NYPD Wants to Jam Cell Phones During Terror Attack

The New York Police Department wants to be able to shut down cell phones, in case of a terrorist attack.

During last month’s massacre in Mumbai, terrorist handlers over micromanaged via mobile phone the assaults on the hotels, train stations, and Jewish center that killed more than 170 people.

In testimony today before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly (pictured) said he wanted to take out that “formidable capacity to adjust tactics while attacks are underway.” (Wired)

LAPD database hailed as breakthrough in preventing terrorism

The Los Angeles Police Department has pioneered a low-tech system for logging suspicious activity to look for patterns that could indicate terrorism — a system that Washington, D.C., police are adopting in the run-up to Inauguration Day. LAPD uses standardized labels to create a database of suspicious behavior, enabling analysts to “connect the dots” before an attack can take place. “Once this matures, I think this will be part of the homeland-security lifeblood,” says the police commander in Chicago, one of 12 cities and states moving to adopt the system. (WSJ)

Homeland Security: Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility

Each agency must develop good internal cybersecurity processes that focus on more than network perimeter protection, said Mischel Kwon, director of the Homeland Security Department’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team during a panel discussion in Washington at the Security 2008 conference sponsored by 1105 Government Information Group. (NextGov)

Internet fuels emergence of violent Islamist groups in the United States

“The violent Islamist terrorist threat has evolved and expanded since al Qaeda planned the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and radicalization of disaffected Muslims and recent converts to Islam is increasingly occurring here in the United States. Yet the federal government has “no cohesive and comprehensive outreach and communications strategy in place to confront this thread.” Those are among the findings of a new report by the staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.” (GovExec)

Extremists hone Internet skills

“Al Qaeda and other radical groups have dramatically increased their use of the Internet in recent years to lure and train recruits worldwide, a U.S. Senate report warned on Thursday.” (Reuters)

DHS cybersecurity strategy draws fire

“The Homeland Security Department’s ambitious cybersecurity initiative might be relying too much on contractors and might not be providing enough information to the public, according to two key senators.” (Federal Computer Week)

Face scans for air passengers to begin in UK this summer

“Airline passengers are to be screened with facial recognition technology rather than checks by passport officers, in an attempt to improve security and ease congestion, the Guardian can reveal.

From summer, unmanned clearance gates will be phased in to scan passengers’ faces and match the image to the record on the computer chip in their biometric passports.” (The Guardian)

Laptops fair game for airport customs searches

“Customs agents at U.S. airports don’t need any evidence of wrongdoing to search the contents of passengers’ laptop computers, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

NRC to expand radioactive materials tracking system

“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants to significantly expand the number and type of radioactive materials the agency will track in a Web-based system under development.

The National Source Tracking System, which is to be fully implemented by Jan. 31, 2009, originally was conceived in late 2006 to account for the actions of 1,350 radioactive materials licensees who possess some of the most dangerous material from a security standpoint.” (GovExec)

Committee members seek info on Homeland Security use of satellites

“Key House Homeland Security Committee Democrats demanded Monday that the Homeland Security Department provide Congress with more information on how a new office that coordinates the use of space satellites will legally operate and protect the privacy and rights of U.S. citizens.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, the lawmakers said they will prevent the office from opening until their concerns are addressed.” (GovExec)

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