Homeland Security Industry

Corporate Preparations for Protester Challenges

October 24, 2011

Occupy Wall Street is not just a protest. It’s an intelligence tool for protest organizers the world over. Protesters inspired by the growing Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City are spreading throughout the United States and the world to challenge the current business and governmental paradigm. That is why corporate leaders and their security teams must be aware of the tactics, information, capabilities and equipment protesters are using. Corporations must not underestimate the resolve of the protesters and their efforts to bring a negative view to the corporate brand name.

Whither the Export Enforcement Coordination Center

Security Debrief |

October 20, 2011

The Obama administration has made admirable and high-profile efforts toward export control reform. The President issued a November 2010 Executive Order establishing an Export Enforcement Coordination Center (EECC), to be housed within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate the efforts of the multiple federal agencies responsible for enforcing our export control laws. Despite this, the EECC still has no apparent public presence.

In Praise of Nick Nayak and the DHS Office of Procurement Operations

David Olive |

October 11, 2011

A few weeks back, I wrote an “Open Letter to Nick Nayak” in which I expressed, in some rather direct language, my frustration at attending a DHS Office of Health Affairs Industry Day on the Biowatch Generation 3 technology – an Industry Day where oral questions were prohibited and where the DHS officials did nothing other than read verbatim from the slide presentation. Apparently that blog struck a nerve because the response was quick and, as it turns out, rather satisfying.

Rep. Rogers Video Statement on TSA contracting reform to stimulate job growth

Media Watch |

September 28, 2011

Rep. Mike Rogers, Chairman on the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security, delivers an opening statement at the hearing entitled: “TSA Reform: Exploring Innovations in Technology Procurement to Stimulate Job Growth”.

Aspen to the Homeland’s Rescue

Rich Cooper |

September 19, 2011

When the Aspen Institute does something, they do it exceptionally well. Last week, they announced the formal establishment of the Aspen Homeland Security Group, a reason for optimism about thinking and scholarship on homeland issues. Their membership is literally a “who’s who” on homeland issues. It was mentioned that this group would be available to DHS Secretary Napolitano and her successors to obtain strategic counsel on a range of matters. She certainly could not have asked for a better “kitchen cabinet” of people to talk to or meet with and that unfortunately is where there is a problem.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill – Time to turn "Lessons Learned" into "Lessons Applied"

Security Debrief |

September 16, 2011

On Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) released their joint investigative report on the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico waters off Louisiana. There are a multitude of regulatory recommendations but two key lessons: 1) NEVER skip established safety routines and protocols, and 2) ALWAYS address risk into your decision-making.

Jeb Bush forms new company focused on disaster response business

Media Watch |

September 15, 2011

Jeb Bush forms new company and gets into ‘privatized’ disaster response business | Florida politics blog: The Buzz | tampabay.com & St. Petersburg Times Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is getting into the for-profit disaster response business. A veteran of emergency response operations — having personally weathered Hurricane Andrew and then shepherded the state through […]

Importance of Effective Public-Private Partnerships in Security Efforts

Security Debrief |

September 14, 2011

By Chris Wiesinger
Recently, CSC joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in one of the first of what promised to be a full season of 10 years after 9/11 retrospectives. The over-arching theme of remarks centered on and around a recognition of the importance of effective public-private partnerships in countering an evolving threat that has no physical, political, bureaucratic, or corporate boundaries. Today, we recognize that the only way to respond effectively to this difficult threat environment is through active, consensual collaboration between government, the private sector and citizens.

Doing Business with DHS: An Open Letter to Nick Nayak

David Olive |

September 14, 2011

A continuing (and welcomed) theme of some DHS presentations has been the importance of maintaining a dialogue with all Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stakeholders, including the private sector. While the messages have been well received in the audiences where I was privileged to sit, unfortunately, those messages do not seem fully to have permeated DHS – yet. My specific concern is triggered by an event labeled as a Biowatch Gen3 Industry Day held by the Office of Health Affairs on Monday, September 12, 2011. Unlike other DHS Industry Day sessions, which have been substantively informative, procedurally interactive and programatically insightful, this event was a complete waste of time for almost everyone there.

Homeland Security Symposium Focuses on Disasters

Rich Cooper |

September 13, 2011

The world has faced tragic events of late: the Japanese earthquake and tsunami; the tragic bombing and shooting in Oslo, Norway; and post-Hurricane Irene floods along the U.S. East Coast. With these and other ever-present threats to our critical infrastructures and way of life, the National Defense Industrial Association’s (NDIA) 2011 Homeland Security Symposium is “Disasters: Preparing, Surviving and Responding to Dynamic Threats.”

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