GSN: Government Security News

Proximex has unveiled what it calls the security industryâ€s first command and control center appliance, the Proximex C100. The the C100 is designed for small- to mid-sized companies that want to centralize their security environment but have few security systems, limited IT staff/expertise or arenâ€t ready for a full-blown physical security information management (PSIM) installation, according to Proximexâ€s statement.

San Jose, CA-based Skybox Security, the specialist in automated security risk and compliance management, has unveiled Skybox View release 4.5. The company characterizes this release of the platform as providing features that enable enterprises to not only come into compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements, but to remain continuously compliant.

Menlo Park, CA-based PGP Corp., the specialist in enterprise data protection, reports that the U.S. Department of Education is employing its encryption technology to improve data security, regulatory compliance and staff productivity. In addition, says PGP, the department is relying on PGP solutions to protect Americans†personally identifiable information (PII) while making it easier for its mobile users to more securely access agency IT systems from remote locations.

The Obama Administration has made effective cyber-security a strategic priority and the U.S. Congress is preparing a major overhaul to the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) with the U.S. ICE Act of 2009. This new legislation mandates that federal agencies “monitor, detect, analyze, protect, report, and respond against known vulnerabilities, attacks, and exploitations” and “continuously test and evaluate information security controls and techniques to ensure that they are effectively implemented.”

GSN: Government Security News has announced 38 winners of its 2009 Homeland Security Awards (including two ties) to a packed ballroom at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York that included many distinguished present and former officials in federal, state and local government, as well as many CEOs and other executives at prominent vendor companies in the IT Security and Physical Security fields. The ceremony opened with an Honor Guard and Bagpipes furnished by the International Association of Airport and Seaport Authority Police, and it ended with a keynote speech by Frances Townsend, former Chair of the Homeland Security Council in the Bush White House and former Assistant Commandant for Intelligence in the United States Coast Guard.

A live demonstration of video analytics â€" the “brains” of a video surveillance system â€" drew a large crowd to the education track presentation offered by GSN: Government Security News at the Public Security & Safety expo on Oct. 28. The two-day security expo at the Javits Center in New York City focuses on government-related security applications and features seven different education sessions, all moderated by GSNâ€s editor-in-chief, Jacob Goodwin.

The early line on the the kind of spam that will be clogging your in-box over the next few months comes from Symantecâ€s latest MessageLabs Intelligence Report, which predicts that the “spam gangs behind the biggest botnets â€" Cutwail, Rustock and Donbot” will be referencing “upcoming major holidays and world events as the themes for their latest spam runs.”   Highlights from the report follow: 

The recent arrests of several suspected terrorists, most prominently Najibullah Zazi, will rightly be viewed as a success on the homeland security front, if the allegations prove to be true. However, the circumstances surrounding Zaziâ€s arrest offer a perfect example of the failings of the system used to alert the public and federal and state authorities.    Even though law enforcement officials believed that Mr. Zazi, and possibly others, were going to detonate a homemade weapon of mass destruction, authorities failed to raise the terror alert level and didnâ€t notify the public until after his arrest. In other words, had Mr. Zazi completed his mission people would have been as an unprepared as they were on September 11 and more lives may have been lost.

Icomera, the provider of cellular broadband gateways, reports that the Maple Grove Fire Department, in Minnesota, has chosen its Moovbox M200 to provide real-time, secure communication services in emergency response vehicles at broadband speeds. Dual redundant high-speed cellular links in the Moovbox M200 connect vehicles to a central command facility in the event of nuclear emergencies, the company says.

Sparks, NV-based Sierra Nevada Corp. reports that it has been awarded a $14,166,934 firm-fixed-price cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) countermeasures to the U.S. military. Specifically, Sierra will supply the Transmitting Set, Countermeasures (TSC) AN/PLT-5 to support joint services personnel (JSEOD).

Cambridge, MA-based CoreStreet, the credential validation specialist, and Traverse City, MI-based Salamander Technologies, the personnel-accountability solutions provider, report that they have formed a partnership to “further enhance” the unified incident command functionality of Salamanderâ€s interTRAX suite.

In the wake of the recent arrests in New York and Colorado that disrupted an alleged terrorist plot, Attorney General Eric Holder has warned that the danger posed by Najibullah Zazi and other plotters has not passed. “I caution that our work continues in that matter,” the AG said in a speech last week at the University of Maine, in which he called the the alleged plot “one of the most serious threats this nation has faced since 9-11.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration has identified the three Special Agents who were among ten Americans killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan earlier this week. The three agents, who died on Oct. 26 while supporting counter-narcotics operations in the war-torn country, are:

Woburn, MA-based Percussion Software reports that its Web content management (WCM) system, CM System, will power the official portal to the US government, USA.gov, and its translated sites. According to Percussion, its “technology-neutral WCM platform will seamlessly integrate into OCSC's cloud-based infrastructure, as well as give OCSC [the Office of Citizen Services and Communications] the ability to aggregate content from many sources, manage thousands of cross-site links, and source user feedback using Web 2.0 tools.

The Department of Transportationâ€s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DoT NHTSA) is seeking applicants for the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council (NEMSAC) to the Secretary of Transportation.

The annual Harvard Fire Executive Fellowship program is accepting applications for 2010. The program is sponsored through a partnership among the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Fire Protection Publications / International Fire Service Training Association (FPP / IFSTA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), DHS and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA).

Superior, CO-based StillSecure, the provider of secure network infrastructure solutions, has announced the latest release of Safe Access, the company's network access control (NAC) solution. Safe Access now offers eight access control options, the company reports, from whitelist to blacklist, with six ™grey™ options in between, allowing administrators to granularly manage all network user types.

Austin, TX-based FreightWatch Security Net (FSN), a provider of embedded cargo and portable surveillance tracking solutions, has launched FreightWatch Geo F1, a covert tracking device for end customers, and the FSN Dealer Program for resellers.

Chatsworth, CA-based Secura Key has unveiled two new models of its e*Access kits. The kits contain everything needed to install a two-door access control system, the company says, with the exception of door locks and cabling.

Iran and China “lead the world” in stealing U.S. military equipment and technology. That is the conclusion drawn from documents that Judicial Watch, a watchdog nonprofit, says it obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Justice Department's National Security division.