CLEAR To Return to Denver International Airport in Fall 2010

June 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

NEW YORK–(Business Wire)–
CLEAR today announced that it is returning to Denver International Airport.
Under new ownership, the CLEAR lines will commence operations in Denver in Fall
2010.

CLEAR is a secure biometric identification platform that pledges predictability,
expedience, and service for its members through airport security. CLEAR will
honor their customers remaining membership terms and enrollment for new
customers is expected to begin in August 2010. Pricing plans will include:
$179.00 per year for unlimited use or a family plan for an additional $50.00.

“With frequent business and leisure travelers, Denver International Airport is
an ideal partner for CLEAR as we work to build our footprint and commence
operations this fall,” said Caryn Seidman-Becker, Chairman and CEO of CLEAR. “We
look forward to working collaboratively with the Denver team to deliver first
rate service to its customers.”

Patrick Heck, Deputy Manager of Aviation Revenue Development for Denver
International Airport, said “We strive to offer travelers at Denver
International Airport services and facilities that will make the airport
experience better. The Registered Traveler product was previously a very popular
product in Denver, evidenced by the 20,000-plus members we had, and the
introduction of CLEAR at DEN provides our passengers with this type of service
again.”

Customers of all flights originating from Denver International Airport will be
able to take advantage of the CLEAR program. CLEAR will work with HSS Inc., a
leading provider of specialized security services to screen and train employees
in Denver. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded HSS SAFETY Act
certification and designation for these services.

About CLEAR

CLEAR, the original Registered Traveler program, is a biometric-based secure
identification platform. CLEAR is a customer centric company which delivers
predictability, expedited passage, and service at the airport while enhancing
airport security. We will rebuild CLEAR with our customers and for our
customers. For more information please visit www.flyclear.com.

Sard Verbinnen & Co
Jonathan Gasthalter/Carrie Bloom, 212/687-8080

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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Number of attempted attacks within U.S. rising – CNN

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The number of attempted domestic attacks against the United States over the past nine months has surpassed the number of attempts during any other previous one-year period, CNN reported, citing an unclassified Department of Homeland Security memo.

The memo prepared for law enforcement groups expects operatives in the country to strike at easily accessible targets. It specifically mentioned the Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad and Najibullah Zazi, who pleaded guilty in February to plotting attacks on New York’s subways, CNN said.

The memo was dated May 21, CNN said in a story that ran on its website late Wednesday.

The Department of Homeland Security also expressed concern about the pace of attempted attacks, saying they were happening inside the United States with “increased frequency.”

It noted a trend in groups such as al Qaeda to use Westerners as operatives and leaders.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Bill Trott)

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TSA”s behaviorial screening wing failing to spot potential terrorists

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, May 20 (ANI): A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) program put in place by the US Department of Homeland Security after 9/11 is failing to catch terrorists on time.

According to a CBS report, the TSA training program for “behavioral screening” of terrorists has an annual budget of 200 million dollars and 3,000 specially trained employees are involved in it.

But the irony is, that this “hidden layer of airport security” has never caught a single terrorist, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The GAO uncovered at least 16 individuals later accused of involvement in terrorist plots, who flew 23 different times through U.S. airports since 2004. Yet none were stopped by TSA behavior detection officers working at those airports.

“It”s a disgrace,” said aviation security analyst Charles Slepian.

Specialists are tasked with the responsibility of looking for unique facial expressions and body language that may identify a potential threat.

These 3,000 officers work at 161 U.S. airports, and, cost American taxpayers nearly 200 million dollars in 2009.

This year, the TSA has asked Congress for 20 million dollars more to expand the program.

Scientists, however, are split over whether it”s even possible to recognize terrorists simply by behavior detection. A 2008 report found no evidence it works.

In a statement Wednesday, the TSA called the program a “vital layer” of security, “based in science,” that has resulted in more than 1,700 arrests for “illegal activities” like drug smuggling.

The report based on the GAO investigation is due out Thursday.

It will recommend across-the-board improvements in the program – ones the TSA is expected to accept. (ANI)

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TSA”s behaviorial screening wing failing to spot potential terrorists

May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, May 20 (ANI): A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) program put in place by the US Department of Homeland Security after 9/11 is failing to catch terrorists on time.

According to a CBS report, the TSA training program for “behavioral screening” of terrorists has an annual budget of 200 million dollars and 3,000 specially trained employees are involved in it.

But the irony is, that this “hidden layer of airport security” has never caught a single terrorist, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The GAO uncovered at least 16 individuals later accused of involvement in terrorist plots, who flew 23 different times through U.S. airports since 2004. Yet none were stopped by TSA behavior detection officers working at those airports.

“It”s a disgrace,” said aviation security analyst Charles Slepian.

Specialists are tasked with the responsibility of looking for unique facial expressions and body language that may identify a potential threat.

These 3,000 officers work at 161 U.S. airports, and, cost American taxpayers nearly 200 million dollars in 2009.

This year, the TSA has asked Congress for 20 million dollars more to expand the program.

Scientists, however, are split over whether it”s even possible to recognize terrorists simply by behavior detection. A 2008 report found no evidence it works.

In a statement Wednesday, the TSA called the program a “vital layer” of security, “based in science,” that has resulted in more than 1,700 arrests for “illegal activities” like drug smuggling.

The report based on the GAO investigation is due out Thursday.

It will recommend across-the-board improvements in the program – ones the TSA is expected to accept. (ANI)

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Body scanners being installed at major US airports

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In a bid to ensure aviation security in the US, full body scanners are being installed at America’s 10 busiest airports, even as the step has sparked a controversy over the issue of privacy.

Full body scanning machines that work similar to X-rays, showing images of people underneath their clothing are being installed at 10 of the nation’s busiest airports, including Houston’s William P Hobby Airport.

However, these screening devices at passenger screening checkpoints have stirred a lot of controversy over privacy.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced yesterday that 20 additional airports will be receiving the advanced imaging technology devices this summer.

A total of 58 of the so-called “Advanced Imaging Technology’ (AIT) units are already deployed at 24 airports nationwide.

“Deploying advanced imaging technology at these airports strengthens our ability to protect the traveling public in the face of evolving threats to aviation security,” Napolitano said.

Federal spending through USD 787 billion, two-year economic stimulus package enacted last year enables the department of homeland security to continue “accelerated deployment of enhanced technology as part of our layered approach to security at airports nationwide,” Napolitano said.

The screening devices are designed to check passengers for metallic and non-metallic threats such as weapons and explosives concealed beneath their clothing.

The devices are being programmed with “the latest security enhancements to detect new and evolving threats” such as liquid explosives, officials said.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), created in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, has purchased 450 of such devices.

Authorities said TSA ensures passenger privacy through the anonymity of the images.

A privacy filter is applied to blur the images.

The images are permanently deleted immediately after they are viewed by a TSA screener.

And the officer viewing the images is stationed in a remote location at the airport so that the screener does not to come into personal contact with passengers who are being screened with the equipment.

“Many factors are taken into consideration before AIT units are deployed including airport readiness, checkpoint infrastructure and capacity to ensure privacy protections –including a separate, remotely located room for viewing images,” Napolitano’s office said in a statement.

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US Senators for tighter rules on No-Fly list

May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 12 (ANI): Top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee have called on the Obama administration to improve upon the conditions in the no-fly list and also add the Pakistani Taliban to the official list of terrorist organizations.

After being briefed about the Times Square bombing plot, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee’s Democratic chairwoman, and Senator Christopher S. Bond of Missouri, the Republican vice chairman, said the tightened requirements for airlines to check the no-fly list were still not adequate.

The Department of Homeland Security has ordered airlines to check the list within two hours of being told of an update, but Senator Feinstein said the delay should be reduced to 30 minutes and also called on the Transportation Security Administration to take over the no-fly list checks from airlines with greater speed.

The New York Times quoted Feinstein, as saying that Faisal Shahzad “was almost completely under the radar,” and as a person living legally in the United States appears to represent a new wave of homegrown terrorists.

Senator Bond said: “This is not something that should be waiting on a list for people to review hours later.”

Both senators called for the State Department to add the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, to the government’s list of designated terrorist organizations.

The same demand was made separately by a group of senators led by Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Senator Bond said that based on Tuesday’s briefing, he thought the evidence was less definitive. Senator Feinstein said she disagreed with Senator Bond, but would not elaborate, saying the evidence was classified. (ANI)

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Iowa senator demands Congress probe on how Shahzad became U.S. citizen

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 7 (ANI): The Republican Senator from Iowa, Charles Grassley, has sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asking for the “Alien” file on Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad and his family members and for everyone who has been a reference or a sponsor for the terror suspect.

Keen to know how Shahzad was granted American citizenship, Senator Grassley wants to know if this file was in the hands of the official who approved Shahzad”s citizenship.

An Alien or “A” file includes visa and travel history, financial and personal information as well as any derogatory information from law enforcement.

According to CBS News, Grassley also wants Shahzad”s arrival forms that he filled out each time he re-entered the United States and whether or not he sponsored other individuals to become citizens.

CBS news reported Wednesday that Faisal Shahzad had appeared on a Department of Homeland Security watch list between 1999 and 2008 because he brought 80,000 dollars of cash into the United States.

Grassley wants the documents by May 11, 2010. (ANI)

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Terror-related security in New York under-funded: Study

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New York, May 6 (ANI): Research shows New York is getting less Homeland Security funding than other American cities.

The Northwestern University study suggests that New York City appears under-funded for protection against terrorist threats. The study also shows Chicago as under-funded while Los Angeles appears over-funded.

The research team analyzed budgets for five fiscal years (2005 to 2009) for 10 major U.S. urban areas under a variety of terrorist-attack scenarios.

The researchers found the funding received by New York in 2009 was around 30 percent of the total money allocated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to the 10 areas.

According to the Northwestern models, the funding should have ranged between 33 and 49 percent.

This would translate to a net increase of anywhere between 15 million dollars to 92 million dollars above the actual level of funding New York received in 2009.

Lead researcher Sanjay Mehrotra said: “Our new methodology, called robust-weighted sum optimization, offers a different perspective on how Homeland Security funds might be allocated.”

“Ultimately, we would like to bring this method to the decision-making processes of Homeland Security and other organizations,” added Mehrotra, a professor of industrial engineering and management sciences at Northwestern”s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. (ANI)

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Evidence of Pak Taliban role in Times Square foiled plot mounting: US

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 6 (ANI): After two days of intense questioning of Times Square bombing suspect, Faisal Shahzad, American officials are more or less convinced about the Pakistani Taliban inspiring and training the latter prior to the Saturday night incident.

Officials have confirmed that Shahzad has discussed his contacts with the group, and added that more evidence has been accumulated, but won’t be disclosed for the time being.

According to the New York Times, Department of Homeland Security officials have directed airlines to speed up their checks of new names added to the no-fly list.

The failed attack has produced a flurry of other proposals to tighten security procedures, including calls by members of Congress to more closely scrutinize passengers who buy tickets with cash.

American officials said their understanding of the plot would evolve as a dragnet spanning two continents gathered more evidence.

One issue that the investigators are vigorously pursuing is who provided Shahzad cash to buy the S.U.V. and his plane ticket to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

They also said that it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate the operations of the militant groups in Pakistan’s tribal areas. There is no doubt among intelligence officials that the barrage of attacks by C.I.A. drones over the past year has made Pakistan’s Taliban, which goes by the name Tehrik-i-Taliban, increasingly determined to seek revenge by finding any way possible to strike at the United States.

If the Pakistani Taliban was involved in the Times Square bombing plot, the organization is only the latest militant group to expand beyond a local political agenda and strike the United States.

A successful attack on American soil could have significant payoffs, said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University.

The message may be, “ ‘The U.S. is pounding us with drone attacks, but we’re powerful enough to strike back’; it’s certainly enough to attract ever more recruits to replace those they’re losing,” Hoffman said. (ANI)

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Arizona murder prompts calls to tighten security

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The murder of a prominent Arizona rancher near the Mexican border is spurring charges that Washington is doing too little to stop Mexico’s raging drug war from spilling over into the United States.

U.S. | Mexico

Robert Krentz was shot last Saturday while working at his remote cattle ranch some 30 miles northeast of this city on the Arizona-Mexico border.

Investigators tracked the footprints of the suspected gunman about 20 miles south to the border with Mexico, prompting some authorities to blame smugglers or illegal immigrants for the killing.

“The ranchers have feared for their lives for a long time and they’ve told the people from Washington, but they don’t pay attention to us,” Michael Gomez, the mayor of Douglas, told Reuters.

“This continues to be a hot area for illegal crossings and they have to do something to stop it.”

Krentz, 58, was well liked and respected in southeastern Arizona, where his family’s ranch sprawled over 35,000 acres.

No arrests have been made and there is no clear motive or any named suspect, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office said.

The killing comes amid ever-more brazen and brutal attacks by cartels in northern Mexico that are fighting for control of lucrative drug smuggling routes into the United States.

Last month, gunmen killed two Americans in Ciudad Juarez, south of El Paso, Texas, renewing fears in the United States that escalating violence may spill north over the border.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security expressed “outrage” on Thursday at Krentz’s murder and posted a $25,000 reward for “information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the individual or individuals responsible.”

A day earlier, Bill Richardson, the Democratic governor of the neighboring state of New Mexico, ordered National Guard troops to patrol the border with Mexico to “ensure the safety of New Mexico citizens.”

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and Senator John McCain, both Republicans, have urged President Barack Obama’s administration to send National Guard troops to boost efforts to secure the border with Mexico in the wake of the killing.

RESIDENTS FEARFUL

Obama has pledged support for Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s battle against the drug cartels. Calderon has deployed tens of thousands of troops to try to halt the violence that has killed more than 19,000 people since he took office in late 2006.

The area in southern Arizona where Krentz was murdered lies on the edge of a furiously trafficked corridor for both drug and human smugglers.

Last year Border Patrol agents made more than 241,000 arrests in the sector south of Tucson, Arizona, and seized more than 60 tonnes of marijuana.

In the wake of the murder, authorities in Douglas — a ranching town of 15,000 people over the border from Agua Prieta, Mexico — have added to calls on Washington to beef up security to protect isolated residents.

Gomez wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this week, urging her to send National Guard troops to tighten security along the border.

Without additional security, residents in Douglas said Krentz’s murder left many angry and fearful for their own safety.

“Rob was very highly respected and well thought of throughout the county, especially by his neighbors,” said Lynn Kartchner, the owner of a gun store that has done brisk business in the five days since the killing. “If they can get Rob, they can get anyone.” (Editing by John O’Callaghan)

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Arizona murder prompts calls to tighten security

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The murder of a prominent Arizona rancher near the Mexican border is spurring charges that Washington is doing too little to stop Mexico’s raging drug war from spilling over into the United States.

U.S. | Mexico

Robert Krentz was shot last Saturday while working at his remote cattle ranch some 30 miles northeast of this city on the Arizona-Mexico border.

Investigators tracked the footprints of the suspected gunman about 20 miles south to the border with Mexico, prompting some authorities to blame smugglers or illegal immigrants for the killing.

“The ranchers have feared for their lives for a long time and they’ve told the people from Washington, but they don’t pay attention to us,” Michael Gomez, the mayor of Douglas, told Reuters.

“This continues to be a hot area for illegal crossings and they have to do something to stop it.”

Krentz, 58, was well liked and respected in southeastern Arizona, where his family’s ranch sprawled over 35,000 acres.

No arrests have been made and there is no clear motive or any named suspect, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office said.

The killing comes amid ever-more brazen and brutal attacks by cartels in northern Mexico that are fighting for control of lucrative drug smuggling routes into the United States.

Last month, gunmen killed two Americans in Ciudad Juarez, south of El Paso, Texas, renewing fears in the United States that escalating violence may spill north over the border.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security expressed “outrage” on Thursday at Krentz’s murder and posted a $25,000 reward for “information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the individual or individuals responsible.”

A day earlier, Bill Richardson, the Democratic governor of the neighboring state of New Mexico, ordered National Guard troops to patrol the border with Mexico to “ensure the safety of New Mexico citizens.”

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and Senator John McCain, both Republicans, have urged President Barack Obama’s administration to send National Guard troops to boost efforts to secure the border with Mexico in the wake of the killing.

RESIDENTS FEARFUL

Obama has pledged support for Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s battle against the drug cartels. Calderon has deployed tens of thousands of troops to try to halt the violence that has killed more than 19,000 people since he took office in late 2006.

The area in southern Arizona where Krentz was murdered lies on the edge of a furiously trafficked corridor for both drug and human smugglers.

Last year Border Patrol agents made more than 241,000 arrests in the sector south of Tucson, Arizona, and seized more than 60 tonnes of marijuana.

In the wake of the murder, authorities in Douglas — a ranching town of 15,000 people over the border from Agua Prieta, Mexico — have added to calls on Washington to beef up security to protect isolated residents.

Gomez wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this week, urging her to send National Guard troops to tighten security along the border.

Without additional security, residents in Douglas said Krentz’s murder left many angry and fearful for their own safety.

“Rob was very highly respected and well thought of throughout the county, especially by his neighbors,” said Lynn Kartchner, the owner of a gun store that has done brisk business in the five days since the killing. “If they can get Rob, they can get anyone.” (Editing by John O’Callaghan)

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U.S. puts brakes on “virtual” border fence

March 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The U.S. government is pulling $50 million in funding from a problematic “virtual fence” meant to secure stretches of the Mexico border and is freezing additional funding for the project pending review, authorities said on Tuesday.

U.S. | Mexico

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said an allocation of $50 million in funds made under the Recovery Act would be taken away from the ill-starred SBInet program, which seeks to mesh video cameras, radar, sensors and other technologies into a high-tech system to detect smugglers.

Napolitano said the project, which started in 2006 and was being developed by Boeing Co, has been beset by technical problems, missed deadlines and cost overruns.

“Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security will redeploy $50 million of Recovery Act funding originally allocated for the SBInet … to other tested, commercially available security technology along the Southwest border,” she said.

The SBInet program is focused on securing the areas between the ports-of-entry on the Mexico border. Its goal is to integrate new and existing technologies to enable federal border police to detect and respond to incursions at the border.

Criticism has centered on the project’s development of costly new systems instead of using available off-the-shelf technologies, as well as insufficient consultation with border police in its development, among other issues.

Napolitano said funds allocated to the program would be diverted to acquire existing technologies including mobile surveillance equipment, thermal imaging devices, ultra-light plane detection systems, mobile radios, cameras and laptop computers for vehicles used by Border Patrol agents.

She said the department also had frozen all funding beyond SBInet’s initial deployment to two areas south of Tucson and Ajo, Arizona, pending completion of an assessment ordered in January.

MCCAIN WELCOMES RETHINK

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and a long-term critic of the SBInet program, on Tuesday welcomed Napolitano’s decision to divert funding from the program.

“After spending over $1 billion of taxpayers’ dollars on a failed system of sensors and cameras along the Southwest border … I am pleased that Secretary Napolitano has decided to instead turn to commercial available technology that can be used to immediately secure our border from illegal entries,” he said in a statement.

“I have been calling for congressional oversight and administrative action on this issue since it became clear that SBInet was a complete failure.”

Each year, Mexican smugglers haul thousands of tons of illegal drugs and guide hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants across the U.S. border, many through the heavily trafficked desert corridor south of Tucson.

The government announced last year it had begun building the two new stretches of the virtual fencing covering a total of 53 miles at a cost of about $100 million. The system sought to use tower-mounted radars, cameras and other sensors to spot smugglers crossing from Mexico.

Officials said at the time that, should it be accepted by the Border Patrol, the project could be extended across the southwest border — with the exception of the Border Patrol’s Marfa, Texas, sector — by 2014 for an estimated $6.7 billion.

(Editing by Bill Trott)

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Indian illegal immigrants in US up 64 percent last decade

March 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON: In 2009, India accounted for the third highest increase in the number of illegal immigrants in the US in ten years, according to a new government report, though only two percent of all illegal immigrants were Indians.

The number of illegal immigrants in the US fell by seven percent to 10.8 million last year.

A majority of them came from Latin America, according to the department of homeland security (DHS) report, though India with 200,000 was the sixth biggest sender of illegal immigrants to the US.

In overall numbers, Indians accounted for only two percent of illegal immigrants. Mexico (6.7 million) topped the list with 62 percent, followed by those from El Salvador (530,000), Guatemala (480,000), Honduras (320,000) and the Philippines (270,000).

Between 2000 and 2009, the Mexican-born unauthorised immigrants increased by two million or 42 percent. But the greatest percentage increases occurred among unauthorised immigrants from Honduras (95 percent), Guatemala (65 percent), and India (64 percent).

“The number of unauthorised residents declined by one million between 2007 and 2009, coincident with the US economic downturn,” said the report based on census data and extrapolations from the total foreign population in the country.

Beside the US and global financial crisis, other reasons the report adduces for the drop in the undocumented population include tougher border enforcement and a national crackdown on illegal immigrants.

The overall annual average increase in the unauthorised population during the 2000-09 period was 250,000 with ten leading countries of origin representing 85 percent of the unauthorised immigrant population in 2009.

Of the nearly 11 million undocumented people living in the US in January 2009, 37 percent, or four million, arrived since January 2000, 44 percent since the 1990s and 19 percent since the 1980s, the DHS said.

Between January 2008 and January 2009, the number of unauthorised immigrants living in the US decreased seven percent from 11.6 million to 10.8 million after growing from 8.5 million to 11.8 million between 2000 and 2007, DHS said.

An estimated 8.5 million of the 10.8 million unauthorised immigrants living in the US in 2009 were from the North America region, including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. The next leading regions of origin were Asia (980,000) and South America (740,000).

California remained the leading state of residence of the illegal immigrants in 2009, with 2.6 million, followed by Texas (1.7 million), Florida (720,000), New York (550,000) and Illinois (540,000).

California’s share of the national total was 24 percent in 2009 compared to 30 percent in 2000. The greatest percentage increase in the illegal population between 2000 and 2009 occurred in Georgia (115 percent), Nevada (55 percent) and Texas (54 percent).

In 2009, 61 percent of unauthorised immigrants were aged 25 to 44 years, and 58 percent were male. Males accounted for 62 percent of the illegal population in the 18 to 34 age group in 2009 while females accounted for 52 percent of the 45 and older age groups.

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Pak-American group criticizes US for King Khan detention

August 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug.21 (ANI): A Pakistani-American group has criticized US authorities for detaining famous Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan at Newark International airport last week.

A statement issued by the Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee (PAKPAC) said that after the 9/11 terror attacks ‘lawful’ Muslim travelers were being unnecessarily subjected to ‘unfair’ inspections and interrogations.

“Since the terrorist attacks, lawful Muslim travelers have extensively been subjected to unfair inspections, intrusive secondary searches, excessive questioning based on their names and ethnicity,” The Nation quoted the statement, as saying.

“The PAKPAC believes that profiling people based on their race, religion, and origin is wrong and not the appropriate use of resources,” the statement added.

It said that the PAKPAC has already brought to attention the futility of interrogation procedures at US airports during various meetings with the Transport Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security officials.

Khan was detained for about two hours on Saturday morning at the airport in New Jersey, USA, where he had arrived to attend a South Asian related event.

Khan was released after Congress MP Rajiv Shukla spoke to the authorities in the US and the Indian consulate.

He was detained after his name flashed on a computer and was asked several questions about the purpose of his visit. (ANI)

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USINPAC calls Shahrukh Khan incident a teaching moment

August 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug.18 (ANI): The US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) has termed the questioning and checking of Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan at the Newark International Airport in New Jersey as a teaching moment, and while lauding immigration officials for their professionalism, has demanded fair treatment to all tourists and visitors.

USINPAC chairman Sanjay Puri said: “We commend the Department of Homeland Security for protecting our homeland. United States has not suffered a single terror attack after 9/11, and that is a testament to their efforts. But fair treatment for tourists and visitors based on their race, religion or national origin and protecting our homeland are not mutually exclusive and in fact are part of the ethos of what makes the United States a magnet for people seeking freedom and opportunity. President Obama in Cairo talked about a new beginning with Muslims around the world. One of the quickest paths towards that goal is fair treatment for visitors to the United States of different religious faiths.”

USINPAC National Security Coordinator, Manish Thakur added: “These kinds of incidents heighten the need for racial sensitivity. The reaction in India should be seen in the same light as the outcry in this country after the arrest of prominent African American Harvard scholar, Henry Louis Gates at his home.

President Obama called that a teaching moment for the country on race relations and maybe this can turn into a teaching moment as it relates to fair treatment of visitors to the United States.”

USINPAC is the political voice of 2.7 million Indian-Americans and provides bipartisan support to candidates for federal, state and local office who support the issues that are important to the Indian-American community. (ANI)

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NYPD gets radiation detectors to search bombs

July 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New York, July 4 (ANI): The US Department of Homeland Security has given three state-of-the-art radiation detectors to the New York Police Department to patrol city streets in search of dirty bombs and other nuclear threats.

The 450,000-dollar worth Advanced Spectroscopic Portal Monitors will be placed in three SUVs on Wednesday at entrances to tunnels, bridges and tollbooths, the Daily News reports.

The detectors had been purchased by DHS’ National Nuclear Detection Office for use at the nation’s ports, but officials concluded they weren’t strong enough to penetrate ship containers, police sources said.

Officials believe they will be able to detect radioactive isotopes emanating from a dirty bomb in the back of a car.

“We think they’ll be useful getting hits on vehicles on the road,” a NYPD official said.

Recently, the department had also purchased 8,000 Dosimeters, pager-sized detectors to be given to police if there is a nuclear attack.

Outfitted in protective gear, officers would use the Dosimeters to find “hot spots” of radiation.

Additionally, sources said the NYPD will station a sophisticated radiation-detecting device at this weekend’s July 4 celebration at the retired battleship Intrepid.

The Thermo is used up to a dozen times a year and is stationed at the main entrance to a sensitive target.

It has previously been used at the U.S. Open Tennis tournament, the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, and at meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, sources said. (ANI)

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Advanced ground-penetrating radar may be used to spot tunnels dug by criminals

June 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, June 30 (ANI): Patrol agents along the US border are using a sophisticated ground penetrating radar to spot illegal tunnels dug by criminals.

While most tunnels are used to move drugs or people, they could also be used to move in weapons and explosives for a terrorist attack.

Tunnels are a serious challenge for border patrol agents because they can begin and end almost anywhere.

Their entrances and exits are often hidden inside old warehouses or under trees; if old ones are discovered, new ones are quickly begun.

Of every tunnel ever discovered by US border patrol agents, 60 percent have been found in the last three years.

“All of them have been found by accident or human intelligence,” said Ed Turner, a project manager with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S and T). “None by technology,” he added.

To battle these secret burrows in the 21st century, S and T thinks this will have to change. In partnership with Lockheed Martin, DHS S and T is pursuing a fresh approach that uses sophisticated ground penetrating radar.

The new design technology is to place the radar antennas in a trailer that will be towed by a Border Patrol truck.

The antennas shoot a signal directly into the ground and use it to construct a multi-colored picture of the earth.

Tunnels show up as red, yellow, and aquamarine dots against a blue background. Border patrols agents would see these images on a monitor mounted inside their truck.

Ground penetrating radar is a promising technology because it is already used by civil engineers to reconstruct underground images.

These engineers, however, are usually only interested in detecting cables or pipes that may be a few meters beneath the earth.

S and T must find tunnels that often run much deeper.

To find these, the radar uses much lower frequencies that penetrate the ground much better, and a sophisticated new imaging technology that can display clear pictures of deep tunnels.

If successful, the tunnel detection technology will help agents locate and plug tunnels almost as fast as the criminals can dig them. (ANI)

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US launches all out cyber war against hackers

May 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 30 (ANI): Computer hacking is becoming a growing threat and the US Department of Homeland Security sees it as a future battleground.

To counter this new menace, the department has instructed the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to launch a cyber war against hackers seeking to disrupt and destroy vital U.S. military networks, reports CBS.

“What we want to do is protect the way we do business, protect the Air Force, and protect our country from this kind of harm,” Brigadier General Dana Simmons said.

At the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, agents identify and attempt to neutralize criminal, terrorist and espionage computer threats of every kind. They have 11 field offices around the world.

Using brains and bytes, agents like Paul Alvarez play a high-tech game of cat and mouse – running traces, tracking IP address, assessing damage, plugging security holes in the network by erasing viruses and fixing programs and searching for the source of nameless, faceless intruders. There are thousands of attempts every day.

“We basically peel the onion layers back to find out where the core attack came from,” Alvarez said.

“We call them hot points. We’ll chase them from computer to computer to end point to find out who really did it. The only constant in the attacks: they come around the clock, and from around the globe. Now you’re seeing a wide variety-from major criminal enterprises to foreign adversaries,” Alvarez said.

At risk: missile defense systems, communications networks – everything that makes the military work.

The Department of Defense says it has spent more than 100 million dollars in just the last six months repairing the damage done by cyber attacks. (ANI)

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Privacy activists condemn ‘virtual strip search’ security system at airport

May 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 24 (ANI): Privacy activists are planning to call for a ban on the use of whole-body imaging, the airport security technology that they say performs ‘a virtual strip search’ and produces ‘naked’ pictures of passengers.

Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said that the national campaign, which will gather signatures from organizations and relevant professionals, is set to be launched this week to urge the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to suspend the use of the technology.

However, Kristin Lee, spokeswoman for Transportation Security Administration (TSA), said in a written statement that the machines “detect both metallic and nonmetallic threat items to keep passengers safe. It is proven technology, and we are highly confident in its detection capability.”

Lee said that so far, the testing phase has been promising. When given the choice, “over 99 percent of passengers choose this technology over other screening options,” she said.

Using millimeter wave technology, the machine scans a traveller and a robotic image is generated that allows security personnel to detect potential threats.

TSA officials said that privacy concerns are addressed in a number of ways.

The system uses a pair of security officers. The one working the machine never sees the image, which appears on a computer screen behind closed doors elsewhere; and the remotely located officer who sees the image never sees the passenger.

Lee said that as part of further protection, a passenger’s face is blurred and the image as a whole ‘resembles a fuzzy negative.’

She also said that the officers monitoring images aren’t allowed to bring cameras, cell phones or any recording device into the room, and the computers have been programmed so they have ‘zero storage capability’ and images are ‘automatically deleted.’

However, Coney said she’s seen whole-body images captured by similar technology dating back to 2004 that were much clearer than what’s represented by the airport machines.

“What they’re showing you now is a dumbed-down version of what this technology is capable of doing. Having blurry images shouldn’t blur the issue,” CNN quoted her as saying. (ANI)

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Privacy activists condemn ‘virtual strip search’ security system at airport

May 19, 2009 By 2 Comments

Washington, May 19 (ANI): Privacy activists are planning to call for a ban on the use of whole-body imaging, the airport security technology that they say performs ‘a virtual strip search’ and produces ‘naked’ pictures of passengers.

Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said that the national campaign, which will gather signatures from organizations and relevant professionals, is set to be launched this week to urge the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to suspend the use of the technology.

However, Kristin Lee, spokeswoman for Transportation Security Administration (TSA), said in a written statement that the machines “detect both metallic and nonmetallic threat items to keep passengers safe. It is proven technology, and we are highly confident in its detection capability.”

Lee said that so far, the testing phase has been promising. When given the choice, “over 99 percent of passengers choose this technology over other screening options,” she said.

Using millimeter wave technology, the machine scans a traveller and a robotic image is generated that allows security personnel to detect potential threats.

TSA officials said that privacy concerns are addressed in a number of ways.

The system uses a pair of security officers. The one working the machine never sees the image, which appears on a computer screen behind closed doors elsewhere; and the remotely located officer who sees the image never sees the passenger.

Lee said that as part of further protection, a passenger’s face is blurred and the image as a whole ‘resembles a fuzzy negative.’

She also said that the officers monitoring images aren’t allowed to bring cameras, cell phones or any recording device into the room, and the computers have been programmed so they have ‘zero storage capability’ and images are ‘automatically deleted.’

However, Coney said she’s seen whole-body images captured by similar technology dating back to 2004 that were much clearer than what’s represented by the airport machines.

“What they’re showing you now is a dumbed-down version of what this technology is capable of doing. Having blurry images shouldn’t blur the issue,” CNN quoted her as saying. (ANI)

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