DHS

What you CAN'T see CAN hurt you. In this case, it's wireless intrusion by unauthorized devices. The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Defense are hot on the trail to ramp up detection and amp up protection.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded Thales Communications Incorporated, of Clarksburg, Maryland, a contract to provide public safety and tactical communications products to DHS under its new Tactical Communications (TacCom) program. Through this multiple-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) program, DHS will quickly procure vital tactical radio equipment and other products and services. The agency will use the equipment to support reliable and interoperable public safety communications for its missions to keep the homeland safe, including border protection, customs enforcement, drug interdiction, and emergency response to natural and man-made disasters.

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems has been awarded a $14 million task order by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support the National Communications System (NCS). General Dynamics will provide around-the-clock watch operations for critical communications infrastructure through support of the NCS's National Coordinating Center (NCC) for Communications. The company will provide emergency response support and liaison to communications partners to identify the possible impacts of potentially disruptive events and coordinate the restoration and repair of the infrastructure when outages occur. The NCC Watch assists NCS in executing its roles and responsibilities under Executive Order 12472 for support of the National Command Authority and for planning, developing and implementing enhancements to the national communications infrastructure. The NCC Watch facilitates collaboration among the NCC communications industry and government partners to support information sharing and collaboration, while performing analysis of the national communications infrastructure. Due to the confluence of technologies, the NCC Watch responds to cyber security incidents and events in tandem with its sister organization, the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), under event coordination by the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC).

Small business must "decide what they want to be when they grow up," said experts at the AFCEA International Homeland Security Conference. If entrepreneurs don't take time to think through the vision for their start-up, it is unlikely that they will be able to choose the right partners, network with the right individuals or approach the right government agencies to obtain business, they agreed.

The National Capital Region, comprising Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland, is one of the busiest, most powerful and hence most complicated areas in the United States when it comes to security. Cathy Lanier, chief of police, District of Columbia, and James F. Schwartz, chief, Arlington County Fire Department, Virginia, emphasized that cooperation and coordination are essential no matter the size of the municipality or the threats it faces.

Government may have been in the slow lane to accept social media as a viable conduit for sharing information, but agencies are now coordinating their efforts to ensure messages going out to the public can be trusted. Members of a panel discussing its uses at the AFCEA International Homeland Security Conference said the technologies that facilitate ubiquitous communications among the public are merely another change in generations of changes.

Recent legislation is opening the doors for public safety organizations to do more in the wireless broadband realm. Among the benefits is improved collaboration among emergency service organizations and additional dollars that will be spent to improve communication capabilities.