GSN: Government Security News

Herndon, VA-based NetWitness Corp. has unveiled version 9.0 of its NextGen enterprise network forensics and advanced threat intelligence platform. The NetWitness user population includes more than 15,000 security experts in more than 5,000 enterprises located in 126 countries around the world, the company notes.

Federal, state and local government agencies are increasingly under pressure to satisfy information security requirements for multiple regulatory mandates, including FISMA, FIPS, HIPAA and others. One of the thorniest compliance issues facing agencies is maintaining continuous data protection for laptops in the field. Fortunately, thanks to advances in backup technologies and system architecture over the past several years, government agencies of all sizes now have the means to reliably backup and restore data on laptop hard disks, as part of their overall data storage and recovery operations.

The U.S. General Services Administration, National Capital Region, has awarded QinetiQ North America a contract worth up to $28 million over five years to perform information technology support services for the National Defense University (NDU), the company reports.

Perth, Australia-based WebSpy, a developer of Internet monitoring and reporting software, has announced the proposed acquisition of North Sydney, Australia-based Marketboomer, a procurement and materials management system provider. WebSpy says it expects to significantly boost its cash flow and revenue, and generate profitable operations with the acquisition of the Marketboomer Group of companies, Marketboomer Pty Ltd and Ortas Enterprises Ltd.

The Department of Homeland Security will hold its 3rd Annual Industry Day, at which it will provide advanced acquisition planning information to the vendor community, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, on November 19, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.“Industry Day will include panels from each component moderated by respective DHS Head of Contracting Activity (HCA),” explains a notice posted online by the DHS office of the chief procurement officer. “This one day event will provide a forum by which the Department can communicate its requirements and increase competition by sharing useful information.”

With the planned relocation of the U.S. Armyâ€s “Team C4ISR” â€" Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance â€" from Fort Monmouth, NJ, to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, the Army Corps of Engineers has developed a requirement for a major new security system at Aberdeen, which will include access control, intrusion detection, intercom, closed circuit television and visitor management systems.The security systems will be installed in a campus in the North Cantonment area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, which consists of 14 buildings and approximately 2.4 million square feet of research and development space, according to a presolicitation notice posted by the U.S. Army on November 10.

Two months after it announced a safety zone around a small island off the coast of Maine that had been used as a bombing range until the late 1960s, the U.S. Coast Guard has listened to the objections of aggrieved local lobstermen, reversed itself and decided not to impose the safety zone after all.The interim rule announced on September 8, 2009, which would have established a “permanent safety zone around Seal Island, Maine from the shoreline out to the 60 foot depth curve,” was rescinded by a final rule published by the Coast Guard in the Federal Register on November 12.

While a majority (57 percent) of homeland security professionals surveyed recently by the National Homeland Defense Foundation (NHDF) and Colorado Technical University says America is safer now than it was before the 9/11 attacks, 75 percent believes the country will experience a similar terrorist attack in the next five years. The survey, conducted by Kelton Research, also found that 94 percent of these professionals don't think Americans know the appropriate steps to take if a terrorist attack were to happen in their hometown. Among the survey findings:

Santa Ana, CA-based Sukut Construction, Inc., which describes itself as California's largest earth moving construction company, has begun work on a 260-million-gallon reservoir for the Rancho Santa Margarita Water District. Sukut Construction will build the reservoir under contract with the Santa Margarita Water District, and with the supervision of the California Department of Water Resources†Division of Safety of Dams, the company notes.

HHSâ€s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released two interactive computer tools designed to help emergency planners and responders select and run alternate care facilities during disasters, when hospitals might need to transfer less ill patients efficiently to alternate sites. “Alternate care facilities™ are locations that can easily and quickly be equipped to augment or replace health care services when hospitals and other traditional care sites are inoperable or overwhelmed, according to HHS. Potential alternate care sites include college campuses, gymnasiums, schools, community centers, health clubs, convention centers or climate-controlled warehouses. The two new tools are:

Fairfax, VA-based TrafficLand, Inc. reports that its XML feed, containing live streaming video from its national traffic camera network, has been integrated by Boston, MA-based Priority 5 Inc. into its TACCS software suite, a set of infrastructure visualization tools.

The House passed on November 6, by a vote of 230 to 193, and referred to the Senate a bill designed to protect chemical facilities against terrorism acts.The measure, H.R. 2868, which was introduced last June, amends the Homeland Secu-rity Act of 2002, as well as the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

The Homeland Security Advisory Committee, a panel of experts who provide advice on the creation and implementation of homeland security policies, will hold a public meeting, via telephone conference call, on December 4, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM, to review the findings and recommendations of its Sustainability and Efficiency Task Force.That task force is chaired by Lydia Thomas, a trustee of Noblis, Inc. and a member of the Virginia Governorâ€s Commission on Climate Change.

The U.S. Coast Guard has taken delivery of the Waesche, the second of eight planned Legend-class National Security Cutters, from the shipbuilder, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, of Pascagoula, MS. The hand-over is formally known as a “preliminary acceptance,” which will be followed by “in-commission special” status that will remain in effect for the first year of the cutterâ€s service, which is a warranty and final-acceptance-trials period.

The Federal Protective Service (FPS) intends to buy two non-intrusive inspections (NII) systems, including one re-locatable cargo screening system on rails and one mobile vehicle system for low-density cargo. The deal also is expected to include training and maintenance for a base period of one year, plus four one-year options.

Columbia, MD-based AirPatrol Corp., a mobile and wireless threat management solutions company, has launched its rapid deployment sensor (RDS), which it calls the wireless security industryâ€s first and only wireless intrusion detection system designed for temporary wireless security deployments, wireless vulnerability assessments and white hat penetration tests.

Redmond, WA-based B.E. Meyers has unveiled its new Glare Mout Plus visual disruption laser. The new Glare Mout Plus, the latest iteration of the companyâ€s original Glare Mout, currently in use by the U.S. military, is equipped with variable power settings, including a training mode, and is operational over a wide temperature range, the company notes.

Reston, VA-based Intellitactics, a provider of appliances and software for enterprise security management, and Santa Clara, CA-based Sun Microsystems, Inc. have announced that the Intellitactics Security Manager (ISM) integrates with the new version, v.5, of Sun Microsystems' Role Manager.

Sunnyvale, CA-based ™>Palo Alto Networks, a firewall specialist, reports that its latest international study finds use of social networking and collaborative applications for business purposes has “skyrocketed in the past six months. With increased adoption of Web-based applications come new business and security risks that go far beyond potential productivity losses.” Despite the social-networking sea change, “most companies have outdated IT infrastructure and usage policies that may fail to protect them from these growing risks,” according to Palo Alto.

The DHS Chemical Biological Division (CBD) seeks sources of technologies to “prevent and defend” against a chemical and biological attack, according to a recent solicitation, number BAA09-19. Specifically, DHS is looking for technologies to achieve the following goals: