GSN: Government Security News

Lawrence, MA-based CSMI, the provider of technical support for the deployment and sustainment of technology based force protection, counter-IED, and counter-drug systems, has appointed Thomas A. Person general operations manager. Prior to joining CSMI, Person served as special operations logistics chief for USNORTHCOM J4 Special Operations support cell, according to the companyâ€s statement. Previous assignments included CSMI program manager for what CSMI called a major IR/night-vision fielding and sustainment project in Iraq.

Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 29, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, 46, and Wassim I. Mazloum, 28 -- all residents of Ohio -- have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from more than eight years to 20 years for conspiring to commit terrorist acts against Americans overseas, including U.S. military personnel in Iraq, and for other terrorism-related violations. The sentences, handed down last week in a U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Ohio, represent the nationâ€s first successful trial of a ™homegrown terror cell™ for terrorism related crimes, according to a Department of Justice statement.

Waltham, MA-based Raytheon Company has debuted the Raytheon Android Tactical System (RATS), which the company says delivers multimedia content faster and in less time to warfighters. The RATS device disseminates intelligence data via the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) Intelligence Backbone (DIB) architecture system, Raytheon notes.

Vienna, VA-based Memex, Inc., reports that the State of Michigan has picked its criminal intelligence platform for deployment to its Michigan Intelligence Operations Center for Homeland Security (MIOC), the stateâ€s fusion center. It will provide access to more than 600 law enforcement agencies and more than 21,000 police officers, as well as to numerous state and federal departments, Memex says.

The DHS Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) has evaluated DHS†enterprise-wide security program and practices for its Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented information intelligence systems in FY 2009 and found them to be generally “effective.” According to an unclassified summary of the DHS OIG report, DHS “continues to maintain an effective enterprise-wide information security management program for its intelligence systems. Overall, information security procedures have been documented and adequate security controls have been implemented.”

Robert Graebener, an Alion Science and Technology employee and a veteran in the modeling and simulation (M&S) industry, has been named director of the Department of Defenseâ€s Modeling and Simulation Information Analysis Center (MSIAC). The center is operated by Alion.

Richard Serino, a 35-year veteran of emergency management and emergency medical serices, has been sworn in as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deputy administrator at a recent ceremony at Bostonâ€s Faneuil Hall.  Prior to joining FEMA, Serino served as chief of emergency medical services and assistant director for the Boston Public Health Commission. In that role, he helped bolster the cityâ€s response plans for chemical, biological, and radiological attacks and other emergency incidents, according to a FEMA statement.

The HD4CH and HD4CHX are direct replacements for the HD4VC4HR and HD4VC4HRX, Honeywell reports, noting that the “vandal dome comes fully integrated with a camera and lens that performs in both indoor and outdoor environments.”

Toms River, NJ-based Visual Management Systems, Inc. (VMS), a provider of video surveillance technologies, is now bringing its security and surveillance systems to Briad Groupâ€s casual dining locations, the company reports. The Briad Group has more than 65 casual dining properties, says VMS, adding that its security and surveillance products are being used almost exclusively by Briad restaurants.

Reston, VA-based Future Point Systems, a specialist in visual information system (VIS) solutions, has named software-industry veteran Mike Metscher as its new CEO.  He comes to Future Point from Overwatch Systems, where he served as EVP of tactical operations. At Overwatch, Future Point says, Metscher was a part of the management team that acquired companies and grew the company, leading to the acquisition of Overwatch by Textron in 2006. 

A $44.1 billion FY 2010 Homeland Security spending bill has now passed both houses of Congress. The $44,137,241,000 authorized by the new legislation represents a decrease of $230,507,000 from the funds authorized in the 2009 legislation, according to a joint Committee of Conference estimate.

The FY 2010 Homeland Security spending bill, which passed the Senate on a 79-19 vote earlier this week, includes $3 million in earmarked funds for Utah State University, which is part of an educational research alliance known as the Cyber Conflict Research Consortium.Cost of the overall FY â€10 spending bill is pegged at $44.1 billion by the joint Committee of Conference.

Waltham, MA-based Raytheon Company reports that it has been selected as the network systems integrator for the Armyâ€s Expeditionary Warrior experiment. According to the company, this experiment will integrate more than 25 technologies from more than 20 different companies and government agencies to operate on a single integrated backbone network.

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have started a research study to examine enhancement of thermal performance of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) face pieces, in order to increase firefighter protection. “There have been incidents of serious SCBA face piece failure, sufficient to warrant this important study,” U.S. Fire Administrator Kelvin J. Cochran said in a statement. “There is a clear need to examine ways to strengthen the protection provided by SCBA face pieces used by the fire service, before others are injured.”

The CSO Roundtable of ASIS International, the nonprofit trade organization for security professionals, has awarded its first Leadership in Security award to Sen. Susan Collins. The Maine Republican is the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The ubiquitous use of shared communications infrastructure has ushered in an age of vulnerability, requiring organizations that manage critical infrastructure to defend a whole new set of technology boundaries. As analysts have widely noted, these networks are extremely susceptible to attack with potentially disastrous consequences. Traditional methods of critical infrastructure security rely on authentication methods that are strong in theory but fall short in practice. Password sharing, lost or stolen smart cards and “man in the middle” attacks are just a few reasons for these weaknesses.

San Diego, CA-based General Atomics (GA) reports that its Nirvana division has been awarded a multi-year, multi-site project by the High Performance Computing Modernization Program Office (HPCMPO) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The company values the contract at $22.5 million over ten years. Specifically, the term of the contract is four-years, valued at $10.1 million, with six one-year options to renew, and was awarded by the General Services Administration in Birmingham, AL.

Denver, CO-based i2, the provider of intelligence and investigation management software for public safety, military, national security and commercial organizations, reports an agreement with the State of Colorado to extend the companyâ€s CopLink solution suite state-wide. The suite will be used in conjunction with the Colorado Information Sharing Consortium (CISC) for tactical lead generation.

Austin, TX-based Gemalto, the digital security specialist, reports that its Smart Guardian (SG) FIPS-encrypted USB drive is the first of its kind to offer interoperability with federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentials.  SG FIPS has been FIPS-140-2 level 3 certified, and meets Military Standard 810-F environmental standards, according to the company.

The DHS Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) has released a redacted version of a report o Congress on the effectiveness of the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program. That report originally contained “sensitive” security information.