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"Problems Persist With U.S. Visas"
Foreign students are thinking twice about enrolling in U.S. universities while foreign researchers are reconsidering their participation in U.S.-based conferences because of the many security procedures and protocols they must endure in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. The situation could significantly impact the U.S. technology industry as about half of all computer science and engineering graduate students in the U.S. come from abroad. Before a visa can be issued or renewed foreign nationals must submit to in-person interviews with American consular officers, while those studying security-sensitive topics are subjected to background checks. There is also a federal database to track all foreign students in the United States, while fingerprinting, photographing, and interviewing are common procedures for male students over 16 years of age whose countries of origin have large Muslim populations or are on the U.S. list of terrorist-friendly nations. The security measures have led to incidents of outright harassment, while red tape has forced students and others to postpone their studies, miss speaking engagements, or be denied entry back into the United States when they leave. The frustration of dealing with all of these protocols is spurring many foreigners to seek more welcoming shores: The number of applications for F-1 student visas submitted to the State Department fell about 24 percent between fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2003, while the Institute of International Education reports that the annual growth rate of foreign students enrolled at U.S. schools has declined from 5 percent five years ago to less than 1 percent. Countries with less stringent security policies, such as Australia, Great Britain, and Canada, stand to benefit from the U.S. loss. "Without foreign graduate students and postdocs, there will have to be a cutback in the research activity of American universities," warns former Texas Instruments executive Norman Neureiter, who calls for less complicated and intrusive security measures.
www.spectrum.ieee.org
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"Security Forces Brace for Cyber Terrorism Threat"
The worldwide law enforcement and intelligence community once considered "blended" terrorist attacks involving correlated physical and cyber-based attacks to be a hypothetical threat. That hypothetical threat has become reality, according to experts, noting that terrorist groups are rapidly increasing their technological acumen. Terrorism experts predict that terrorists will eventually use teams of highly sophisticated hackers to maximize the damage of physical terrorist attacks. For example, a major terrorist attack in a downtown location could be made more deadly if hackers simultaneously hack into and knock out the city's communications system. Knocking out the communications system would delay the arrival of emergency response crews, thereby increasing the number of casualties with each passing minute. "We will see a force multiplier effect where you hit a chemical factory, for instance, at the same time you lodge a digital attack," says Richard Starnes, director of incident response at telecommunications company Cable & Wireless. Such scenarios have been dubbed "Blended Digital Threats," "Digital Armageddon," and "Cyber Terrorism," and could involve cyber attacks on power grids, emergency response lines, and air traffic control networks, among other types of important infrastructure.
www.hindustantimes.com
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"Fiber-Optic Link Connects County Agencies, Schools"
Macomb County, Mich., and the Macomb Intermediate School District are working to establish a countywide, 180-mile fiber-optic system slated for completion by September 2004. Law enforcement and the courts will use the $9.8 million network in addition to the school district. The system "will open up a whole new world of information sharing and technology sharing within the county," says Sterling Heights Police Chief Barnett Jones, adding that "voice, pictures, data, and everything else" will be delivered more rapidly. The new system will be used to replace the existing, obsolete analog system, say Jones and Chesterfield Police Chief Steve Robbins. Jones adds that most of the county's police forces will sign up with Oakland County's Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System (CLEMIS). This will allow police departments to share computer data among themselves despite using disparate radio technologies. Moreover, the fiber-optic network will allow data sharing in police vehicles' portable computer units. Officers might also be able to fulfill court obligations through video transmissions, allowing them to spend more time in the field.
www.detnews.com
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"Most Federal Agencies Flunk Internet Security"
The Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and five other government agencies have received a flunking grade of "F" for their computer security efforts, according to a report from the House Government Reform subcommittee on technology. The release of the analysis marks the fourth consecutive year that the government has earned poor grades in the subcommittee's annual computer security report. This year's report did offer a sliver of optimism: the government's overall grade for its computer security efforts rose from an F last year to a D this year, thanks in part to some slight improvement from 13 government agencies. NASA's performance dropped from a D last year to a D-minus this year. The grades were based on an examination of several types of data, including information pertaining to employee training, software security, security passwords, and data access. The Homeland Security Department's head of cyber-security, Amit Yoran, said that the department's performance is intolerable and must be improved. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, said the results of the report show that information security is not being taken seriously by many government agencies and departments.
www.washingtonpost.com
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Study says federal bioterrorism spending not preparing states
Despite nearly $2 billion of federal bioterrorism funding to states over the past two years, states are largely unprepared for a major public health emergency, according to a report released Thursday by the Trust for America's Health. The yearlong study outlines 10 criteria, including state funding levels and infrastructure readiness, to gauge states' readiness to respond to a health crisis. Seventy-five percent of states failed to meet at least half of those criteria, with five states?Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico and Wisconsin?meeting only two of the 10 indicators. Even the four states at the top of the list?California, Florida, Maryland and Tennessee?still satisfy only seven of the study's indicators. Trust for America's Health Executive Director Shelley Hearne said state budget cuts for public health programs mean that much of the federal money is being used to replace state funding, not to supplement it. Additionally, she said, bureaucratic obstacles such as state hiring freezes often leave the federal funds in limbo. Also, despite the national focus on emergency preparedness in the past two years, health emergency response programs at the state level face a history of inadequate attention and funding, Hearne said.
www.govexec.com
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"Slow Yield on Red"
Red-light cameras--first introduced in the United States a decade ago--have been erected in over 80 cities in 20 states. Besides reducing the number of accidents that occur when drivers run red lights, supporters contend that these cameras enable violators to be caught without the human prejudice that could come from traffic police watching an intersection. Red-light cameras, however, have a formidable anti-movement: Legislation to permit them statewide was rejected this year after hot debates in four states, while five other states essentially ban their use altogether. Certain of the concerns about red-light cameras may partly stem from confusion as to how the system works. Many people think that the cameras are on all the time and that the film is looked at periodically to catch violators. In reality, the cameras are only activated when automobiles cross an underground sensor after the light becomes red, while the remainder of the time, no data is recorded. Other arguments against red-light cameras include the idea that cities are installing the cameras as a way to generate revenue, and that companies operating a particular red-light camera could increase the number of violations--and therefore maximize revenue--by altering the yellow-light time between green and red.
www.governing.com
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"Logan Bag-Screen System Woes Costly and Compromise Security, Memo Says"
The luggage-screening machines at Boston's Logan International Airport have not been as effective as hoped for because the machines have proven to be troublesome and inefficient, according to an internal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) memo. L-3 Communications Security and Detection Systems of New York makes the machines, which were installed in December 2002 to the tune of $146 million. Similar luggage-screening machines manufactured by InVision Technologies are being used at San Francisco International Airport, but the InVision machines have been much more effective than the L-3 machines, according to the memo. The L-3 machines used at Logan do not always generate complete images, and large pieces of luggage have been consistently jamming the machines because the machines have a small opening, one that is only a third the size of the InVision machines' opening. The jams have forced Logan to spend an additional $1.4 million a year to hire contract workers whose job is to make sure the machines do not jam. The L-3 machines process 300 bags of luggage an hour, compared to the InVision machines' 360 to 450 bags per hour; in addition, the Logan system has been plagued by incidents in which the system has had to be shut down and rebooted by airport screeners. The memo urges Logan to consider choosing a different type of screening machine for use in the new Terminal A, which opens in 2005. The TSA has been quick to point out that the memo was prepared by "a non-technical TSA employee" and does not reflect the TSA's official position on the L-3 technology.
www.boston.com
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"Quantum Leap in Risk Reporting Within Reach"
Risk modeling and information technology have made great strides and many financial services experts believe that risk-adjusted performance measurements and other data-handling capabilities will improve risk reporting within the industry. Currently, many banks and firms subscribe to Monte Carlo simulations, economic capital allocation, risk-adjusted performance measures, and other devices to mitigate risks and improve profit. However, while modeling has improved, many note the snails pace at which reporting has advanced, especially via the automation of existing reporting methods rather than the development of new programs and procedures. Recent studies indicate that only 33 percent of banks and firms have risk information that is one day old or less, and those banks have seen returns that are 20 percent higher than their competitors who have not installed similar real-time reporting systems. As more operational risks arise and banks struggle to mitigate those exposures, experts note that risk reporting programs should allow employees to index data and allow it to be viewed in terms of how risks affect the entire organization.
www.americanbanker.com
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"Counterfeiters Have New Imaging Tech, Too"
Check fraud is expected to cost commercial banks up to $853 million in 2003, but banks will avoid $4.478 billion in other losses through preventative measures, according to TowerGroup. Currently, banks spend about $280 million annually on fraud prevention measures, but with the passage of Check 21, banks can expect further expenditures to accommodate the latest electronic imaging, storage, and verification requirements. However, several vendors, including EnSeal Inc. and ImageSoft, have developed special encoding technologies to embed payee, check amount, and serial number data into a check image through pixel arrangements and other devices, which will make it more difficult for thieves to counterfeit the documents. The watermarks can then be decoded by banks licensing the proper equipment, which will provide the financial services industry with additional data security, especially concerning digital signatures and certificates.
www.banktech.com
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"Expanding the Definition of Loss Prevention"
Loss-prevention teams can become even more valuable to companies if they can find ways to contribute to a company's bottom line, says John Odenbach, senior vice president of loss prevention at Kohl's. "We have to expand our definition of shortage control and look at the entire pipeline to understand all the opportunities we have to add to the bottom line," he said. For instance, Odenbach notes that if the loss-prevention team at Kohl's could make just a slight improvement to the accuracy of the information it provides to the allocation team at Kohl's, the result could be a multimillion dollar improvement to the company's bottom line. Loss-prevention experts say that source-tagging initiatives can help improve the sales of high-theft merchandise. For example, Kohl's used to place security cables on its high-end branded leather outerwear as a loss-prevention measure. The result was that customers sometimes refrained from making a purchase because they could not find an available sales associate to unlock the merchandise for them. Since replacing the security cables with source-tagging, sales of the leatherwear have shot up 98 percent year-over-year. Retailers in Australia have formed the Australian Source Tagging Alliance (ASTA), which has managed to sign up 108 vendors who have agreed to start source-tagging initiatives.
www.executivetechnology.com
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GAO Addresses DHS Information Sharing for Critical Infrastructure Protection
In an 8 December letter to Reps. Dave Camp and Mac Thornberry, the General Accounting Office responded to questions for the record from the 17 September hearing on ?Implications of Power Blackouts for the Nation?s Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection: The Electric Grid, Critical Interdependencies, Vulnerabilities, and Readiness? and the challenges that the Department of Homeland Security faces in integrating its information gathering and sharing functions, particularly as they relate to fulfilling the department?s responsibilities for critical infrastructure protection.
www.anser.org
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