Security Debrief leads us to a report in The Washington Post on how federal security functions would fare should there be a government shutdown in a budgetary deadlock next week. Based on contingency plans that were made in 2011, the last time a government shutdown was threatened, military employees of the Defense Department would remain […]
After the terrorist attack on the shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, What would a “spooked” U.S. shopping mall be like? Here, on Homeland Security Watch, are “Ten signs the U.S. is overreacting to the Nairobi Mall attack” – but not a prediction they will actually occur here. “Malls have not ignored security in the post […]
With all the attention to security cleareances in the Edward Snowden and Washington Navy Yard situations, some background on what clearances are and how they are issued may be helpful. Especially if you’re issuing them. Congressional Research Service offers a PDF-formatted paper on: “Security Clearance Process: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.” Michelle D. Christensen, the […]
Security is more than fences and gates. As the Washington Naval Shipyard shootings this week showed, the reliability of the people passing through a facility’s gates is crucial to its safety. So U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is launching reviews of facility security and background checks in the wake of the shipyard shootings. “Obviously, […]
Sightlogix provides a series of videos explaining the difference between video cameras that provide surveillance as distinct from actually enhancing security. Cameras evidently now are capable of spotting intruders and promoting action against them in real time. Sounds futuristic? Watch the videos, press Sightlogix on the subject, and decide for yourselves.
Starting in October, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) will be “waving” selected airline passengers through airport checkpoints, with their shoes and coats on and their laptop computers untouched. To speed up passenger processing, The Washington Post reports, TSA will be selecting previously screened passengers for expedited clearance at airport gates. About 450,000 passengers-a-day will be […]
Congress should consolidate the manner in which it oversees the Department of Homeland Security, an outside task force is urging. As reported by Government Security News, the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands and the Aspen Institute of Justice and Society “convened a task force of distinguished current and former members of Congress, executive branch and DHS […]
In security terms, Illinois-based Advocate Health Care is in a heck of a fix, after four of its computers were stolen from its administrative building in Park Ridge, Ill. It’s like waiting for a cyber shoe to drop, since the computers were password-protected, but not encrypted. They contain personal data, including social security numbers, on […]
Here’s a component of perimeter security that may not yet have occurred to you. But depending on the length and nature of your perimeter, specialized mountain bikes can helpful. That’s what U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is affirming in ordering 29 mountain bikes for use in the Rio Grande Valley sector of Texas. Government […]
The U.S. Homeland Security Department is committing $6 billion to standardize and strengthen cybersecurity monitoring and protection of civilian networks over the next three years, the Federal Times reports. DHS will be “firing billions of automatic security inspections across civilian networks every 24 to 72 hours. DHS has additional funding budgeted for at least the […]