The Blog @ Homeland Security: Cybersecurity Awareness Month Part V With National Cybersecurity Awareness Month now finished, I would like to remind everyone that cybersecurity is not an issue that requires our attention only one month a year. Instead, we need to be thinking about cybersecurity every time we turn on a computer. Further, as […]
Hendra virus infects horses and bats – but the fatality rate among human beings coming into contact with the animals is high because there is no cure for it; the virus and its relative, the Nipah virus, are so lethal that the United States consider them a homeland security threat; there is fear that terrorists may infect bats and then release them near population centers.
A senior FBI technologist declared last month that after decades of evaluation, the agency sees no point in facial recognition. He said that 18,000 law enforcement agencies contribute fingerprints and DNA samples to the FBI’s databases and, at their peak, they submit 200,000+ identity verification queries a day. It’s a big operation, and it’s only going to grow, he said. What will be missing from this mix, however, is facial recognition.
On October 27, I participated in a panel on “U.S. Policy toward Cuba: Key Considerations for National Security” and tried to bring a pragmatic approach to the discussion on the current debate over the country’s status as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
Maher Arar, the Canadian who got more than $10 million from the Canadian government for its role in Arar’s rendition to Syria, has lost his suit against U.S. officials in an en banc Second Circuit decision.
Senator details plan for cybersecurity director (11/2/09) — GovExec.com Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Monday called for creating a Senate-confirmed director of federal cybersecurity who would be based at the Homeland Security Department rather than the White House.
U.S. Needs Hit Squads, ‘Manhunting Agency’: Spec Ops Report | Danger Room | Wired.com CIA director Leon Panetta got into hot water with Congress, after he revealed an agency program to hunt down and kill terrorists. A recent report from the U.S. military’s Joint Special Operations University argues that the CIA didn’t go far enough. […]
The Blog @ Homeland Security: Wheels Up–Napolitano Tours Europe and Middle East Secretary Napolitano departed Washington, D.C. this morning en route to Copenhagen, Denmark – the first stop on a multi-city trip to Europe and the Middle East. The Secretary will travel to Belgium, Denmark, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom over the […]
When the 9/11 Commission recommendations were released in 2004 most of the media focus and national attention were on the proposed reforms to the nation’s intelligence mechanisms. Practically lost in the coverage of five years ago was the last of the recommendations that focused upon private sector preparedness.
Such is the Defense Department’s plight in the latest high-stakes contest to build aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force. The competition for the deal, worth $35 billion or more, hasn’t even officially begun, but lawmakers siding with the rival manufacturers bidding for the job are already calling foul.
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