While it has little or nothing to do with earthbound security, the Space Shuttle’s retirement is a poignant moment for practitioners of technology, including us at PRO Barrier. The Shuttle’s missions lifted horizons and hearts, and they will be greatly missed. It’s sad, in this Security Debrief post, to learn that the Shuttle’s engineers were […]
Here’s the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s posting on its Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standard (CFATS), issued last month as an interim final rule. They’ve been in the works since 2006, if not earlier. The rules cover chemical manufacturing facilities of all levels, including oil refineries, several of which are protected by PRO Barrier’s systems. Chemical […]
Getting security procedures right – that is, with reliable results – can be tough. Witness the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) efforts to detect would-be air travelers with a terrorist bent. Bruce Schneier notes that 3,000 TSA “behavior detection” officers questioned 50,000 air travelers in 2010, and arrested 300 of them, “none of whom turned out […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been promoting its “Whole Community” approach to emergency management – a great concept as far as it goes. But it presumes that communities – whole-scale or corporate (we might add) – are equipped for effective, coordinated emergency response. That’s not always the case, however, as Jessica Herrera-Flanigan notes […]
Hopefully, it won’t be for a while, if ever, that you’ll have to worry about this “Sand Flea” vehicle as a security threat. But imagine it’s potential for jumping fences! Or maybe you’d like to deal with a “Big Dog” approaching your gate, another fiendish prototype by Boston Dynamics. Hopefully, neither will ever enter your […]
Get the latest on a confused scene: who is doing homeland security in the U.S. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has issued a report, “Defining Homeland Security: Analysis and Congressional Considerations,” that, says Homeland Security Watch (HSW), “notes the various definitions of homeland security imbedded in the strategies, and does a service to homeland security […]
This is from a blog on computer security, but it’s the mindset behind all effective security: outguess the bad guys. To do that, you’ve got to be continually attentive and alert, by asking yourself something like, “Wow, the Miracle Foo is neat, but I wonder if someone could subvert the security or privacy of the […]
For security officials who may be interested in getting caught up on the biosecurity aspects of site and area protection, here’s a selection of articles from the Biosecurity and Bioterrorism journal that might well be worth your attention. Most are free for downloading as PDF files.
Here’s a new blog, Homeland Security Roundtable, provided expressly for “State and Local Homeland Security Professionals.” The post it’s currently running is an update on the doings of the various Occupy groups. But Jason Nairn, the blog’s creator, says it’s “dedicated to fostering discussion, collaboration and networking among homeland security professionals [who] operate at the […]
Should this be surprising? Al-Qaeda is still in Afghanistan, says the U.S. ambassador there. This stubborn security reality highlights pressures on the U.S. to leave Afghanistan sooner than later. Ambassador Ryan Crocker thinks an early American exit, after 10 years in Afghanistan, would be a mistake. “If we decide we’re tired,” he told The Daily […]