DHS S&T to Host New Biometric Technology Rally
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate is seeking submissions for its second Biometric Technology Rally, which will be held in the spring of 2019 in its Maryland Test Facility. S&T says the purpose of the rally is to “challenge industry to develop high-throughput biometric systems that meet the requirements of fast and accurate user recognition within identity verification operations, such as checkpoints.” The rally is open to face, iris and fingerprint data collection systems and biometric matching algorithms that can achieve defined performance targets for high-throughput use cases. “The 2018 rally established very aggressive objective and threshold metrics for speed, performance and user satisfaction,” says Arun Vemury, director of S&T’s Biometrics and Identity Technology Center. “While some rally participants met a few criteria, no single commercial offering was able to meet all objectives. “Additionally, we are expending the test to include cutting-edge fingerprint systems as well as opening participation to algorithm vendors.” Interested vendors must submit white papers and videos demonstrating the functionality of their systems by Nov. 30.
DHS S&T Releases Virtual Training Tool for School Safety
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology branch, the Army Simulation and Training Technology Center, and Cole Engineering Services have developed and released for free a new virtual training tool to help first responders, teachers, and school staff create training plans for critical incidents. The Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment (EDGE) is based on the Unreal 4 gaming engine that powers video games like Fortnite and Street Fighter 5 and allows users to control avatars representing their real-life role-teachers, administrators, school resource officers, local law enforcement, and other, to execute various training scenarios of their own creation such as parental custody disputes, potential bomb threats, and active shooter situations. “In many cases, school staff are the first responders at the scene of an on-campus incident,” says William Bryan, the acting under secretary for S&T. “We developed EDGE to help them prepare, so they have a new resource literally at their fingertips. By using EDGE to train, they can know how to act swiftly, decisively, and in collaboration with local emergency responders if and when something does happen.”
Symantec Acquires Firms Offering Enterprise, Mobile Security Capabilities
The cyber security software company Symantec [SYMC] has made two acquisitions that provide it with capabilities to protect enterprises against active directory-based attacks and help secure mobile applications. The acquisition of privately-held Javelin Networks provides Symantec with capability to counter threats to Microsoft Active Directory services, which are an increasingly popular attack vector, the company says. “In the cloud generation, identity management services such as Active Directory, are a critical part of a user’s interaction with their organization’s applications and services,” says Javed Hasan, senior vice president of Endpoint and Data Center Products at Symantec. “They are also a critical information repository that attackers regularly exploit.” Separately, Symantec acquired Appthority, a privately-held company that provides comprehensive analyses for mobile applications, further strengthening its endpoint security solutions. Symantec said that Appthority’s technology will be included in its Symantec Endpoint Protection Mobile.