Last week, I was privileged to attend the 5th annual conference of the Center for a New American Security. This year’s conference had a series of excellent panels that pushed through some of the most important issues facing the Nation. Bottom line, the conference overall was a winner. It was very well administered; the content was far superior to the normal Washington affairs.
Last week, I wrote a blog post, The Final ‘Frontier’ in Corporate Shame, which focused on Frontier Airlines’ lack of sensitivity concerning the accommodation of first-responders during times of national crisis. To their credit, Frontier Airlines has since recognized that there are internal gaps within their corporate policies that prevent them from providing better service to those responding to recognized catastrophes.
House Committee Report Disputes TSA Findings On Private Airport Screening – HSToday
US House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure issued a report Friday claiming that the use of private airport screeners under federal supervision is both more efficient and cost effective than an all-federal screening force.
I have closely watched the reaction to the Obama Administration’s recent moves on cyberspace – 20th century mentalities dealing with a 21st century problem. This frontier is without rules or rulers. However, we have not only a national stake in cyberspace through our defense structure; we also have a vast commercial stake with our banking, electrical and other major national industries depending on its viability and safety. We are at the end of the beginning of cyberspace and the lawless frontier.
As a Life Flight helicopter pilot residing just outside of Joplin, Missouri; my father-in-law knew he would be needed to help airlift critically wounded victims of the recent tornado to nearby medical facilities. What he didn’t know is that according to Frontier Airlines, his duty to save lives isn’t as important as their corporate refund policy. This speaks to a larger issue. More and more there is a greater recognition that in the realm of homeland security, there are no bystanders.
Homemade cyberweapon worries federal officials – Washington Times
Two security researchers, working at home in their spare time, have created a cyberweapon similar to the sophisticated Stuxnet computer worm that was discovered last year to have disrupted computer systems running Iran’s nuclear program.
In the last few weeks, the Obama White House has made some bold moves in the cyber arena. It has been quite a while coming. Delayed gratification seems to be the strategy with regard to cyber. Well, after a few weeks, most of us are still confused. Industry players are back in the starter blocks, ready to dash, but they still have not divined the Obama Administration’s direction for cyber to a degree that will allow them to move forward.
On March 31, the Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security released the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding worksite enforcement of immigration laws in the event of a DOL investigation of labor dispute. So who cares, one might ask? We care because this is yet another reminder of the difficult task employers have to balance the interest of immigration compliance and managing labor relations.
It has been a busy couple of days for me, but they have been good ones. I flew down to Maxwell AFB in Alabama to offer the Industry Perspective on Cyber as part of the AF Cyber Operations Executive Course. I also served as moderator for an Executive Luncheon sponsored by the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council, where the guest was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, the Honorable Paul Stockton.
Regardless of circumstance or event, be it flood, fire, tornado or terror, the American Red Cross has always been there. With the release of the Ready Rating Program, the American Red Cross has once again shown their capacity to do just about anything they set their mind too. When you compare this effort to those of DHS in its Private Sector Preparedness (PS-Prep) Program, it’s not even a fair comparison.
Sponsored by:
