DHS Launches Latest Upgrade of Information Network
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched the next-generation of its Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN), the trusted, unclassified network for the sharing of information on homeland security mission operations. The upgraded system, HSIN Release 3, includes improved security features and a geographic information system mapping sharing capability, Donna Roy, the HSIN program director for DHS, wrote in the department’s blog on Sept. 27. Homeland security stakeholders use the network to share sensitive but unclassified information, helping to provide real-time information sharing. The HSIN is used to manage operations, analyze data, share news, hold secure web conferences, and to communicate securely through a trusted network. The HSIN Release 3 “improves our ability to support law enforcement, emergency managers, and first responders with the tools and resources they need,” Roy wrote. “For example, in support of security operations for Super Bowl XLVII, more than 500 HSIN users visited the site over 20,000 times to share information related to their mission and facilitate coordination between federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, international and homeland security partners.”
Smiths Detection Introduces Dual View X-Ray System for Critical Infrastructure Security
Smiths Detection has introduced a new dual-view X-Ray system for building and critical infrastructure security that features a smaller footprint than dual-view systems that currently serve the aviation security market. Key selling points of the HI-SCAN 6040-2is include a smaller footprint and lower cost than traditional dual-view systems, opening the market for sales to court houses, nuclear facilities, corrections facilities, military bases and government buildings. The price point for the system ranges between about $53,000 and $64,000. The critical infrastructure market has wanted dual-view X-Ray systems but they have been too large and expensive, James Viscardi, vice president of U.S. Critical Infrastructure for Smiths Detection, says at a press briefing in Chicago at the annual ASIS International conference. Conventional X-Ray systems typically used for facility security have one-generator, providing a single image for the operator to scan for threats. The two generators contained in dual-view systems provide two images, giving operators different angles to look at the contents of a parcel or bag, making it easier to discern threats from harmless materials. This leads to better screening and higher throughput, Viscardi says. The 6040-2is system features one generator looking up from the bottom of the machine and the other on the side. Initially, Smiths expects sales from the federal government and nuclear industry, he says, with an overall target market in the U.S. worth about $1 billion and globally $2 billion. The company has plans to submit the system for certification in Europe to screen against liquid explosives at aviation security checkpoints, Viscardi says. The product roadmap includes automated threat detection, he adds.
UES Systems Achieves Final Operational Capability with Transition of TWIC
MorphoTrust USA has achieved final operational capability (FOC) related to the transition of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program into the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Universal Enrollment Services (UES) program. MorphoTrust, an identity solutions business within France’s Safran Group, won the potential $248 million UES contract in 2012 to transition multiple enrollment systems into a consolidated enrollment and registration program managed by TSA. MorphoTrust will also transition the Hazardous Materials Endorsement Threat Assessment Program (HTAP) into UES. The company expects to achieve FOC with the HTAP transition into UES later this year. MorphoTrust has enrolled 1.5 million drivers into the HTAP program. So far MorphoTrust has transitioned 147 enrollment centers into UES. At its peak, UES is projected to provide enrollment services to about 750,000 applicants each year, including the surge of TWIC holders whose current TWIC credentials are expiring. The UES enrollment centers will also eventually be used by the TSA to provide enrollment services for the agency’s PreCheck trusted traveler program, providing applicants with numerous centers nationwide. In addition to its work with TSA, MorphoTrust also provides enrollment and other identification service to other customers in all 50 states through about 1,200 local service centers. The company also provides solutions for state motor vehicle agencies, including driver license issuance systems for 42 of 50 states.
DHS, NASA Test Portable Radar for Locating Disaster Victims
The Department of Homeland Security and NASA last month demonstrated a new portable radar device that detects the heartbeats and breathing patterns of victims trapped in large piles of rubble resulting from a disaster. The Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response (FINDER) prototype can locate individuals buried 30 feet deep in crushed materials, hidden behind 20 feet of solid concrete, and from a distance of 100 feet in open spaces. FINDER is based on remote sensing radar technology developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was developed in conjunction with DHS’ Science and Technology branch for disaster response applications. “The ultimate goal of FINDER is to help emergency responders efficiently rescue victims of disasters,” says John Price, program manager for the First Responders Group in S&T. “The technology has the potential to quickly identify the presence of living victims, allowing rescue workers to more precisely deploy their limited resources.” The radar beams microwave signals into the debris and analyzes the patterns of signals that bounce back.
French Aviation Agency Certifies Implant’s Desktop Trace Detector
Implant Sciences [IMSC] says that France’s Service Technique de l’Aviation Civile (STAC) has certified the company’s QS-B220 desktop explosive trace detector for purchase and deployment to screen passengers, cargo, cabins, and baggage for explosives in airports throughout France. In January the Transportation Security Administration approved the BS-220 for air cargo screening. “This is a very significant achievement and milestone for Implant Sciences,” says Glenn Bolduc, the company’s president and CEO. “STAC is a highly respected certification organization, and becoming certified opens the large French aviation market to us. A number of other governments including French territories, several European Union member nations, and a select number of countries around the world look to STAT certification in their purchasing decisions.”
GTS Discloses Teammates for ULAD Program
Global Technical Services (GTS) says that its team for the Ultra Light Aircraft Detection (ULAD) system it is creating for Customs and Border Protection includes Accipiter Radar Corporation and the DRS Technologies division of Italy’s Finmecannica. GTS won the potential 10-year, $100 million ULAD aerial surveillance contract in June (HSR, July 3). Accipiter will provide its Total Coverage radar and digital radar processing system to GTS for ULAD. The potential 10-year contract has a two-year base period and eight one-year options and includes fabrication, delivery, training and lifecycle support.
ARES Security Integrates Gaming Technology into Risk Assessment Solution
ARES Security Corp. says it is working with Bohemia Interactive Simulation (BISim) to integrate BISim’s Virtual BattleSpace 2 gaming technology into its enterprise security risk assessment solution, AVERT. ARES says the VBS2’s game-based visualization and simulation capabilities enhance AVERT’s ability to provide high-fidelity play back and interaction of security assessments. “By driving the VBS2 tool with AVERT’s results, users can quickly playback security design considerations to evaluate effectiveness, says Robert Scott, vice president of Business Development for ARES. Separately, ARES has introduced its latest version of AVERT, enhancing the reusability of existing models in both open source and proprietary data sources as well as use of 2D and 3D geometry from existing data stores such as computer-aided design and geographic information systems.
Lockheed Martin Opens New Cyber Security Intel Center in Australia
Lockheed Martin [LMT] has opened its fourth Security Intelligence Centre in Canberra, Australia, further extending the company’s international cyber defense network. The main purposes of each center are to bolster the company’s cyber security capabilities while developing and expanding an elite, local cyber workforce, Lockheed Martin says. The company says it has spent more than $9 million in Australia to consolidate its business operations into a single facility, Lockheed Martin Centennial House, and the establishment of the NexGen Cyber Information and Technology Centre in Canberra last year. Lockheed Martin says the cyber intelligence analysts that will work at the new center will integrate their local operations into the company’s global computer network defense.