*General Electric [GE] says its CommerceGuard container security device (CSD) was selected by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to move into Phase II of the agency’s review of CSD systems. CBP issued a Request for Information late last year seeking responses from vendors with conveyance security devices that could report if, and when, cargo container doors are opened or closed and communicate that information wirelessly via secure fixed and handheld readers (TR2, Jan. 9). Phase I of the program was a technical review of the submissions. In Phase II there will be a technical evaluation of the CSDs and readers. Phase IIB will consist of laboratory testing. GE must submit its devices by early July. CBP says it has selected three vendors for Phase II but won’t disclose the companies. Following Phase II, CBP will conduct limited operational testing to be followed by large scale operational field testing.
*The Department of Homeland Security awarded $844 million in new grant awards for FY ’08 under its Infrastructure Protection Activities grant program, which aims to improve security at ports, transit, trucking and intercity bus systems. The new awards represent a 29 percent increase from the $655.2 million awarded in FY ’07. The bulk of the increase is in the Transit Security and Port Security Grant Programs. “As capabilities mature, we’re encouraging state and local governments and the private sector to prioritize IED prevention and protection, communications capabilities, information sharing, and regionally based security cooperation,” says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
*IMPACT, which stands for the International Multilateral Partnership against Cyber-Terrorism, received a $1 million pledge of support from the U.S.-based SANS Institute aimed at increasing the cyber defense capacity of developing countries. IMPACT is a public-private partnership aimed at bringing international government and industry leaders together to enhance worldwide cyber security. The group, which has financial backing from the government of Malaysia, held a summit in Kuala Lumpur last week, marking the first large scale effort to address cyber security on a global basis. The SANS Institute operates the early threat warning Internet Storm Centre. IMPACT also received an endorsement from the United Nations International Telecommunications Union, which believes the group is important in implementing the U.N.’s global cyber security agenda.