her obvious feeble condition, ranked on the risk scale that warranted such a search?

Yesterday, the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) released the recommendations of its Community Resilience Task Force (CRTF), which argue that it is impossible to build a resilient nation upon protected yet aged, overstressed, exploitable and consequence-amplifying infrastructure foundations.

On June 17, the UN Security Council enacted sweeping changes to the international sanctions regime against al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Security Council adopted two resolutions aimed at dividing al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the wake of Usama bin Laden’s death, creating a consolidated list of those understood to be supporting al Qaeda.

It is hard to argue that local, state, and federal counterterrorism operations are not still a work in progress. While working together, law enforcement agencies at all levels have combined to thwart a number of plots since 9/11, many challenges that frustrate cooperation still perplex the national counterterrorism enterprise. The remedy is a new organizational culture that places a premium on building trust and confidence between federal, state, and local counterterrorism efforts.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has complained on more than one occasion that Republicans are “moving the goalposts” when it comes to border security. One reason, as former DHS economist Bryan Roberts and I argue in a new piece for Foreign Affairs, is that the current metrics for measuring progress at the border are lousy. Apprehensions at the border may be falling, but does that mean illegal immigrants have been deterred from trying?

Today we released an issue brief on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) that highlights the current threat that AQAP poses, the implications of AQAP’s ascension in the wake of the Yemeni government collapse and considers options to address the threat. We contend that the current security vacuum that AQAP has exploited to expand and secure its safe haven, also allows the U.S. greater flexibility of counterterrorism options and maneuverability, providing a unique opportunity to reduce AQAP’s capabilities through the use of special operations forces and armed drones.

Documentary on Irish mob boss James Whitey Bulger, on the lam for 16 years and caught this week by the FBI.

One of the more interesting parts of the rejuvenated Anarchist movement has been the adoption of Guy Fawkes as a hero. The Internet movements like Anonymous and a number of other Lulzs have been doing their level Guy Fawkes’ best to flex their muscles against the man. And so Uncle Sam, in the guise of the U.S. Government, is finding out the wild frontier of cyber space is not about to be intimidated by Washington laws or declarations. We focus on nation states. In the new frontier, all the Guy Fawkes are the same.

It’s a basic lesson any semi-decent carpenter or weekend handyman knows. If you have the right tools, you can do your job a lot easier and a whole lot better. As basic as this premise might be, it is one that we have failed to follow in terms of dealing with fire and ice in this country. With a median age of several decades and enormous wear and tear, the reliability and safety our firefighting planes is in serious question.

San Francisco is beautiful, historic and diverse. But as nice as that city is, I remain disturbed by its anti-military reputation. The SF Police and Human Rights Commission held hearings on Joint Terrorism Task Force operations in San Francisco. The hearings specifically addressed the FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guidelines that allow the JTTF to commence an investigation/surveillance without a direct nexus to criminal activity. I wonder if residents of San Francisco and the SFPD will ever “get it.”

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the trip to Washington yesterday to meet with members of Congress and delivered a very strong speech at a Council on Foreign Relations symposium, “The Future of U.S. Immigration Policy.” Bloomberg’s message was one that all sides in the caustic immigration debate need to hear: that in the dire economic situation this country faces, the question is no longer what the United States can do for immigrants, it’s what immigrants can do for us.

There are now criminal turf wars going on over the thousands of computers that comprise botnets across America and the world. This “invisible” conflict is unknown to most computer users in America. Botnets can be used to search for and steal money, financial data, passwords, and intellectual property. The size of some of the botnets out there rival and surpass the capabilities of most nation states, and the guys who control them are NOT the good guys.

The media is reporting changes to the Attorney General Guidelines. it looks like expanded authority to conduct physical surveillances, polygraphs of informants and limited attendance at public functions is not much change in terms of intrusion into the civil liberties of our population. I understand that some people may be alarmed; however, I know that the FBI’s agents charged with collecting intelligence within the United States are closely supervised – I was one of them.

The Center for a New American Security has published an excellent and comprehensive report titled “America’s Cyber Future: Security and Prosperity in the Information Age.” To be frank, the report is like a ready-made syllabus for cyber security. CNAS should be congratulated for the quality of the authors they have assembled, for letting them write effectively and openly, and for developing the chapeau to cover the lot.

Recently, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued due diligence guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-affected and High-Risk Areas. These guidelines are a necessary first step in helping the local populace, developing countries, and multi-national corporations meet international requirements. In a high-risk environment, corporations must have vibrant management systems that strongly communicate and actively demonstrate to employees and outside entities their commitment to a conflict-free supply chain.

This is not the first Weiner problem that Washington has had and poor behavior is not something one political party has an edge over the other. Despite all of those transgressions, the Republic has survived, and it will survive long after all of the salacious details of Rep. Anthony Weiner’s escapades come out. But in watching all of this unravel, I could not help but think of the security clearance process that I and many others have gone through. If he were anyone else and an investigator got his file to begin the rudimentary background check, he might otherwise be told, “You need not apply.”