Blueforce-Enabled “off leash” K9 at Port of Boston
Posted on November 7th, 2011
Blueforce-enabled K9 (BTAC on Verizon Smartphone, 5-Gas chemical/explosive sensor, gyroscope/acceleromoter) at Port of Boston on 6 November 2011. Leveraged in off-leash scenario.
DOD Approves Dell Android Tablet For Use
Posted on November 4th, 2011
Via Blueforce Crawler 2.0 and Information Week: The Department of Defense (DOD) has approved the use of Dell’s Android-based mobile OS on its networks, paving the way for widespread use of Android-based smartphones and tablets throughout the military. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has published a Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) for the Dell Android mobile platform, according to a Dell blog post by Joe Ayers, an executive with Dell’s government business.
Virginia Quake Highlights Overlooked Danger: Decrepit Dams
Posted on August 27th, 2011
Homeland Security Newswire is reporting that Tuesday’s Virginia-centered earthquake, which shook the East Coast of the United States, caused a nuclear power plant in Virginia to be immediately taken off line, and for its cooling system to be powered by back-up generators. Many may have feared the tremor may bring about a Fukushima-like disaster, but Scientific American notes that Americans should be more worried about a quieter danger: tens of thousands of dams, many built before seismic engineering came of age, have the potential to release tsunami-like flash floods in the event of a seismic breach.
New Terror Report Warns of Insider Threat to Utilities and Critical Infrastructure
Posted on July 21st, 2011
ABC News is reporting that sabotage by an insider at a major utility facility, including a chemical or oil refinery, could provide al Qaeda with its best opportunity for the kind of massive Sept. 11 anniversary attack Osama bin Laden was planning, according to U.S. officials.
A new intelligence report from the Department of Homeland Security issued Tuesday, titled Insider Threat to Utilities, warns “violent extremists have, in fact, obtained insider positions,” and that “outsiders have attempted to solicit utility-sector employees” for damaging physical and cyber attacks.
In the materials recovered after the Navy SEAL operation that killed Osama bin Laden in May, officials found evidence bin Laden sought to repeat the carnage of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on or around its ten year anniversary.
“The only way you can actually kill the large scale number of Americans that [bin Laden] literally was calculating was through the use of this critical infrastructure,” Chad Sweet, former DHS chief of staff and co-founder of the Chertoff Group, told ABC News”.