Lockheed joint venture wins missile defense project

Lockheed Martin Corp. is part of a joint venture awarded a $3.4 billion contract to design and develop the Medium Extended Air Defense System for the U.S., Germany and Italy.

Winter Olympics IT infrastructure work begins

A consortium of global IT companies are developing sports-related applications in preparation for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Passport RFIDs are secure, State official says

New U.S. passports with radio-frequency identification tags will be protected by a physical barrier, protections on the equipment used to read the tags and possibly encryption technology.

Northrop backs away from Los Alamos work

Northrop Grumman Corp. has dropped out of the running for the multibillion-dollar federal contract to operate Los Alamos National Laboratory.

U.S., Dutch launch traveler program

The United States and the Netherlands are launching a "trusted traveler" program to speed up security checks for selected travelers between Amsterdam's Schiphol and John F. Kennedy International airports.

RFID market set for strong growth

Global sales of radio-frequency ID services and equipment are expected to exceed $2 billion in 2005, according to a new marketing study.

Acceptance of IP v.6 drags

Internet Protocol Version 6 has captured few early converts among IT executives and policymakers in the United States despite its many benefits.

Privacy Matters

Edward Hammersla isn't bothered by the prospect of handing over his name and birth date to airport screeners under the Homeland Security Department's new "Secure Flight" passenger screening program that launches this summer.

ITAA attacks 'Buy American' provision

IT industry representatives are urging the Senate to reject a provision approved by the House requiring the Homeland Security Department to use primarily U.S.-made components in all products it buys.

Chertoff wants private-sector help with traveler screening

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff suggested the private IT sector could help develop and operate traveler screening databases for the government.

House passes DHS authorization bill

The House has approved $34.2 billion for the Homeland Security Department and its programs, paving the way for fuller congressional oversight of the department.

Calif. throws up RFID roadblock

The California Senate has approved the first legislation in the country to block state and local government agencies from issuing identification cards containing radio frequency identification tags.

House passes $31.9 billion budget for DHS

The House of Representatives has approved a $31.9 billion budget for the Homeland Security Department in fiscal 2006, and is preparing to pass the first legislation to authorize the department since it was created in 2002.

Survey: homeland security IT initiatives nearly completed

Most homeland security IT initiatives may be near completion for federal agencies governmentwide, according to the new 2005 Federal IT Marketing Report.

GAO discovers abundance of wireless security holes

Security holes and unauthorized activity are common on federal agency wireless IT networks, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Many ports lose out in risk-based grant program

The vast majority of the nation's 361 seaports will not be eligible for funding from the Port Security Grant program from the Homeland Security Department under new risk-based eligibility rules.

House passes risk-based security grants

The House passed legislation Thursday to redistribute $2 billion in first-responder grants in 2006 so that more funding goes to high-risk and border states such as New York and California, and less to states at low-risk of terrorist attacks.

McDonald Bradley makes a deal

Privately owned McDonald Bradley Inc. is acquiring Infodata Systems Inc. in a $7.56 million all cash deal that adds to the integrator's Defense Department base.

Waiver power in supplemental bill draws fire

Advocates for open government and the environment are sounding alarms about a sweeping provision in the Iraq war supplemental bill, granting the Secretary of Homeland Security virtually unlimited authority to waive laws related to border construction.

EU adopts plan to fight terrorism under open-borders agreement

European Union countries will create new IT systems and networks to integrate their management of cross-border travel and to jointly fight terrorism under a new five-year Action Plan for Freedom, Justice and Security.