Archives: July, 2013

This item brings back our model airplane-building days. The Federal Aviation Administration has issued its first-ever “certificate” for a small, unmanned aircraft system named Puma – which recalls the gasoline-powered planes we launched long ago.  Puma will be used “for commercial missions, such as oil spill monitoring and ocean surveys, in the North Slope region […]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an industry request to help it understand the implications/promise of “Big Data” (digital operations) for accomplishing its mission of protecting the homeland. Whether that’s something to cheer or fear remains to be seen. For now, from Government Security News, is DHS’s explanation of its Big Data aims: […]

What should be secret or not? The Edward Snowden affair has caused keepers of the nation’s secrets to give more active consideration to this question. And more government information is likely to be voluntarily released. Says a press release by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence: “The Administration is undertaking a careful and […]

Hey, it isn’t this bad and, hopefully, never will be. But we pass along Mashable’s “Sunday comics” comment on the Snowden affair, via a post by Neha Prakas, “Have You Been Diagnosed With NSA Anxiety Disorder?” It’s fun. Browser histories are, indeed, very personal, but we haven’t heard of NSA collecting them yet, and no […]

Regrettably, it’s becoming increasingly important for anybody operating a computer network to become mindful of the nature of the viruses and malware that can be inserted onto it. To that helpful end, Securosis is offering an updated paper on the subject: “Network-based Malware Detection 2.0: Assessing Scale, Accuracy and Deployment.” “Compounding the changes in attack […]

Oh dear, use security cameras only for monitoring entrances and perimeters, not for sending out traffic tickets. That’s the lesson of a court case that originated in Elmwood Place, Ohio, where the police were using “speed monitoring cameras” that automatically recorded speeders and sent them $105 traffic tickets in the mail. A judge recently “ruled […]

Despite Janet Napolitano’s strong record as Secretary of Homeland Security, key issues remain as the  security scene continues evolving. On Security Debrief, Ronald Marks writes that the new DHS secretary will need to be concerned about: • Homegrown terrorism and the “cellular levels of ‘one and twos’.” “That game is not going to be helped […]

With Janet Napolitano leaving as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in September to head the University of California system, Stewart Verdery on Security Debrief says it’s a good time to assess her “third era” at DHS (the earlier two being those of Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff).  He gives her credit for […]

Even for security needs, in this time of smart phones, there might well be an app for your corporate needs. That’s the insight we got in reading American City & County’s post “Smart cities use smart phones.” There’s Boston, for instance, which has been “building a sense of community” with its app, Citizens Connect. Version […]

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is readying deliveries of a fairly mundane, but nonetheless essential, item – bottled drinking water – to be on standby for a period of two-and-a-half to six years into the future.  Government Security News advises that FEMA plans to award an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for a minimum […]