States Begin Working On Compliance With Real ID Final Rule Release
Jan 24, 2008
The final rule for REAL ID compliance provides the necessary guidance for states to begin building systems and linking networks to fulfill the mandates of the 2005 legislation, according to a newly released report by INPUT, provider of government procurement and market information. While states have until May 11 of this year to declare their intention to comply with REAL ID, INPUT does not expect widespread resistance to derail the new approach.
"Compared to the proposed rule of last March, DHS has made a credible effort to reduce or eliminate Constitutional as well as procedural and technical barriers to REAL ID compliance in many areas of the final rule," says Chris Dixon, manager, state and local industry analysis for INPUT. "The final rule should serve as a starting gun for vendors to begin working with states on compliance....
Border Violence To Increase, Says Chertoff
Jan 24, 2008
Violence along the border with Mexico will likely increase this year as the administration bolsters Border Patrol staffing and adds more fencing and technology to catch illegal immigrants, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said.
Recently, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar, 32, was killed in California's Imperial Sand Dunes recreation area, run over by suspected drug smugglers as he was laying down a spike strip to stop their fleeing Hummer.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Aguilar's death has drawn attention to escalating violence on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico divide, which Chertoff and other administration officials attributed partly to heightened border security measures. ...
FBI Prepares Biometric Database To ID Citizens
Jan 24, 2008
The FBI is embarking on a new project called 'Next Generation Identification' to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics. The $1 billion effort will give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad.
According to the Washington Post, digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns are already flowing into FBI systems in a climate-controlled, secure basement. Soon, the FBI intends to award a 10-year contract that would significantly expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives. And in the coming years, law enforcement authorities around the world will be able to rely on iris patterns, face-shape data, scars and perhaps even the unique ways people walk and talk, to solve crimes and identify criminals and terrorists. ...
National Response Framework Released
Jan 24, 2008
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released the National Response Framework (NRF), successor to the National Response Plan. The NRF, which focuses on response and short-term recovery, articulates the doctrine, principles and architecture by which the nation prepares for and responds to all-hazard disasters across all levels of government and all sectors of communities.
The NRF reponds to repeated federal, state, local and private sector requests for a streamlined document that is less bureaucratic and more user-friendly. The NRF also focuses on preparedness and encourages a higher level of readiness across jurisdictions....
Landowners Vs. Border Patrol Lawsuits Being Prepared
Jan 10, 2008
The government is readying 102 court cases against landowners in Arizona, California and Texas for blocking efforts to select sites for a fence along the Mexican border, a Homeland Security Department official told the Associated Press.
With the lawsuits expected soon, the legal action would mark an escalation in the clash between the government and the property owners. The Bush administration wants to build 370 miles of fencing and 300 miles of vehicle barriers by the end of the year.
A number of property owners have granted the government access to their land. But others have refused. The agency sent letters to 135 of them last month, warning they had 30 days to comply or face court action....
GAO Report and Lawmakers Question Port Security
Jan 10, 2008
The Coast Guard lacks the resources to meet its own security standards to protect against terrorist assaults at American ports, even as the nation is to dramatically expand imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Government Accountability Office has found.
A recent report from the GAO recently made public notes that while U.S. intelligence officials know of no specific threat to American ports, captured terrorist training manuals have cited seaports as potential targets.
And terrorism trainees are instructed to try to obtain surveillance information on ports for use in a possible attack....
Ammonium Nitrate Law Passes With Hesitation
Jan 10, 2008
More than 12 years after Timothy J. McVeigh used ammonium nitrate fertilizer to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building, Congress quietly passed legislation this month to regulate sales of the explosive, reports The Los Angeles Times.
But the Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007, part of an appropriations measure signed by President Bush, falls far short of the strict law that some in the counter-terrorism community and federal law enforcement were hoping for.
"The bill really does not guarantee anything for the security of the citizens of the United States," says Bill Albright, a Defense Department consultant who spent his career at what is now known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)....
Requirement To Report Chemicals To DHS On Hold
Jan 10, 2008
Homeland security officials are cutting farmers some slack by indefinitely postponing extensive chemical reporting requirements meant to deter terrorism.
Tens of thousands of companies nationwide must soon register their chemical use with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Following numerous complaints, though, department officials have exempted farms from the looming Jan. 22 reporting deadline.
"We continue adding more and more requirements on business," Stanislaus County Agricultural Commissioner Dennis Gudgel said according to the Sacramento Bee. "It's like stacking bricks on a stick; eventually, the stick is going to break."...
Firefighters A Part Of New Information Sharing Program
Dec 26, 2007
Firefighters are being trained to not only keep an eye out for illegal materials in the course of their duties, but even to report back any expression of discontent with the government, reports The Raw Story (rawstory.com), a Web site that reports on news and politics.
According to a blog posted on the Web site, a year ago, Homeland security gave security clearances to nine New York City fire chiefs and began sharing intelligence with them. Even before that, fire department personnel were being taught "to identify material or behavior that may indicate terrorist activities" and were also "told to be alert for a person who is hostile, uncooperative or expressing hate or discontent with the United States."...
Background Checks Abound For U.S. Aviation Workers
Dec 26, 2007
More than a million aviation workers — including pilots, mechanics and flight attendants — will begin undergoing more thorough background checks in January as the United States focuses on preventing insider terrorist attacks, USA Today reports.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will take over the job of checking backgrounds of 1.2 million aviation workers, TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe says. The agency will also check anyone applying for a job requiring a federal aviation license....
DHS Releases REAL ID Grant Guidance
Dec 26, 2007
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released grant guidance and application kits for two grant programs totaling more than $35 million to assist states in preparing for REAL ID implementation. REAL ID addresses a core 9/11 Commission finding to enhance the security, integrity and protection of licensing and identification systems nationwide, and was mandated by Congress.
"The 9/11 Commission stated unambiguously that for terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons," says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "Too often bogus birth certificates and other documents have been used to unlawfully obtain a driver's license, causing the American public to insist on greater identity protection. These funds will advance the ability of states to verify the legitimacy of documents that applicants present, and to confirm that the applicants are who they say they are."
...
DHS Agencies Announce Six Enrollment Dates for TWIC
Dec 26, 2007
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that enrollment in the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program will begin at six more locations in the coming days. This program ensures that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a known security threat.
TWIC enrollment began Oct. 16 at the Port of Wilmington, Del. The addition of these six locations will bring the number of fixed enrollment centers open for enrollment to 38. Ultimately, the program will be rolled out to 147 fixed enrollment sites and will vet more than one million workers through the rest of 2007 and 2008.
...
DHS Moves Forward on Border Fencing and Technology Improvements
Dec 13, 2007
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is moving forward with multiple advancements in the construction of pedestrian and virtual fencing along the Southwest border. These advancements will add to more than 284 miles of fencing already in place and enable construction of roughly 670 miles of fencing by the end of December 2008.
"The American public has been loud and clear in their call for secure borders," says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "We will continue to use every tool, resource and authority we have to answer that call. Without the participation of border residents and the technology to span remote areas, we place an unfair burden on our frontline personnel and will have difficulty meeting the expectations of the American public."...
Focus Slipping Away From Intel Centers, Says Survey
Dec 13, 2007
Local intelligence-sharing centers set up after the Sept. 11 attacks have had their anti-terrorism mission diluted by a focus on run-of-the-mill street crime and hazards such as hurricanes, a government report concludes.
Of the 43 "fusion centers" already established, only two focus exclusively on terrorism prevention, the Government Accountability Office found in a national survey obtained by The Associated Press. Center directors complain they were hampered by lack of guidance from Washington and were flooded by often redundant information from multiple computer systems.
Administration officials defended the centers and say encompassing all sorts of crimes in the intelligence dragnet is the best way to catch terrorists....
Investigations Under Way On U.S. Lab Cyberattacks
Dec 13, 2007
A computer security breach at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in which hackers stole a database of visitors' personal information, was a highly sophisticated cyberattack and part of a concerted effort to penetrate numerous U.S. labs and other scientific facilities reports, United Press International (UPI).
Although the identity of the attackers remains unclear, security researchers have linked some Internet addresses recently used in similar attacks to computers in China.
In an e-mail message sent to staff, Oak Ridge Director Thom Mason said the breach "now appears to be part of a coordinated attempt to gain access to computer networks at numerous laboratories and other institutions across the country."...
