The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for mitigating a range of threats, including terrorism, natural disasters, and pandemics -- and risk analysis is an essential part of fulfilling that responsibility. This report, undertaken by units across the National Research Council, evaluates risk assessment methods employed by the DHS, concluding that risk analysis capabilities are strong in the area of natural disaster response, but substantial improvement is needed in other areas.
DVTel Inc. recently announced that the City of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. is protecting the city’s square, downtown and other high risk areas in the city with DVTel’s intelligent Security Operations Center (iSOC) platform and its Altitude family of PTZ and fixed IP cameras.
Safran announced recently that it has entered into a definitive agreement with L-1 Identity Solutions, a identity management provider in the United States, for Safran to acquire the operating and holding company of L-1 and its biometric and enterprise access solutions, secure credentialing solutions and enrollment services businesses, for a total cash amount of $1.09 billion.
Avigilon recently announced that the City of Selma, Ala. has deployed the Avigilon High Definition Surveillance System to boost community safety and reduce criminal activity.
In mid-2009, a fiber optic intrusion detection system was installed on McAllen-Miller International Airport's perimeter fence. The system, known as Secure Fence, was developed by Future Fibre Technologies and, one year on, the airport's security department reports the system has performed impressively.
Chihuahua State in Northern Mexico has deployed a wide-area distributed surveillance system based on IndigoVision’s IP video technology.
According to the figures released recently by the FBI, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation declined in 2009 for the third consecutive year. Property crimes also declined in 2009, marking the seventh straight year that the collective estimates for these offenses dropped below the previous year’s total.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced an award of $938,000 to Rochester International Airport (RST) for the construction of new in-line baggage handling systems designed to enhance TSA's efforts to strengthen security at airports.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued recently its first Guidelines for Smart Grid Cyber Security, which includes high-level security requirements, a framework for assessing risks, an evaluation of privacy issues at personal residences, and additional information for businesses and organizations to use as they craft strategies to protect the modernizing power grid from attacks, malicious code, cascading errors and other threats.
A new report by terrorism researchers at the University of Maryland concludes that the deadly hostage-taking incident at the Discovery Communications headquarters in suburban Washington, D.C. meets the criteria of a terrorist act -- a rare one for media organizations and the nation's capital region. Hostage-taking, though, is a familiar pattern in capital-region terror, the researchers add.
The agency has reviewed more than 38,000 Top Screens and 6,000 Security Vulnerability Assessments and is planning on conducting between 30 and 40 preliminary authorization inspections per month.
Smiths Detection recently announced the award of an additional five-year contract by the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) to upgrade and maintain the company’s PROTECT and FirstView anti-terrorism detection and software systems.
Security Products magazine, the only integrated product magazine reaching the entire security market, announced the winners of its 2010 New Product of the Year Award at the publication’s premiere Virtual Event today.
South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach International Airport serves more than 1.5 million travelers each year to and from one of the most popular golfing destinations in the United States. The airport is host to six major U.S. airlines. To accommodate the growth the area has experienced, the airport replaced its legacy security system, which was no longer servicing its needs, with intelligent field hardware and smart-card readers with bidirectional encryption.
Airport officials reviewed five security management systems in detail prior to making a selection for their new system. Based on scalability, ease of use and operation, along with the lower cost of maintaining the system, they chose AMAG’s Symmetry SMS. Airport officials highlighted how secure the system was from end to end and the enhanced video integration that the new system offered. They replaced their old analog video system with a digital system that is seamlessly integrated. The IP solution is one of the first all-digital security systems in the southeastern United States.
- By Kim Rahfaldt
- Sep 01, 2010
A bewildering variety of technologies is available in the security market, and determining which will meet both future regulatory requirements and your budget can be difficult. The first step is to review your facility and define the various areas that require security. Examples are perimeter security, gate security, access control, visitor and contractor management, building security, live monitoring and an audit trail. There are many products designed to address one or more of these requirements.
- By Elliot Rose
- Sep 01, 2010
When entering an airport, travelers can’t help but reflect back on the events of Sept. 11, and how things have changed since then.
In recent years, travelers have gained the ability to check in for their flight online, change their seat and download an electronic boarding pass to a PDA. It’s also possible to check the flight status from a PDA before leaving for the airport. The rapid advancements in technology have enabled passengers to be more efficient and informed. But has airport security changed or evolved?
The Port of Wilmington, which opened in 1923, is the busiest port on the Delaware River and the leading North American importation site for fresh fruit, bananas and juice concentrate. It also was the first seaport to use the TWIC card, beginning with the TWIC Technology Phase pilot program in October 2003. TWIC is designed to add a layer of security at ports by ensuring that workers in secure areas have received a background check and do not pose a national security threat.
- By Geri B. Castaldo
- Sep 01, 2010
Axis Communications recently announced that, as part of a comprehensive and discreet security solution put together by partner Lenel Systems International, it has contributed more than two dozen thermal, fixed dome and PTZ network cameras to this year’s Little League World Series being held in South Williamsport, Penn.
"By integrating live video, data management and immediate warning capabilities with fixed sensors in critical areas, FirstView and Athena will help protect against intentional or accidental chemical incidents,” said Smiths Detection Vice President Jamie Edgar.
ICx Technologies Inc., a developer of advanced sensor technologies for homeland security, force protection and commercial applications, has entered into a definitive merger agreement with FLIR Systems Inc. pursuant to which ICx would be acquired through a cash tender offer, followed by a merger with a subsidiary of FLIR, for a price of $7.55 per share in cash.