Interesting.  Also see Drone to Keep Watch on U.S.-Canada Border , the headline back on Mon, 8th December, 2008.

The federal government may soon send unmanned aircraft to scour West Texas and the state’s coastal waters in an effort to boost border security, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a letter to the governor sent Friday.

Perry had formally requested the assistance a week ago. The need also was underscored in a phone call that Democratic nominee Bill White had with Napolitano on Thursday.

Homeland Security has six drones and is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to get the necessary clearance to begin flying over Texas, Napolitano wrote.

Source/Full Story:   Texas Regional News

Transportation officials announced Friday 11 more United States airports will begin receiving full-body imaging machines

“By accelerating the deployment of this technology, we are enhancing our capability to detect and disrupt threats of terrorism across the nation,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement.

Despite concerns of privacy and their effectiveness, the 11 airports are to get the 150 machines beginning Monday at Boston’s Logan International Airport, and one at the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. In all, 30 U.S. airports will employ the scanning devices.

Fliers declining to submit to the machines that create X-ray-like virtual images of the body may get intense pat-downs from Transportation Security Administration authorities. The combined 150 imaging machines are being bought, in part, by $1 billion the government set aside from its $787 billion federal bailout bill.
…
By summer, TSA expects the units, made by California-based Rapiscan, to be deployed at airports in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles and Oakland, California; Columbus, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; Cincinnati; and Kansas City.

Source/Full Story: Wired.com

The official in charge of coordinating the US government’s cyber-security operations has quit, saying the expanding control of the National Security Agency over the nation’s computer security efforts poses “threats to our democratic processes.”

“Even from a security standpoint, it is unwise to hand over the security of all government networks to a single organization,” said Rod A. Beckstrom, the head of the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Center when speaking to United Press International.

“If our Founding Fathers were taking part in this debate [about the future organization of the government's cyber-security activities], there is no doubt in my mind they would support a separation of security powers among different [government] organizations, in line with their commitment to checks and balances,” he said.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano last week, Mr. Beckstrom said the NSA “dominates most national cyber efforts” and “effectively controls DHS cyber efforts through detailees, technology insertions and the proposed move” of the NCSC to an NSA facility at the agency’s Fort Meade, Md., headquarters.

“I believe this is a bad strategy on multiple grounds,” Mr. Beckstrom wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by UPI. “The intelligence culture is very different than a network operations or security culture. In addition, threats to our democratic processes are significant if all top-level government network security and monitoring are handled by any one organization.”

Source/Full Story: The New Media Journal

The Department of Homeland Security will hire up to 1,000 cybersecurity experts over the next three years to help protect U.S. computer networks, an Obama administration official said.

“Cybersecurity is one of our most urgent priorities,” said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in making the announcement Thursday.

She unveiled the plans at an event marking the beginning of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

“This new hiring authority will enable DHS to recruit the best cyberanalysts, developers and engineers in the world to serve their country by leading the nation’s defenses against cyberthreats,” according to Napolitano.

Source/Full Story: CNN.com
Technorati Tags: DHS, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

In a move raising eyebrows among civil liberties advocates, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it would give so-called local and state “fusion centers” access to classified military intelligence in Pentagon databases.

Fusion centers are hubs for local law enforcement, the private sector and the intelligence community, and were created in an effort to fight terrorism. There are more than seventy known centers across the United States.

The decision to give fusion centers access to classified intelligence appears to a shift in policy by Homeland Security. In July, Secretary Janet Napolitano “that fusion centers were not intended to have a military presence, and that she was not aware of ones that did,” according to the New York Times.

The centers have been a flashpoint of criticism from civil liberties groups. The American Civil Liberties Union, in particular, has been a vehement critic.

“As fusion centers gain more and more access to Americans’ private information, the information about them being made available to the American public remains woefully inadequate,” Michael Macleod-Ball, Acting Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, said in a statement. “There is a stunning lack of oversight at these fusion centers and, as we’ve seen, these centers are rapidly becoming a breeding ground for overzealous intelligence activities. Opening the door for domestic law enforcement to gain access to classified military intelligence coupled with no guidelines restricting the military’s role in fusion centers is a recipe for disaster.”

In February, the ACLU highlighted a bulletin issued by a West Texas center. The Texas bulletin said it was “imperative for law enforcement officers to report” the activities of lobbying groups, Muslim civil rights organizations and anti-war protest groups in their region.

The model also took fire in April after a Virginia fusion center directive became public, which declared that US universities had become “radicalization node“s for potential terrorist activity — singling out several historically black colleges. The memo also called out “hacktivism” as a potential terrorist threat.

Source/Full Story:: Raw Story

The Obama administration unveiled new rules on Thursday for searching computers and other electronic devices when people enter the United States, attempting to address concerns about violating privacy and constitutional rights.

At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security defended such searches as necessary to detect information about potential terrorism plots as well as other crimes such as child pornography and copyright infringement.

"The new directives announced today strike the balance between respecting the civil liberties and privacy of all travelers while ensuring DHS can take the lawful actions necessary to secure our borders," DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement.

Between October 1, 2008 and August 11, 2009, 221 million travelers were processed at U.S. borders and about 1,000 searches of laptop computers were conducted, of which 46 were in-depth examinations, the agency said.

Searches often involve asking people to turn on the device to verify it is what it appears to be, the DHS said.

Privacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have pushed Congress to stop border officers from searching laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices without probable cause when people enter or return to the country.

The rules permit searches of such devices without a person’s consent. The review is to be done in the presence of the owner, unless there are national security or law enforcement reasons to conduct it elsewhere.

Immigration and customs officers can also hold the devices or the data, which may be copied without the knowledge of the owner for further review, according to the rules.

The new regulations note that border officers should be particularly careful when handling legal or business materials or other sensitive data like medical records or information carried by journalists.

Source/Full Story: Reuters

The United States on Tuesday announced a review of its often-criticized terror alert system created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The system includes a color-coded public warnings, which range from green, symbolizing a low risk of attack to red, which points to a severe threat.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement a bipartisan panel of experts would report on the efficiency of the system within 60 days.

“My goal is simple: to have the most effective system in place to inform the American people about threats to our country,” Napolitano said in a statement.

The secretary — who heads a department also created after the attacks — said she had appointed a senior George W. Bush security adviser Fran Townsend to lead the panel.

Critics say such threat coding is too vague and provide little or no actionable information for travelers, while causing alarm.

In 2003, a congressional report warned that levels were so vague that they would lead the public to question their usefulness.

But scrapping the system is likely to provide fodder for President Barack Obama’s critics, who accuse him rolling back anti-terror polices to the detriment of national security.

Source/Full Story:: Yahoo! News

The Obama administration will proceed with a Bush-era plan to use National Security Agency assistance in screening government computer traffic on private-sector networks, with AT&T as the likely test site, according to three current and former government officials.

President Obama said in May that government efforts to protect computer systems from attack would not involve "monitoring private-sector networks or Internet traffic," and Department of Homeland Security officials say the new program will scrutinize only data going to or from government systems.

But the program has provoked debate within DHS, the officials said, because of uncertainty about whether private data can be shielded from unauthorized scrutiny, how much of a role NSA should play and whether the agency’s involvement in warrantless wiretapping during George W. Bush’s presidency would draw controversy. Each time a private citizen visited a "dot-gov" Web site or sent an e-mail to a civilian government employee, that action would be screened for potential harm to the network.

"We absolutely intend to use the technical resources, the substantial ones, that NSA has. But . . . they will be guided, led and in a sense directed by the people we have at the Department of Homeland Security," the department’s secretary, Janet Napolitano, told reporters in a discussion about cybersecurity efforts.

Under a classified pilot program approved during the Bush administration, NSA data and hardware would be used to protect the networks of some civilian government agencies. Part of an initiative known as Einstein 3, the plan called for telecommunications companies to route the Internet traffic of civilian agencies through a monitoring box that would search for and block computer codes designed to penetrate or otherwise compromise networks.

AT&T, the world’s largest telecommunications firm, was the Bush administration’s choice to participate in the test, which has been delayed for months as the Obama administration determines what elements to preserve, former government officials said. The pilot program was to have begun in February.

"To be clear, Einstein 3 development is proceeding," DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said. "We are moving forward in a way that protects privacy and civil liberties."

AT&T officials declined to comment.

A DHS official said the delay occurred because the original timeline "did not take into account all that was required to ensure the exercise would provide the data needed."

The program is the most controversial element of the $17 billion cybersecurity initiative the Bush administration started in January 2008. Einstein 3 is crucial, advocates say, in an era in which hackers have compromised computer systems at the Commerce and State departments and have taken military jet data from a defense contractor.

The NSA declined to comment on Einstein 3, but a spokeswoman said the agency would help DHS in "any way possible, including technical support," as it seeks to protect government networks.

Source/Full Story: washingtonpost.com

A proposal to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to counter drug trafficking has triggered a bureaucratic standoff between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security over the military’s role in domestic affairs, according to officials in both departments.

The debate has engaged a pair of powerful personalities, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, in what their subordinates describe as a turf fight over which agency should direct the use of troops to assist in the fight against Mexican cartels and which one should pay for them.

At issue is a proposal to send 1,500 additional troops to the border to analyze intelligence and to provide air support and technical assistance to border agencies. The governors of Texas, Arizona, California and New Mexico began making the requests in January, drawing support from Napolitano but prompting objections from the Pentagon, where officials argue that it could lead to a permanent, expanded mission for the military.

President Obama has signaled that he is open to the idea, asking Congress for $250 million to deploy the National Guard while also saying he was "not interested in militarizing the border." In the war supplemental funding bill that Obama signed last week, lawmakers appropriated the money for other Justice and DHS border security but said the president could ask again when he reached a decision. The issue has been stalled before a National Security Council policy committee, after which it would go to Obama for a decision.

Source/Full Story: washingtonpost.com

The state police and federal marshals are merging their special units that track Arizona fugitives in a move to save money while dealing with the growing number of arrest warrants waiting to be served.

“Basically, it’s getting everyone in one room in one building working together instead of occasionally discussing cases of mutual interest. It’s a great force multiplier,” U.S. Marshal David Gonzales said.

The aggregation of acronyms brings together the state Department of Public Safety’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, called VCAT, and the Arizona Wanted task force of the U.S. Marshals Service. The merger formalizes a relationship among agencies to share information and manpower to track the 60,000 wanted fugitives in the state.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and a long list of other police agencies are also involved. The Sheriff’s Office is the repository of all of the warrants in the county, but individual agencies execute them.

DPS’ Violent Criminal Apprehension Team was formed in 2008 in the midst of the ongoing argument over illegal immigration in the state on the order of then-Gov. Janet Napolitano. DPS set up the unit, and $1.6 million was pulled from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office that was being used to fight human smuggling. The Legislature later gave the money back to the Sheriff’s Office.

But the apprehension team remained and says that since its formation, it has made 730 arrests, clearing 920 felony warrants. DPS says that near the end of March, there were 54,872 felony warrants in Arizona with a little more than 40,000 of them in Maricopa County and 450 to 500 new ones issued every week. The new setup deputizes DPS officers assigned to the combined unit as federal marshals, extending their enforcement range.

Tempe Police Chief Tom Ryff said another goal of the new system is to minimize politics and maximize results. “What this means to the cop on the street is they come to work every day with precise information about individuals who have committed crimes in our community,” he said.

Everyone pays their own way. Gonzales acknowledged that in tough financial times, everyone has “taken major hits to their budgets.” More could be on the way as governments work out their spending plans in the slumping economy.

Gonzales said combining the units should have happened earlier in view of the number of new warrants pouring out of the courts.

“We cannot arrest our way out of this problem.”

Source/Full Story:: azcentral.com

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano responded yesterday to widespread criticism of a leaked domestic intelligence report warning local law enforcement agencies to be on guard for right-wing extremist groups seeking new recruits amid the nation’s economic troubles.

…

The report drew sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers, conservatives and veterans groups, who said it unfairly targeted returning military veterans and gun rights advocates without citing specific threats. The report said the return of military veterans facing challenges with reintegrating into their communities “could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.”
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“To characterize men and women returning home after defending our country as potential terrorists is offensive and unacceptable,” House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement. “The Department of Homeland Security owes our veterans an apology.”

Source/Full Story::  washingtonpost.com

Alan Bersin

Alan Bersin has already served as the Attorney General’s (Reno) Southwest Border Representative from 1995-1998, coordinating law enforcement on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is naming a “border czar” to oversee issues related to drug-cartel violence along the U.S.-Mexico border and the hundreds of thousands of people who try to enter the U.S. illegally through the Southwest.

An Obama administration official says Napolitano on Wednesday will name Bersin, a former federal prosecutor, to fill the new post at the Homeland Security Department. The official would speak only on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement expected in El Paso, Texas.

The Obama administration has promised to crack down on border violence and work with Mexican authorities to curb drugs and arms trafficking. Hundreds of federal agents, along with high-tech surveillance gear and drug-sniffing dogs, are being deployed to the Southwest.

Source/Full Story:: yahoo.com

New money to monitor U.S. traffic entering Mexico and detect gun smugglers will be spent on scanners for inspecting trucks as well as communication equipment, the U.S. government said on Wednesday.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters in San Diego that $400 million would be spent on infrastructure and equipment to improve security at New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and California border crossings.

Last week, the Obama administration announced plans to crack down on the smuggling of guns and money pouring south from the United States into Mexico that are helping fuel violence by Mexican drug cartels.

Mexico checks only a fraction of the traffic entering from the United States but has promised to crack down.

Source: Reuters

The Americans have always kept their research into anti-terrorism technologies top secret — until now. A new treaty between Germany and the US will give German scientists access to highly restricted laboratories.

It was a productive start to the week for US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and German Research Minister Annette Schavan. The two women met at 7:15 a.m. on Monday for breakfast at a five-star hotel in Berlin to discuss one of the most explosive issues in the era of international terrorism: How can the population and infrastructure be protected against catastrophic attacks without Western democracies being turned into Orwellian regimes?

After breakfast, Napolitano and Schavan signed a treaty on scientific and technological cooperation in the field of civil security — the first agreement between Germany and the new US administration. “This is an important contribution to the strengthening of trans-Atlantic cooperation with the new US government,” Schavan said ahead of the meeting.

“Homeland security is not about walling ourselves off from other countries, it is about cooperating with our allies,” Napolitano said Monday, according to the Associated Press. Schavan said that Germany and the US wanted to exploit technology to find “innovative solutions” that guarantee a “good balance of security and freedoms.”

Source: SPIEGEL