Homeland Security Outlook

Five years ago, my life, like the lives of millions of others, changed. I was one of the thousands of people who went to the Gulf Coast to try to help, to do anything to address what can only be called the summer of ultimate hell. Two monster hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, smashed into the coastlines of Mississippi and Louisiana killing hundreds, costing billions and forever changing our nation.

Those who read my Security Debrief posts or my Tweets will recognize (maybe with a groan) that one of my issues is the lack of action in Awareness and Education with regard to cybersecurity. It is not a sexy, nor a potentially lucrative issue, but I believe with all my heart that it is the foundational piece of any eventual solution to our cyber woes. We will never really solve this, but if we are to remain in the game with the bad guys, we must do better than we are now.

Fusion Centers are a fairly new concept in law enforcement, and many people don't know the purpose they serve or how their local law enforcement agency should be engaging these centers. If you ask 20 people for a definition of fusion center, you'll get 20 different answers. Some might even think these centers are making frozen coffee concoctions or protein drinks.

As Matthew Harwood's August 5, 2010 article  in Security Management reminds us, Homeland Security has not taken seriously the threat that a high-altitude detonation of a nuclear weapon could fry the nation's power grid[.]

On August 6, 2010, in accordance with the requirements of the Travel Promotion Act (TPA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced an interim final rule  establishing a fee for the use of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).  The total fee, which goes into effect on September 8, 2010, is $14. Ten dollars will go towards funding the activities of the Corporation for Travel Promotion that is being created under the framework of the TPA. The remainder will be used by CBP to operate and maintain the system.

Since its inception in 2001, the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) approach to enforcing its rules generally has been a cooperative one. Recognizing the burdens on industry from new security regulations and a difficult economic environment, and understanding that harsh enforcement actions can be counterproductive, TSA generally has sought to educate and train rather than punish. Monetary fines have been uncommon, and serious punishment -- steep fines or greater severity -- have been rare. While this approach has worked reasonably well, there is reason to believe it will not last forever.