A new National Guard role

As U.S. military forces have been called on to increasingly lend a hand during crises unrelated to war, the Department of Defense has created a new designation for National Guard members: Homeland Response Forces. These teams of about 600 guard soldiers and airmen will specialize in responding to domestic attacks and disasters. The first such units, in Washington and Ohio, will be on-line by the end... Read more →

How many ways do I scan thee?

The proliferation of scanners at airports continues to build as the Transportation Security Agency works to keep pace with dedicated and increasingly clever attempts to smuggle harmful things onto planes. As of Tuesday, 29 U.S. airports have 93 advanced imaging technology units. Ninety airports are home to 930 advanced technology x-ray devices and over 7,300 chemical detectors known as explosive trace... Read more →

FTC may become privacy watchdog

The Federal Trade Commission is seeing increasing pressure to step up its regulation in online privacy issues. A battery of cases brought to the FTC for evaluation have asked the agency to rule on whether businesses are tricking customers into giving up private information and recently proposed bills in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives seek to expand the reach of the commission’s enforcement... Read more →

Latest anthrax scares don’t scare Postal Inspection; they’re prepared

Suspicious Mail or Packages poster from the United States Postal Service Several incidents of anthrax scares have been reported around the country, just in the past few days. On Monday, a man in Jacksonville, Fla., found an envelope in his mailbox filled with a powdery white substance. The Florida Department of Health lab tests came back negative, according to local news. A couple of hours later,... Read more →

DHS develops a good source list — for the private sector

Fresh off the presses — electronically speaking — is the Department of Homeland Security’s brand-new Private Sector Resources Catalog. In late 2009, the DHS’s  Private Sector Office, which “promotes public-private partnerships and best practices to improve the nation’s homeland security,” decided to gather training publications, newsletters, and information... Read more →

Federal Protective Service takes tech risks to assess risks

After a year of bad press, the law-enforcement agency responsible for protecting more than 9,000 federal buildings finally earned some good publicity, recently winning an award for technological innovation from Nextgov.com, a media website that covers the federal government’s use of information technology. Nextgov, published by the Atlantic Media Company, on May 27 recognized eight federal... Read more →