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Introducing Ridge Global

Dan Verton — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:11:24 +0000

The nation’s first Secretary of Homeland Security went public today with his new global security consulting business, which focuses on everything from special event security to cyber security and technology integration.

This is the Ridge Global corporate video that I produced for him under the banner of Red Team Productions - a sister organization of Homeland Security Television.

Tags: Homeland Security, Ridge Global

Cisco Optimistic About Future of Public Safety Communications

Dan Verton — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:29:49 +0000

Following up on a recent interview I did with analysts from market research firm INPUT, who concluded that nationwide interoperability for first responder communications systems is likely still a decade away, I spoke with Cisco Systems’ Director of Homeland Security Chris Josephs.

Josephs agrees progress has been slow. But he says the public safety communications market can take some lessons from the Internet market when it comes to spurring innovation.

Tags: INPUT, Cisco Systems, Homeland Security, Chris Josephs

Public Safety Communications Needs an iPod

Dan Verton — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 18:30:00 +0000

A few weeks after former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge told me that the biggest deficiency in homeland security is public safety communications, analysts at market research firm INPUT released a report that says nationwide interoperability for first responder communication systems is probably 10 years away.

Here’s an interview with two of INPUT’s public safety analysts and a look at their report, which is an indictment of our nation’s commitment to fixing one of the biggest homeland security gaps identified on 9/11.

Tags: Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, public safety, INPUT, interoperability, first responder communication

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Somali President Abdinur Darman

Dan Verton — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:45:06 +0000

Somalia’s first freely-elected president talks about the war raging in his country, his views on the U.S.-led Global War on Terrorism, and how the Internet may help educate and unite his nation.

Darman is a U.S.-educated engineer who wants to deploy distance learning, Internet-enabled health care, and advanced border security technologies to help unite his people and bring peace and security back to the war-torn nation.

Among the challenges he is facing, one looms especially large: the U.S. and the U.N. do not recognize his government in Mogadishu.

NYC Living in the Cross Hairs

Dan Verton — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:16:55 +0000

Dan Verton traveled to New York City to investigate security preparedness six years after 9/11. Here’s what I learned.

Tags: Dan Verton, New York City, security preparedness, 9/11

Identity Management in Homeland Security

Dan Verton — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:00:26 +0000

Identity management isn’t just about network access anymore. It’s quickly become one of the most important aspects of overall homeland security. In this mini-Webumentary, I talk to several experts about the role of identity management in homeland security and where the technology is going in the future.

This is a Red Team Production produced for HSToday Magazine and includes an exclusive interview with Robert Mocny, the director of the US-VISIT Program at the Department of Homeland Security.

Tags: homeland security, Robert Mocny

Living in the Cross Hairs - Trailer

Dan Verton — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:55:02 +0000

This is a trailer for a Webumentary I’m producing for HSToday Magazine. It looks at the current state of homeland security preparedness in New York City six years after 9/11. The program airs on 9/17 at www.hstoday.us, and shortly thereafter right here on PodTech.

Tags: HSToday, homeland security

Tom Ridge on Interoperable Communications Cyber Security

Dan Verton — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:04:41 +0000

In the wake of the deaths of two New York City Fire Fighters at an abandoned building near Ground Zero, the issue of interoperable broadband communications for first responders has once again taken center stage. But some are asking why it is still an issue six years later.

To get some perspective on this and other issues, particularly national cyber security, I sat down with former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge near his office a few blocks from the White House.

Tags: first responders, cyber security, Homeland Security, Tom Ridge

Identity Management Trailer

Dan Verton — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:01:20 +0000

Here’s a 90-second trailer for a video I’m producing for HSToday Magazine, titled “ID Confirmed: The Role of Identity Management in Homeland Security.” The video will cover homeland security issues ranging from biometrics to identity management.

Tags: HSToday Magazine, homeland security, biometrics, identity management

COMDEX Inc. on Centralized Infrastructure Monitoring

Dan Verton — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:08:32 +0000

Regardless of what “critical infrastructure” you own or operate, it’s basically a facility. And all facilities have five common atttributes that security professionals need to be able to monitor and maintain.

Sam Zamani, the Chief Technology Officer of COMDEX Inc., discusses his company’s ability to monitor the health and status of all of these “systems” from one centralized location.

Tags: critical infrastructure, Sam Zamani, COMDEX

The Identity Management Frontier — Chips Embedded in People? Yes.

Dan Verton — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:55:42 +0000

In this revealing interview about the current state-of-the-art and future of identity management, Charles Scruggs, the Vice President of Identity Management and Information Assurance at American Systems in Washington, D.C., offers a brief overview of exactly what is possible today from a technological perspective and the lengths to which some are willing to go to ensure identity security in the workplace.

Think chips embedded under your skin.

Tags: identity management, Charles Scruggs

Former FEMA Chief Michael Brown on Data Mining

Dan Verton — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 05:16:47 +0000

Former FEMA chief, Michael Brown, talks to Homeland Defense Week about his new role as a corporate advisor to InferX Corp., a developer of data mining technologies for homeland security and critical infrastructure operators, and his view of homeland security today.

Tags: FEMA, Michael Brown, Homeland Defense Week, InferX

Hack The Vote 2008

Dan Verton — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 21:11:49 +0000

This edition of The Listening Post from Homeland Defense Week focuses on the latest news surrounding the security of electronic voting systems.

I’ve covered e-voting for more than three years, going back to my news reporting days and the first revelations that electronic voting systems were wide open security nightmares waiting to happen.

Looks like very little has changed. The only problem is we’re only 6 months away from the next presidential primary.

Tags: The Listening Post, Homeland Defense, electronic voting systems

Here’s Why The Geneva Convention Matters, Mr. Bush

Dan Verton — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 07:01:44 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear the appeals of two inmates at Guantanamo Bay. They’re probably bonafide terrorists, but it still matters that they’ve been detained indefinitely without charges and without being officially classified as enemy combatants. That’s the type of system America does not represent.

Here’s a historical look at why the Genveva Convention matters.

Tags: Guantanamo Bay, terrorists, enemy combatants, Genveva Convention

Best Practices for Defending Against Insider Threats

Dan Verton — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:01:23 +0000

This is a training and awareness presentation based on Dan Verton’s book, The Insider: Best Practices Edition.
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Tags: Dan Verton, The Insider

FBI Spyware Secrecy Raises Questions

Dan Verton — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 23:54:23 +0000

The FBI recently used spyware to track down a bomb threat suspect. And while it did so under the guidance of a court order, the bureau has refused to comment on the precise capabilities of its spyware application, known only as the Computer Internet Protocol Address Verifier.

This raises a number of interesting questions about privacy and the responsibility of ISPs and software developers when it comes to government-sanctioned spyware. To add a little perspective to the issue, I spoke with Stephen Carter, the academic director for Homeland Security at the University of Maryland.

Tags: FBI, spyware, Stephen Carter, Homeland Security

Terror.com: Made in America

Dan Verton — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:25:44 +0000

You won’t believe who is hosting the Web sites of Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations.

The number of Americans killed fighting terrorists and insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan is now 3,628 and counting. But, apparently some U.S. Internet Service Providers don’t care enough to look into who some of their clients are and what they are peddling on their U.S.-based Web sites.

Is your ISP on this list?

Online Gaming, Iranian Style

Dan Verton — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 23:20:15 +0000

Iran’s terror-sponsoring government is taking aim at the U.S. gaming industry by promoting a new video game that developers openly proclaim “supports a culture of martyrdom.”

This raises the stakes for the U.S. and its allies in terms of the long-term ideological struggle we face with radical Islamic terrorists. Will we let them brainwash young people into believing terrorism is the answer, or will we defeat this enemy on the ideological front as well?

Tags: gaming, video game

Sentrillion Offers Integrated Security

Dan Verton — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 01:14:02 +0000

Sentrillion is a new company that has some big homeland security responsibilities, like upgrading and maintaining the technology used to secure both the northern and southern borders of the U.S.

In this episode of Homeland Defense Week’s Listening Post, I talk with the Reston, Va.-based company’s CEO, Jack Larmer, and its President, Doug Wagoner, about their massive effort to bring physical security, IT security and human security together in one offering.

Tags: Sentrillion, homeland security, Jack Larmer, Doug Wagoner, IT security

Introduction to The Insider Threat

Dan Verton — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:13:54 +0000

This is from The Ops Center on Homeland Defense Week. It is a brief introduction to the insider threat to proprietary and classified data, based on my two books, The Insider: A True Story and The Insider: Best Practices Edition.

The incidents discussed actually happened. The piece, like the book, is based on real-world risk assessments at some of the largest companies and government agencies in the nation - assessments that I had access to during my research for the book.

This is the first in a series of awareness segments I will do on insider threats.

Tags: The Ops Center, Homeland Defense Week, insider threat

My CNN-YouTube Debate Question

Dan Verton — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:14:10 +0000

Let’s face it. There’s no chance in hell that a serious question by a professional journalist is going to make it on the air during the upcoming CNN-YouTube Democratic Debate on July 23rd.

I prefer to be on PodTech anyway.

So, here’s my question to the Dems. It’s a serious one that we’ll probably never hear the answer to, but we all know what the answer should be.

Tags: Democratic Debate

The China Files: High-Tech Espionage Unlimited

Dan Verton — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:32:06 +0000

Here’s a follow-up to my story on Symantec Corp.’s problems in China. It looks at how the U.S. IT industry is handing over sensitive technologies to the oppressive Chinese regime in return for access to the Chinese market. It also looks at China’s growing economic espionage program targeting U.S. corporate and military technology secrets.

While I don’t name names (simply because the list is so long I would invariably leave somebody out and not hear the end of it from those companies I included), the reality is that America’s leading IT companies are pumping billions of dollars into China in the form of research and development centers where the Chinese intelligence services are having a field day ripping America off.

Tags: Symantec, China, espionage

July 4 Editorial: Winning The War on Terror

Dan Verton — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:17:26 +0000

What can we learn from Europe’s experience with terrorism and why we should all be concerned about our own government’s inaction.

Tags: terrorism

The Bush Cybersecurity Legacy: “Failure” Is Putting It Lightly

Dan Verton — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:40:46 +0000

Cybersecurity research and development at the nation’s top R&D oranization in the Department of Homeland Security gets 1 percent of the budget. And the DHS acknowledged today that it doesn’t even have an innovation program focused on cybersecurity R&D.
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Tags: Cybersecurity

Symantec’s China Problem Is Our Problem, Too

Dan Verton — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 22:43:48 +0000

China wants Symantec to pay damages to about 50,000 Internet users whose computers failed when the company issued a flawed anti-virus update in May.

Homeland Defense Week’s Dan Verton thinks China should pay the U.S. for the mountains of proprietary technology it has systematically stolen from U.S. companies during the past 25-plus years.

Tags: China, Symantec, anti-virus, Homeland Defense Week