Fairmont, WV (January 20, 2015) – Tygart Technology, Inc., a leading provider of enterprise grade video and photographic analysis and biometric recognition systems, today announced the release of their MXSERVER technology. MXSERVER is a cloud-based face recognition system that processes vast amounts of video and photo collections, quickly transforming files extracted from captured computers, cell phones, SIM cards and video surveillance systems into searchable resources. The latest version of the MXSERVER technology delivers upgrades to the solution’s functionality, user interface (UI) and security.\\r\\n\\r\\nMXSERVER provides investigators and analysts with the capability to analyze video; manage and distribute large media collections via the Internet; and screen and monitor video surveillance to quickly identify “persons of interest.” MXSERVER facial recognition automatically finds, extracts and matches faces from very large media collections, including those stored in disparate or disconnected systems. It is designed to deliver fast and accurate results through automated forensic processing and analysis. MXSERVER is used by law enforcement to monitor large-scale events, process live surveillance feeds identifying potential threats and conduct investigative analysis following a terrorist attack or criminal act. \\r\\n\\r\\n“Government agencies tasked with the mission of public safety and national defense are confronted with shrinking budgets that limit the resources available for manual forensic video and photo analysis,” said John F. Waugaman, President of Tygart Technology. “This timesaving video analytics technology enables agencies to search thousands of hours of video footage and millions of photographs housed in big data collections in just minutes.” \\r\\n\\r\\nMXSERVER v2.7 is a significant upgrade to prior versions, improving back-end video/photo processing and face search speed and reliability. Numerous functional enhancements have been made which simplify and expedite video/photo analysis and biometric enrollment. Major improvements include:\\r\\n\\r\\n• Faster Face Search and Enhanced Scalability – face search speed is ten times faster – in large part because of MXSERVER’s new distributed “in memory” search capability. The search space is now evenly distributed across MXSERVER’s cloud of search workers which also improves the system’s scalability. MXSERVER supports very large face galleries containing 10 million+ subjects.\\r\\n• Expanded Support of Additional File Types and Partially Corrupt Content – Tygart added a second video processing SDK to deliver more robust handling of partially corrupt videos and new/additional video and image file formats. Videos that can only be partially processed (those with corrupt segments) will no longer fail processing, and will still retain partial results.\\r\\n• Enhanced Face Export – users can now define a minimum face size threshold when exporting face samples. Only those face samples greater than the user defined minimum pixel width (as measured between the eyes) will be exported.\\r\\n• Support for Multiple Watchlists – organizations can now easily create, manage andsearch multiple watchlists.\\r\\n• Batch Face Search – face search requests can now be submitted in large batches and can be cancelled, deleted and prioritized via an interactive search queue management module.\\r\\n\\r\\nThe MXSERVER upgrade also includes enhanced security. Agencies are now able to limit personnel access through the addition of a “view only” user privilege classification, as well as an added quality control option, which requires a second user to confirm face matches. “The ability to quickly, effectively and securely identify suspects after an incident or even help prevent one before it occurs is invaluable for law enforcement. We work with agencies at all level of government to deliver these advanced capabilities,” added Waugaman. \\r\\n\\r\\nTo learn more, please visit http://www.tygart.com/products/mxserver/.\\r\\n\\r\\nAbout Tygart Technology\\r\\nTygart Technology, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise-grade video and photographic analysis and biometric recognition systems. Tygart provides the U.S. Military, Intelligence Community and Law Enforcement markets with innovative software solutions that manage and automate the processing of massive volumes of digital video and photograph collections. Tygart’s solutions save analysts and investigators valuable time and resources, allowing the delivery of more timely responses for a lower cost.\\r\\n\\r\\nFor more information, visit www.tygart.com or call 1-304-363-6855.
German Embed Reporter: ISIS Plans On Killing ‘Hundreds of Millions’ in ‘Religious Cleansing’
Jurgen Todenhofer, the first Western reporter to embed with Islamic State fighters and not be killed in the process, spoke to Al Jazeera about his time with the terror group.
The German reporter then elaborated on how shocked he was about how “willing to kill” the ISIS fighters are. He said that they were ready to commit genocide. “They were talking about [killing] hundreds of millions. They were enthusiastic about it, and I just cannot understand that,” said Todenhofer.
Read complete report here
Iran Promises ‘Crushing Response’ to Israeli Strike
Iran on Monday promised that Hezbollah would deliver “crushing response” to the Israeli attack over the weekend, which killed six Iranian agents, including a top-level commander, and five Hezbollah members.
Read complete report here.
McCaul, House Colleagues Introduce Secure Our Borders First Act
Described as, “The toughest border security bill ever before Congress, with real penalties for the administration for not doing their job,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, along with 14 original cosponsors. introduced the Secure Our Borders First Act (H.R. 399) to gain and maintain control of the nation’s land and maritime borders.
“The federal government’s number one priority under the Constitution is to provide for the common defense, but when it comes to border security the administration has failed,” McCaul said. “Failure is not an option on this issue, so Congress must lead. The Secure Our Borders First Act ensures a smart, safe and cost-effective border by building fencing where fencing is needed and allocating technology where technology is needed.”
“It is the toughest border security bill ever before Congress, with real penalties for the administration for not doing their job,” McCaul emphasized, adding, “We need this legislation to protect the American people and sovereignty of this nation.”
The Secure Our Borders First Act would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “to achieve operational control of high traffic areas of the southwest border in two years – and the entire southwest border in five years – and establishes a commission to independently verify that the border is secure,” McCaul’s office explained.
The legislation would also enforce penalties on DHS political appointees if the administration does not meet the terms of the bill.
“Additionally,” McCauls office said, “the bill provides sector-by-sector analysis of threats and needs on the border and attaches to that the resources necessary to gain operational control. This includes the allocation of technology capabilities in each sector along the southern border, the construction and replacement of fencing and access roads, and additional flight hours."
“The legislation also bolsters border security by providing Border Patrol agents access to federal lands, granting flexibility to Customs and Border Protection [CBP] to relocate resources, fully funding the National Guard on the border and increasing grants funding for local law enforcement agencies who assist in securing the border," he said.
The bill was referred to the committee and will move through regular order, McCaul said.
The bill comes on the heels of McCaul’s early October proposal to secure the border, Blueprint for Southern Border Security.
"Securing our borders is first and foremost a national security issue,” McCaul said at the time, adding, “We must identify the threats and be able to respond quickly, but we can’t do either without seeing the entire border. My proposal matches resources and capabilities to needs on the southern border to allow Border Patrol agents to finally gain complete visibility. This is the first step to providing Americans the secure border they demand and deserve."
The proposal maps out sector-by-sector recommendations on resource allocation and capability improvements to achieve full situational awareness of the border. An interactive map outlining the sector-by-sector recommendations is available here.
In addition to gaining situational awareness, the proposal called for:
- Developing outcome-based means to measure border security;
- Bolstering interior enforcement;
- Increasing coordination between federal, state and local efforts;
- Creating a new command and control structure; and
- Engaging our international partners.
Responding to McCaul’s Blueprint for Southern Border Security, Dr. James Phelps, president of Phelps and Associates LLC, a veteran owned and operated consulting firm and the primary developer of the online and face-to-face undergraduate and graduate degrees in border and homeland security at Angelo State University, wrote in the Oct./Nov. issue of Homeland Security Today that, “The proposal provided a detailed analysis of current trends in each US Border Patrol sector along the entire Southwest border, as well as maritime security issues for both the Pacific and Gulf coasts [and] included a number of initiatives to expand current operations such as Stonegarden and a universal proposal to utilize Department of Defense (DOD) technology to better gain situational awareness of border vulnerabilities.”
“Operation Stonegarden’s intent is to enhance law enforcement preparedness and operational readiness along the land borders of the United States,” Phelps wrote, and “provides funding to designated localities to enhance cooperation and coordination between law enforcement agencies in a joint mission to secure the nation’s land borders.”
“However, that is not where the committee concluded their proposal,” he wrote. “They also examined the potential to expand the availability and use of monitoring and detection equipment already in use — such as fixed observation towers and greater employment of ‘game cameras’ along the entire land border.”
“Perhaps the key proposal the committee present[ed], and the one most likely to receive political backlash from the Obama administration, is the mandate to establish outcome-based metrics to measure border security between ports of entry, at ports of entry and along maritime borders,” Phelps observed, noting that, “This portion of the proposal requires DHS to actually determine the number of people who cross illegally and don’t get caught or turned back based on a miraculous new concept, ‘situational awareness’ — an impossible directive as no country in history has ever been able to do more than provide a gross estimate of the amount of smuggling (human and contraband trafficking).”
“Even with expanded monitoring capabilities,” Phelps wrote, “the probability of actually determining how many people and drug loads are missed is going to ultimately be purely conjecture on the part of DHS, and will be manipulated by the department’s political appointees to meet the needs of whatever administration is currently in office.”
“Although the potential exists that some new figures will be created that can be used to demonstrate that there is insufficient personnel in a given area to actually accomplish interdiction efforts – another metric subject to jurisdictional manipulation – there are better ways to actually measure the effectiveness of border security efforts,” he said.
“The best measure of drug interdiction efforts is to measure the actual street price of illegal narcotics that cannot be manufactured, stolen and redistributed within the US,” Phelps wrote, noting that, “Key among these would be the price of Mexican Black Tar Heroin and Cocaine. These two products must be imported to reach their consumers, and are not being brought into the country in large quantities except by crossing the southern or maritime borders. Measuring the cost of these drugs — and their estimated number ofconsumers — provides a real time, constantly fluctuating metric of how effective the general drug interdiction efforts are.”
“To measure the number of apprehended illegal border crossers in relation to the missed border crossers is much more difficult and requires an admission by the US that there’s a large underground economy within its borders,” Phelps added, saying, “No administration from any party is going to openly admit such because doing so is tantamount to admitting failure to secure the borders and to provide effective economic support for the legitimate economy.”
“Just counting possible missed immigrants based on technological monitoring and comparing that to apprehended immigrants within the same region is just another billion dollar failure waiting to happen,” he concluded.
Editor’s note: For more on earlier discussions about metrics to judge border security, read the March 21, 2013 Homeland Security Today report, Baseline for Acceptable Level of Illicit Cross-Border Activity Gets Closer Scrutiny.
Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), vice chair of the House Homeland Security Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security and a supporter of McCaul’s bill, said, “The fact is, we do not have operational control of our borders – any of them. We also don’t have an effective method of assessing how we achieve operational control and can’t tell if our border security operations are succeeding and to what degree.”
“For example,” she noted, “last year, we know that a half a million people were apprehended trying to cross the southern border, but we don’t know how many actually crossed over.”
“For decades, this country has struggled to adequately secure its borders while threats against our homeland grow in number and sophistication,” Miller said. “We are confronted with the tragic consequences of drug and human smuggling, and, most recently, we painfully witnessed a humanitarian crisis as tens of thousands of unaccompanied children crossed our southern border.”
“For decades, we have lacked the political will to take the action needed to secure our borders, and inaction has taken a toll on this country,” she stated, stressing that, “The time to act is now. Last week, my colleagues and I introduced the Secure Our Borders First Act, legislation that will finally allow us to gain control of our nation’s borders and establish metrics that we can use to demonstrate operational success or failure. With components such as strategic fencing, the utilization of new and proven technologies, and use of the National Guard as a force multiplier, this legislation takes a layered approach to securing our borders.”
“Securing our borders is one of the enumerated responsibilities of the federal government outlined in the Constitution, and we are failing,” she continued. “However, I am optimistic that, in the days and weeks ahead, we are going to demonstrate that we do have the political will to secure our border and protect our homeland.”
The Secure Our Borders First Act is scheduled to be marked up by the full Committee on Wednesday, January 21.
In a recent op-ed for the Wilmington News Journal, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), former chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, weighed in on the ongoing border debate. Over the past decade, he pointed out, the nation has spent nearly $250 billion toward border security while spending less than 1 percent of that amount to help address the issues plaguing the countries that lead to so many Central Americans flooding the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas in 2012-2013.
FAA Employee Smuggles Gun in Carry-on Baggage after Bypassing Airport Security
After a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspector reportedly bypassed security and flew from Atlanta to New York with a gun in his carry-on baggage, FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta is now suspending the program allowing agency safety inspectors to skip security screening.
Officials said the FAA employee used a Security Identification Display Area (SIDA) badge to avoid Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening and gain access to a secure area of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The safety inspector did not have SIDA privileges at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, where the firearm was allegedly found in his carry-on baggage during standard TSA screening.
"The FAA will stand down the program while it conducts improved training for all of its inspectors," FAA said in a statement. "The agency also will require inspectors to sign a new agreement that details each inspector’s responsibility under the program and clearly states that any infraction related to a weapon will result in an immediate and permanent suspension of privileges and possible further disciplinary action."
The arrest of the FAA employee occurred just weeks after Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) called for tighter security screening for all US airport workers.
As Homeland Security Today previously reported, Sen. Schumer made the announcement in response to the arrest of a Delta Airlines worker for involvement in a plot to smuggle 153 guns onto a flight from Atlanta to New York City.
"When guns, drugs and even explosives are as easy to carry on board a plane as a neck pillow, then we have to seriously — and immediately — overhaul our airport practices," Schumer said at a press conference in Washington, DC.
According to the FBI, on at least five occasions in 2014, Eugene Harvey—a baggage handler at Hartsfield-Atlanta airport— worked with another former Delta employee to smuggle firearms through airport-controlled security checkpoints for Delta employees. Harvey was not required to go through the screening performed for passengers by TSA.
Once through the airport-controlled security checkpoints, the firearms were transported in carry-on baggage into the passenger cabins of aircraft. Harvey’s accomplice flew to New York with the guns.
Sen. Schumer called the gun smuggling operation a “cake walk to pull off” that revealed a “gaping and dangerous loophole in airport security plans.”
These two cases bear striking resemblances. The suspects in the Delta airlines gun smuggling ring allegedly took advantage of employee tags that allowed them to bypass normal security.
In addition, Hartsfield-Atlanta airport was the point of origin in both cases.
"TSA is taking these recent incidents very seriously, and has taken immediate steps to enhance site security at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and other major US airports," TSA.
Last week, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson traveled to the Hartsfield-Atlanta airport to meet with TSA and airport stakeholders to discuss and assess potential vulnerabilities related to site security at airports nation-wide.
Johnson announced DHS has requested the Aviation Security Advisory Committee to immediately conduct a comprehensive review of security issues involving the sterile areas at airports in order to identify ways for the Department to address any potential vulnerability.
“TSA is implementing or considering a range of measures including additional requirements for airport and airline employee screening, conducting additional, randomized security countermeasures at employee access points, and introducing additional security patrols by TSA teams of law enforcement and screening professionals to specifically address these concerns,” DHS said.
FEMA Shows No Improvement in Overseeing Ohio’s Homeland Security Grant Funds
Just weeks after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (IG) released its annual report to Congress on states’ and urban areas’ management of homeland security grant programs, the IG released an audit report revealing Ohio has shown little improvement in managing Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) funding.
The audit comes on the heels of another IG audit that found although states and urban areas generally administered homeland security grants efficiently and effectively in FY2014, strategic planning and oversight of grant activities by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) needs improvement, Homeland Security Today earlier reported.
“Although we noted many of these same challenges in two previous audits of Ohio’s management of HSGP funding, FEMA has not changed its oversight practices to target Ohio’s areas of repeated deficiencies,” the audit report said. “Ohio continues to disregard some Federal regulations and grant guidance. Consequently, the State may be limited in its ability to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other manmade disasters.”
DHS provides funding through HGSP to assist state and local agencies in enhancing their capabilities to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. FEMA is responsible for administration of HSGP.
FEMA awarded Ohio about $61.6 million in State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) and Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grants during fiscal years 2010 through 2012. The IG found FEMA cannot be assured that Ohio effectively managed grant funds during these years.
In addition to inaccuracies in the State’s Biannual Strategy Implementation Reports (BSIR), DHS’s Inspector General also uncovered inaccuracies between program and accounting ledgers.
The IG’s auditors revealed that, “Ohio’s June 2013 BSIR included anticipated and actual spending of $1.6 million for state training and exercises, combined with state administration and other state spending, for a final total of $3.8 million in spending from its FY 2010 SHSP grant. However, when the FY 2010 grant expired on July 31, 2013, Ohio reported on its program ledger a final total of $1.7 million in state spending, a difference of $2.1 million.”
Officials indicated the June 2013 BSIR for the FY 2010 grant was inaccurate, but could not say why.
Ohio’s program ledger also was inaccurate. For example, for the FY 2010 grant, Ohio calculated total expenditures of $21,105,651 on its program ledger. However, the official accounting record shows total expenditures of $21,136,833. Moreover, the final expenditure amount Ohio reported to FEMA differed from both the amount in the program ledger and in the official accounting record.
Three previous audit reports disclosed deficiencies in Ohio’s management of the grant program, some of which are similar to those discussed in this audit report. For example, a DHS OIG report on SHSP and UASI grants awarded during fiscal years 2007 through 2009 revealed the State Administrative Agency did not release funds to subgrantees in a timely manner.
“The 24 Ohio subgrantees and four state agencies visited waited an average of 8 months (between 3 and 22 months) after the state obligated the grant funds to receive their 2007 grant award, with seven subgrantees waiting a year or more for the grant award,” states the report.
In 2008, delays increased to an average of 10 months, with three subgrantees waiting more than a year and two others waiting more than two years. Moreover, in 2009, delays increased to an average of 11 months with four subgrantees not receiving the 2009 grant awards until 19 months after Ohio reported to FEMA that these funds were obligated.
According to the subgrantees, “These delays resulted in price changes by vendors as the time from initial quotation to actual purchase expanded and, in turn, added work by the subgrantees to revise approved budgets.”
Although the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (OEMA) concurred with DHS’s Inspector General’s recommendation to work with subgrantees to assure funds are released within a reasonable time-frame, several years later DHS IG audits are uncovering the same problem.
The most recent audit found Ohio did not make grant funds available to subgrantees within 45 days as required by FEMA Homeland Security Grant Program Guidance. The IG’s audit report stated that, “Although Ohio improved the timeliness of releasing funds, it still did not comply with grant guidance.”
The auditors said that by delaying funding, Ohio lengthened the award process and delayed subgrantees’ procurement processes, which many diminish the state’s ability to prevent, prepare for, protect against and respond to disasters.
“Although OEMA has taken corrective actions to implement prior OIG recommendations, there has been limited improvement,” the audit report stated. “FEMA did not strengthen its monitoring of Ohio to ensure that Ohio was following all Federal regulations and grant guidance. FEMA’s general reviews of Ohio’s grants included the SHSP and UASI grants, but did not identify these reoccurring issues.”
“Because Ohio continues to face challenges in managing its HSGP funding, FEMA needs to provide more targeted and stronger oversight,” the report concluded.
US Coast Guard Addresses Maritime Cybersecurity Issues
Captain Andrew Tucci, of the US Coast Guard’s Office of Port & Facility Compliance opened and closed the 3-hour proceedings that featured a list of high-ranking officials from various sectors including the military, cybersecurity and other security fields.
Silicon Valley isn’t the only place affected by high-tech hackers in today’s cyber world. The maritime industry is centuries old, but that doesn’t make it immune to the risks posed by cyber-attacks. Criminals have the means to take over a ship, change container numbers, or even close a major port—and the Coast Guard is employing a proactive approach to the problem.
Read complete report here.
Xtralis, City of London Police Innovate to Put Additional Eyes on the Street
Xtralis and the London City Police are collaborating to explore technology solutions that will allow live transmission of video and audio from central monitoring locations of police vehicles and officer-worn vests so that tactical decisions can be made more quickly and efficiently to respond to threats around London.
Traditionally, police officers have used radios to verbally relay situational intelligence. With new Xtralis technology, police central stations can view live video and audio at the incident scene to better assess situations and more efficiently deploy appropriate assistance.
“Xtralis approached the City of London Police to understand how we operate and how they could help our mission. Xtralis was quick to demonstrate a promising solution that could provide us live video and audio feeds from vehicles and officer-worn vests direct to our central monitoring stations,” said Commissioner of the City of London Police Adrian Leppard.
“Having more eyes on developing situations allows for better decisions and quicker & more efficient response, so we’re happy to explore and work with Xtralis to perfect these solutions for the City of London,” Leppard said.
“Technology can be the officer’s best friend,” Leppard continued, saying, “The general public, and the police officers they serve, benefit when there are many eyes on a potential situation or actual crime. Xtralis live monitoring solutions can in a remote location help to assist officers at an incident scene and provide appropriate assistance as needed. We’re happy to explore further with Xtralis to advance these solutions, as they will put more eyes on the street.”
“We’re honored that the City of London is working with Xtralis to partner on exploring the advanced technology solutions for live monitoring of police response and protection,” saidXtralis CEO and Chairman Samir Samhouri. “The Dubai Police and Spanish National Police have already adopted our live streaming video technology, and we are proud of that. But, London is a city of global significance. We have a real opportunity here to partner with the best to deliver the best in safety and security.”
DISA Shrinks Cybersecurity to Grow it
The day before Islamic radicals hijacked Central Command’s Twitter account, the Defense Information Systems Agency officially launched a major overhaul intended, among other things, to increase cybersecurity. But it doesn’t mean the office is getting bigger or getting more money: DISA’s cybersecurity office will actually get smaller.
Read complete report here.
Silk Road Served as EBay for Heroin ‘Dread Pirate,’ Jury Told
Silk Road, the online marketplace where prosecutors claim more than 1 million drug deals were done from 2011 to 2013, resembled a normal consumer site like EBay or Amazon.com, only with listings for cocaine, LSD and black tar heroin.
Read complete report here.
Editor’s note: For more on the Silk Road, read the November, 2013 Homeland Security Today cover report, The Dark Web: The Place Where Digital Evil Lurks. Also read, Feds Take Down Dark Web’s ‘Silk Road 2.0.’