Homeland Security Daily Wire

Emergence of violent Islamist groups in U.S. aided by Internet

The Internet helps fuel – and channel – Islamic extremism in the United States; a congressional report says that the U.S. government has "no cohesive and comprehensive outreach and communications strategy in place to confront this thread."

Intercell to acquire Iomai

Intercell will expand late stage product pipeline and strengthen position in vaccine market; immunostimulant vaccine patch enhances the immune response compared to injected pandemic influenza vaccines; if tests prove successful, it would have the effect of expanding limited vaccine supplies by allowing public health officials to use fewer or lower doses of the vaccine

Flashlight weapons show promise as non-lethal systems

The need to fight insurgents and terrorists hiding among civilians in urban centers has led to a growing interest in nonlethal weapons; flashlight weapons show more promise than other nonlethal systems

Land transportation & border security
San Francisco aggressively to promote use of electric vehicles

The City on the Bay to help build charging infrastructure throughout the city and the suburbs to make use of electrical vehicles viable

Mathematical frontiers
Stephen Hawking looking for Africa's hidden talent

New initiative aims to promote the study of math and science in Africa; £75 million from private donors will be used to create Africa’s first postgraduate centers for advanced maths and physics; fifteen such centers will be open

China Lacks Earthquake Early-Warning System

Earthquake alerts are still in their infancy and few nations deploy them; China is one of the many countries which is yet to do so; such systems offer but a few seconds warning of a coming quake, but these few seconds may be enough to save many from death or injury

Worries about damage to Chinese dam

Damage to a large Chinese dam near the epicenter of Monday's earthquake raises worries about more troubles to come in the devastated region

The economics of cyber -- and infrastructure -- security

New book explores the economics of protecting cyberspace; the book "links our nation's critical infrastructures across public and private institutions in sectors ranging from food and agriculture, water supply and public health, to energy, transportation and financial services," says one of the authors

NATO to help Estonia’s cyber defense

Last year Estonia became the first nation to suffer a systematic, sustained cyber attack that brought the Baltic nation’s infrastructure to a halt; Russian nationalists, and probably agencies of the Russian government, were implicated in the attack; NATO wants to help

U.S. releases annual terrorism report

The report finds al Qaeda and its associated network continued to be the number one greatest terrorist threat to the United States and its allies

Developing miniature robots to increase situational awareness

The military wants to increase the situational awareness of of its officers and soldiers, and an alliance of industry and academia is set up to develop advanced robotic equipment for use in urban environments and complex terrain, such as mountains and caves

Existence of new basic element for electronic circuits proven

There are three fundamental elements to electronic circuits: resistor, capacitor, and inductor; nearly forty years ago, Leon Chua of the University of California at Berkeley theorized that there was a fourth element -- memristor -- which had properties that could not be duplicated by any combination of the other three elements; HP researchers have now proven the existence of memristors; facial recognition biometrics will benefit

U.K. science's reputation damaged by funding fiasco

In December 2007, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) -- the U.K. main funding body for physics and astronomy, and a body which looks after some of the largest science centers in the country -- was faced with a deficit of £80 million; a new report slams the SFTC funding decisions since then

Company in the spotlight
Peace of mind at an affordable price

An HSDW conversation on thermal cameras with Bill Klink, vice president of security business development, FLIR Systems

Senate Democrats criticize political involvement in toxic chemical decisions

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says extensive involvement by EPA managers, White House budget officials, and other agencies has eroded the independence of EPA scientists charged with determining the health risks posed by chemicals

Cybersecurity agenda for the next president

Cybersecurity is not a technical issue, but a matter of culture, education, and self-interest; government cannot regulate information technology security, and industry cannot do the job by itself

Biodefense Supplement

HS Daily Wire's March coverage of biodefense industry

The U.K. Supplement

HS Daily Wire's March coverage of the U.K. homeland security industry

Government issues waiver for fencing along Mexico border
In a sweeping use of its authority, DHS said it would bypass environmental reviews to speed construction of fencing along the Mexican border.

Checklist for establishing a business continuity plan
A recent study on business failure indicated that 30 percent of all companies affected, whether through bomb, fire, or flood, fail in the first year afterward; approximately 85 percent of the 70 percent which survive the first year then fail in the second; a good business continuity plan is thus essential

Intelligence-gathering program may be halted
The Pentagon's top intelligence official has recommended the dismantling of a controversial intelligence program, established by Donald Rumsfeld to gather information on terrorist groups inside the United States, defense officials said last night

GAO: DHS' biometrics strategy lacking
DHS’s’s strategy for creating unique biometric identities for individuals under the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) is incomplete, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Lawmakers complain of FBI failures
FBI director Robert Mueller heard sharp complaints from lawmakers about the bureau's past failures but found no opposition to plans for a big budget increase

Qantas demonstrates “nude” security scans
Qantas passengers at Melbourne Airport this week can give their assessment on new millimeter wave 3-D security screening which takes a virtual nude image of their body

Defense to focus more on content, less on the network
When the Defense Department releases its annual report on system security in the coming months, it most likely will focus priorities on information sharing and identity management, reflecting an aggressive move to a "content-centric" strategy, said a top Defense official

* Joanne Isham has been appointed by Stamford, Connecticut-based L-1 Identity Solutions (NYSE: ID) to lead the company’s Washington, D.C. office and federal business operation. Isham was most recently the COO of High Performance Technologies and prior to that she served as the VP and deputy general manager of the $1.3 billion Network Systems unit of BAE Systems. She also served for five years as the deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) where she provided strategic direction, policy, and guidance as the second-in-command of one of the main U.S. intelligence agencies.

* Mitch Waldman has been named by defense contractor Northrop Grumman as its director of acquisition policy, a position based in the company's Arlington office. Waldman most recently served as a senior staff member for former Senator Trent Lott in the capacity as national security advisor, and previously held a number of executive positions for the U.S. Navy.

* Brian T. Pawling was appointed Vice President Global Sales at Maiden, North Carolina-based Advanced Detection Technology, a specialist in security and detection solutions. Pawling will oversee the expansion of the company’s Dealer Network, as well as managing the company's direct sales organization. Pawling comes to Advanced Detection Technology after more than two decades in technology sales, including leadership positions with Intuit, Danka, and Eastman Kodak Company.

In the spotlight

Safeguarding Infrastructure // by Christopher Doyle
Yes, perhaps NAIS does go too far in requiring people to tag their four or five egg hens in the backyard -- but quibbles aside, NAIS is essential: In an industrial-
ized, centralized food production system disease in one place can easily and rapidly spread; we should, therefore, avail ourselves of modern technology to keep track of animals more

SyTech Corporation and communication interoperability, I
The lack of communication interoperability among first response, rescue teams, and law enforcement during the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina was only the most dramatic and poignant demonstration of a persistent and debilitating flaw in U.S. agencies' planning for disaster -- and performing during disaster; communication interopera-
bility is essential not only in disasters, but for routine, every-day operations of law enforcement; SyTech's comprehensive approach to interoperability offers a solution more

BAE Systems and communication interoperability
BAE's First InterComm device, also called the Vehicle Communications Assembly (VCA), is small enough (8.625" x 8.625" x 2.5") to be easily mounted inside first responder vehicles; once installed, the VCA relies on vehicle power more

Talking cybersecurity with Unisys' Tim Kelleher // What Is Keeping Your COO Awake at Night?
An HSDW conversation on Cybersecurity with Tim Kelleher, vice president of enterprise security, Unisys more

Using emergency alerting systems to protect the U.S. critical infrastructure // by Simon Berman
Learning from the experiences of the U.S. Department of Defense more

The WiMax interoperability solution // By Daniel Zubairi, CISSP
Conversation with Mark Adams, chief architect of mobility at Northrop Grumman, on using WiMax for public safety and civil defense more