Adfero Group HSPI

While the United States successfully thwarted another attempted bombing of a domestic inbound aircraft by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the disrupted plot should tell Americans two important things: our intelligence and security agencies are doing excellent work, and continued vigilance is the price of security. We need every available tool to combat and protect against terrorists, and this means speeding up the rate at which America procures and implements counter-terrorism technology.

Sunday’s LA Times contains a story that every Member of Congress and homeland security stakeholder ought to read. For the first time that I can remember, AMO Chief Michael Kostelnik, CBP’s main evangelist for acquiring Predator UAVs for border enforcement, admits that the results have NOT been impressive, especially in helping capture illegal drug runners.

I recently published a piece in Defense Media Network about the Department of Homeland Security’s Center of Excellence (CoE) initiative. This is an important effort in building America’s homeland capabilities and in developing homeland security as profession. Homeland agencies receive security solutions, the CoE receive work and research from intelligent students, and the students themselves acquire the skill sets and experience needed to propel them into homeland security careers.

For better or worse, social media is the billboard of our lives in today’s digital world. Recent news stories detailing how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was monitoring media outlets, news sites, and other social networking platforms have raised some eyebrows, but it would be completely irresponsible for DHS, intelligence, or law enforcement authorities to ignore these valuable resources and the information and insights they can provide.

Having been involved with DHS’ Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (SAFETY Act) since its inception, my antenna are always alert for mentions of it. Like in late 2008, I am surprised that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s 2nd Annual Address on the State of America’s Homeland Security did not include a pat on the back for the Department’s remarkable milestones achieved in the past year. Nevertheless, the SAFETY Act Office’s list of accomplishments are impressive and growing.

By Seth Stodder
This week, the Supreme Court dipped its toes into the muddy waters of how modern surveillance technologies – in this case, GPS tracking – fit within the 200-year-old confines of the Fourth Amendment. In United States v. Jones, the Court ruled that the DC Police and the FBI violated the Fourth Amendment when they placed a GPS tracker on a Jeep Cherokee driven by criminal suspect Antoine Jones, and then tracked it for 28 days – all without a valid search warrant.

In the Second World War, the iconic phrase “loose lips sink ships” summed up the need for keeping information that could be useful to the enemy to only those who need it. It’s 70 years later and the social imperative for who needs information has diametrically changed. On any social networking site, there are opportunities for our enemies to identify us and use that information to plan attacks, both physical and cyber.

The Homeland Security Policy Institute released an issue brief highlighting the value of applying analytic tradecraft techniques more widely throughout the homeland security community. Author and HSPI Senior Fellow Jon Nowick maintains that as the homeland security community faces evolving threats, it must tap every opportunity to use resources smartly.

Customs and Border Protection’s recently announced it had received a second Predator-B Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in Corpus Christi, Texas. As the Los Angeles Times disclosed in a must-read story for anyone interested in eliminating wasteful federal spending, the Corpus Christi-based UAV was one of three Predator UAVs that CBP would be accepting, even though there were not enough pilots to fly the ones that they already had. Why aren’t the budget hawks in Congress doing something about this? What in the world are they thinking?

The recently identified “Duqu” worm has raised a whole new set of issues. Seemingly a variant of the Stuxnet malware that got so much of the world’s attention, everyone is trying to figure out what it “means.” Stuxnet opened a new window, and Duqu is only the first of many. The rub is, unlike Stuxnet, which targeted Iranian centrifuges, Duqu may be coming directly at you and your systems.

In this era of budget austerity, telework is an effective way to reduce agency costs and increase productivity. Recognizing these benefits, federal agencies have implemented telework policies and an increasing number of employees are taking advantage of the option. At the same time, however, teleworking presents significant security challenges. Agencies can reduce telework risks through the use of Trusted Computing.

When the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began using full-body scanners in airports, the now-iconic “naked” images spurred a public debate over privacy and security. As a result, TSA has started implementing new software in its Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines, removing anatomical detail and automatically targeting concealed objects on a generic outline. This technology will have at least two notable ramifications: airport security infrastructure footprint should shrink and the debate over full body scanners will shift away from privacy concerns.

As the East Coast is cleaning up from the effects of Hurricane Irene, pundits have not been shy in expressing opinions about the use (mostly about the benefits) of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter to get information out to affected audiences. The FCC has launched an inquiry into whether phone calls to 911 emergency response agencies were affected by congestion on the cellular phone communications networks. The FCC might also look into how media solicitations for viewer video affects network congestion.

For the past several years, DHS has quietly been testing various forms of advanced technology to identify, detect and deter criminal and/or terrorist acts before they happen. It appears DHS is trying to emulate the Tom Cruise movie “Minority Report.” Yet, several experts believe that relying on the current technology will create many false positives, targeting innocent people for additional questioning and slowing down security queues at busy airports. We don’t need to waste scarce government monetary resources trying to develop “thought crime software.”

I know lots of people who have written about how “wild” the cyber realm is today, and the lack of “rules” makes it a Hobbesian State of Nature. The bottom line is that in cyber, there is an incredible freedom to digitally take matters into ones own hands. The concept of nation states having a monopoly on the instruments of power is simply not true in cyber, and it does not matter how big ones biceps are if you can work a keyboard.

By Rob Strayer
The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals in a lawsuit challenging the Transportation Security Administration’s use of Advanced Imaging Technology machines is that they do not constitute an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. What is significant is the D.C. Circuit’s holding that TSA failed to provide notice and solicit public comments on a new rule that passengers undergo a mandatory whole body scan or a pat down. The court’s decision will have potentially far ranging effects on the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies that seek to implement new security measures.

Social media posts are becoming the new digital fingerprints for law enforcement, providing critical tips and leads on criminal activity. Yet most law enforcement agencies aren’t monitoring or using social media sites to gather intelligence. If an individual in your business district began shouting threats at the crowds, how long would it take for police to be notified and respond? How quickly would your agency respond to the same threats voiced over Twitter, Facebook or the other social media channels?

It is all but impossible for DHS to fulfill its mission of protecting the homeland when the bureaucratic processes they must work with fail to recognize that sometimes a partial solution is better than a delayed solution. Last week the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Management held a hearing on technology acquisition. I have little hope that GAO will ever understand the real-world environment in which homeland security acquisition ought to occur. The GAO report released to coincide with the hearing shows me that they just don’t “get it.”

“Wheels stop.” With those two words, the era of the Space Shuttle officially closed. Those two words are traditionally spoken by the Shuttle Commander as the orbiter comes to a complete stop. Today’s space shuttle landing means 6,300 people will be laid off and the Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control will fall silent. For now, we will have to wait until we see what the private sector can provide for a new era in human spaceflight.

OK, I admit to being a Star Wars fan. One of the films’ story lines is the Empire’s attempt to strike back against the rebel forces and crush them. As in time honored tradition back here on Earth, the strategy never works. Watching the not-so-swift vengeance of governments against the Lulzs of the world after the recent spate of internet attacks – well, here we go again.