USSN Link 039-03 (September 26, 2003)

[<JimKing@xxxxxxxx>]

Title: USSN Link 039-03 (September 26, 2003)

If this e-mail does not show up in its correct formatting, please point your browser to this address: http://www.usscn.org/content/contentCT.asp?P=90 Thank you, USSN Staff DISCLAIMER THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT HAS BEEN ASSEMBLED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES AND IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT IS PROVIDED AS RECEIVED AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT BY THE US SECURITY NETWORK, ANY MEMBER COMPANY, OR PARTICIPATING PUBLIC AGENCIES. INFORMATION MAY BE REPEATED, AS IT IS EXTRACTED EXACTLY AS PRESENTED BY THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
	"Cameras Watching Students, Especially in Biloxi" Every classroom and hallway of the North Bay Elementary School in Biloxi, Miss., features a ceiling-mounted surveillance camera that monitors and records all activity. The cameras are meant to protect the students and faculty from violence, but the devices are also used for more mundane tasks, such as keeping students from sleeping at their desks or resolving disputes between students. North Bay Principal Laurie A. Pitre says that the cameras have improved discipline at the school, with the added side effect that test scores have also improved. Biloxi school superintendent Larry Drawdy says the cameras have also helped catch janitors who steal school equipment or who are not doing their jobs properly. A principal at another school says that surveillance cameras in the classroom allowed a teacher to catch a student cheating on an exam. Todd Walker, CFO at the surveillance firm CameraWatch Corp., says that surveillance cameras are extremely popular with U.S. school officials. Indeed, school architects say that about 75 percent of the 950 new U.S. public schools that opened in 2002 featured surveillance cameras. www.nytimes.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Putting Your Calls Into Context" Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Institute of Technology (CIT) have devised SenSay, a context-aware cell-phone technology that keeps track of sent emails, phone calls, and the user's location while employing sensors to analyze the environment so that users can be alerted to calls appropriately and non-intrusively. "Because people can see when you are available, the time it takes to hand off or receive information is greatly reduced," explains Dr. Asim Smailagic of Carnegie Mellon's Institute for Complex Engineered Systems. SenSay features an armband containing motion sensors, a microphone, galvanic skin-response sensors, and a heat-flux sensor to measure body temperature, while a global positioning system device relays the user's position; based on these readings, the phone can automatically adjust ringer volume, vibration, and phone alerts, and assign variable levels of urgency to calls. Intel helped finance SenSay's development and is interested in being the CIT lab's manufacturing partner, while the military has also expressed an interest. SenSay will not be able to expand its usability until storage and computational capacity is added and one-piece integration is achieved, while privacy experts are concerned that the technology could be abused. "Something that is a tracking device can, for social reasons, become something that tracks you," notes Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Smailagic says all of these issues have been considered by CIT researchers, who are working on ways to address them. Carter Driscoll of the Independent Research Group thinks SenSay may only have limited market appeal among travelers or high-tech executives who need to be contacted at any time. www.wired.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Wireless Companies Vie for Federal Dollars" Wireless network infrastructure companies are making an effort to secure more deals with government agencies. To this end, ReefEdge recently obtained Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 Level 2 certification for its ReefEdge Connect cryptography system. According to ReefEdge chief technology officer Sandeep Singhal, the primary concern of FIPS certification is to ensure that a product meets the appropriate security needs of government agencies. "We're trying to set a bar where Level 2 certification is the right level of security," he says. FIPS certification also evaluates a product's mobility, management, and "session persistence," or the ability of users to move from a heavily used network point to another without having to re-enter data, says Singhal. Paul Lipari, network operations division chief at Fort McPherson, an Army base in Georgia, says an increasing number of government agencies are considering the use of wireless networks. He is looking forward to the base's trial of Foundry's IronPoint 802.11-based wireless access point, which can be used in conjunction with the base's existing FastIron wired Ethernet network. The integrated network will eventually allow about 5,400 users to access enhanced voice, video, and data capabilities as a result of greater bandwidth, Lipari says. www.fcw.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Big Brother's Imprint" New high-tech surveillance devices that collect biometric data may promise a higher level of public safety, but public discomfort about privacy-related issues can derail efforts to adopt them: The Texas Department of Public Safety, which had been planning on collecting biometric data when people applied for driver's license, learned that lesson when legislation that would have permitted such a database lost on a 111-26 vote in the state House of Representatives. The proposition was doomed essentially because law enforcement officers in Texas would have been able to access the database for their own investigations, a data-sharing provision that won condemnation from both Democratic Rep. John Mabry Jr. and Republican Rep. Bryan Hughes. West Virginia, meanwhile, has quietly been using biometrics with its driver's license information, but it makes the information available only to the motor-vehicle department. Airports have had fewer political problems attempting to adopt biometric technology, but when Boston's Logan International Airport tested facial-recognition and iris-scanning technology, it found that the technology simply was not effective enough, since there was not a big enough database of potentially dangerous people. Dennis Treece of Massport, the agency that runs Logan, described this problem by saying these technologies "are just not ready for prime time in the one-to-many mode." For the time being, it could be beneficial to use it instead in a one-to-one or one-to-few mode--many airport officials, for example, are interested in the idea of putting together "trusted traveler" lists of people who are not security threats, and who would have to pass a biometric scan to confirm their identity and then get through security quickly. Another place that has tried out facial-recognition cameras is Virginia Beach, Va., which used such cameras along its waterfront while a citizen's advisory committee put together restrictions that ultimately included allowing committee members to audit officers overseeing the cameras each month; still, the cameras there have not caught anyone yet. www.governing.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Putting a Little SWAT in Every Cop" The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center, created last year, offers a nationwide, cost-effective, intense training program for all law enforcement groups. The program consists of classroom training, mock exercises employing paintball-style weapons, and interactive simulation technology that re-creates several risky real-life situations. Video-based training enables officers to practice in a hands-on atmosphere in situations they may have experienced and ultimately offers a measurement tool to determine their judgment in such scenarios, according to center officials. ALERRT has so far instructed around 750 officials in Texas, where the center is headquartered, in the last year. The center has three operational high-tech firing ranges on its almost 200-acre locale, although it does not have a central building for classes, exercises, and training. Instructors have instead been traveling to schools and additional public facilities across Texas. While the center has obtained a $485,000 grant from the Department of Justice, it is pursuing $6 million to construct a new training facility. A longer-term objective is to establish a "train the trainer" program, a two-week endeavor that would permit the center to instruct officers from around the United States so they, in turn, can instruct their colleagues. www.fcw.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Homeland Security awards grants to localities for communications systems The Homeland Security Department on Thursday announced it will make nearly $80 million in grants to help communities to develop communications systems that can talk to each other. The grants will be awarded on Sept. 30 through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Homeland Security also announced nearly $74 million in grants through FEMA to 19 states and territories for the improvement of emergence operations centers. Also on Thursday, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the 93 anti-terrorism task forces around the country would be reconstituted as Anti-Terrorism Advisory Councils. The councils will coordinate anti-terrorism initiatives, start training programs, and facilitate information sharing with states and localities. The councils also will work more closely with the existing 66 Joint Terrorism Task Forces that collect intelligence and conduct law enforcement. www.govexec.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Security Gets Top-Level Attention" Research shows that the threat of computer viruses, security breaches, and cyberterrorism are on the minds of senior-level executives. Data compiled by Optimize and Information Week for a joint survey confirmed that senior executives are more concerned about information security and offer more input on how money is spent on security. Of the 815 executives polled, 46 percent of respondents indicated that the CEO, president, or managing director determines how money is invested for information security. Fueling the security concern are several federal and state regulations, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, both of which set forth guidelines about how organizations should treat consumers' private information. Responses from the survey corroborated this. More than 50 percent of executives polled said regulatory requirements are the driving forces behind new investments in information-security products and services. Nearly 70 percent cited potential liability/exposure as the reason for increased spending; 41 percent cited potential revenue impact; and 24 percent cited partner/vendor requirements. www.banktech.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Software Helps Banks Comply With Patriot Act" Banks and other financial institutions are turning to software to help them comply with the USA Patriot Act. The law requires that by Oct. 1, banks be able to authenticate customer information when accounts are opened, whether or not the customers' names are on regularly updated terrorist lists issued by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Also, banks must check for signs of possible money laundering and inform the FBI and other law enforcement agencies of doubtful activities. Such customer data must be kept on file for five years after an account is closed. Celent Communications estimates that financial institutions will spend about $632 million from 2003 to 2005 on software, hardware, and services related to anti-money laundering. Banks such as Citigroup and ABN Amro have installed algorithm-based software that monitors dubious fund transfers and cash transactions. For example, "money launderers will buy strings of consecutively numbered $500 money orders" to bypass the current $3,000 reporting limit, says Don Temple at Mantas, which supplies the software to the two banks. He says the software is extremely effective for identifying the 1 percent of customers who are among those likely to illegally transfer funds. www.wallstreetandtech.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "One Phase at a Time" The Newton, Mass.-based Newton-Wellesley Hospital has installed a new high-end security system that controls access to the facility. A main security office holds control over all interior and exterior entrances, and a network of 40 high-speed CCTV dome cameras provides surveillance of parking lots, interior rooms within the hospital, and main entryways. The new security system helps ensure that the hospital is adhering to the tenets of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Newton-Wellesley Hospital normally has thousands of people on campus at any given time of day, meaning that special attention needs to be paid to access control, and who is coming and going. Beginning in 2000, the hospital began conducting risk assessments which showed that the facility needed to improve its access-control efforts. The bidding effort for overseeing the project was won by Surveillance Specialties, which incorporated national and local fire codes into its planning. Software House provided its C-Cure 800 access control system and proximity card readers for use in the system. Special attention was given to the hospital's maternity ward and child health floors. www.securitysolutions.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Security Features Aim to Curb ID Theft" Mississippi has taken steps to thwart identity theft by adding security enhancements to state drivers' licenses. The enhanced security makes Mississippi's driver's license process one of the most secure in the entire nation, says Capt. Joseph Rigby of the state Department of Public Safety's Driver Services Bureau. Residents of another state who attempt to get a driver's license in Mississippi must first show a valid license from their home state, proof of residency in Mississippi, and a Social Security card. First-time applicants must also provide proof of a birth certificate. The driver's license process includes the use of fingerprinting and facial recognition technology to help match a driver's picture with photos on file. The state created a three-member Identity Fraud unit in 2001. That unit has handled more than 200 identity theft cases and averages about 10 to 20 new cases per day, according to one staff member. www.clarionledger.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Accepting the Risk" In order to comply with new Basel II Accord regulations slated to take effect in 2006, banks around the world are beginning to pay closer attention to risk management, and are investing more resources into deploying technology that will help them better determine their credit risk, market risk, and operational risk. Industry consolidation and banks' increasing dependence on technology make banks more interdependent and make securing against risks even more important for the global economy. Advisory firm Gartner forecasts that technology spending for risk management will grow to account for 9 percent of the average technology budget for the financial services industry, and that the construction of risk-management infrastructures will be an investment priority for banks through 2005. In this movement, operational risk is receiving particular attention from banks, since Basel II regulations highlight the risk as one of the most dangerous. To avoid these and other risks, more banks are investing in business intelligence and other technologies that help them assess and understand their risks. Wachovia Corp., for example, depended on a Web-based risk-capture application to prepare for its integration with First Union Bank. Similarly, Harris Bank uses technology from PeopleSoft to manage its financial-reporting process and accounting. These new technologies will continue to play key roles as more banks seek to develop a more holistic approach to risk management and as Basel II regulation compliance deadlines near. www.banktech.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "The Smart Sensor Web" The Sensor Web, which author Neil Gross describes as "an electronic skin" through which all earthly activities can be sensed and monitored, will revolutionize the collaborative, consistent, and consolidated collection, fusion, and dissemination of sensor data. Such a breakthrough would have significant ramifications for science, environmental surveillance, transportation, homeland security, public safety, disaster management, defense, and health services. A successful Sensor Web must boast five key characteristics: Interoperability, intelligence, dynamism, flexibility, and scalability. Interoperability is needed to link the heterogeneous sensors and sensor networks to the Web; intelligence is supplied by sensors that can communicate with each other; the dynamic quality is achieved through the development of mobile, "position aware" sensors that can be continuously tracked via wireless networks; flexibility comes from supporting and integrating devices that use deterministic, triggered, and on-demand data transmission; and scalability, in which sensors can be flexibly added or replaced, adds redundancy and fault tolerance. There are usually two general classes of sensors--in-situ devices that gauge properties in the immediate vicinity and remote sensors that measure properties from further away--but the distinction between the two is blurring as the Sensor Web concepts develop and sensors become smaller, cheaper, lighter, and more power-efficient. Other Sensor Web enabling technologies include wireless communication and ubiquitous computing technologies such as Bluetooth and 802.11a, which allow sensory data to be accessed and transmitted to end users cheaply, easily, and on time. The Sensor Web framework is composed of four layers: The sensor layer, the communications layer, the location layer, and the information layer; the first three layers, which comprise the physical architecture, can vary according to the properties of sensors, geographic coverage, network access, and domain applications. The Open GIS Consortium aims to make all classes of Web-resident sensors, equipment, and imaging devices Web-accessible and Web-controllable by developing a Web service comprised of SensorML, the Sensor Collection Service, and a sensor registry. www.geoplace.com
Please forward your feedback to JIMKING@xxxxxxxx or call at (404) 525-9991.

To opt out of future mailings, click here.