TSA to Close Testing Window to New Entrants for EDS QPL
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says that it will close the testing window for new entrants into the Explosives Detection Systems (EDS) Qualified Products List (QPL) until further notice beginning Jan. 2, 2015. The agency says that between 2015 and 2017, it will purchase fewer than 80 medium-speed EDS annually, fewer than 10 reduced size EDS annually, and fewer than five high speed EDS annually. TSA says that any vendors that want to have their EDS system added to the QPL must submit a qualification data package for review by Jan. 2, 2015. If a QDP is found deficient, the agency says it will allow the vendor one chance to revise the package within 15 days of doing so.
Booz Allen Introduces Tactical Forensic Biometric Device
Booz Allen Hamilton [BAH] has introduced a tactical forensic device for law enforcement and military applications that is primarily focused on collecting and analyzing latent fingerprints in real-time. The handheld VAMPIRE allows for both livescan collection of fingerprints as well as digital collection of any latent fingerprint images from various surfaces without the use of lifting tape. The device has an onboard watchlist for live and latent identification and can also do latent-to-latent matching. The system can connect to other federal, state, local and DoD databases for matching as well, Adam Weiner, a principal with Booz Allen, tells HSR. The device is being marketed to law enforcement and military organizations and the company has already made sales into the federal government, he says. VAMPIRE made its official debut last month at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference and Weiner says the company had “overwhelming” interest in the device, which sells for $590.00 per unit, and validated the need for it. VAMPIRE, which is the size of a large smart phone with a rugged casing, was developed by Booz Allen’s Rapid Prototyping team with key suppliers including Samsung for the phone device and Integrated Biometrics for the livescan fingerprint sensor. Weiner says that Booz Allen provides additional technologies, algorithms and capabilities including the ability to obtain latent prints without touching the surface, he says. While the device can do live fingerprinting, the main focus is for latent print collection and analysis, which will give users more on-scene information that can contribute to the immediate investigation without disrupting standard protocols, he says. In the future Booz Allen hopes to add more forensic capability to VAMPIRE such as blood analysis, Weiner says.
Sandia Researchers Portable, Stand-Off Radiation Imager
Sandia National Laboratories says its scientists have developed and demonstrated a new mobile imager that can detect fast neutrons emanating from shielded special nuclear material to pinpoint the source at standoff ranges. The MINER omni-directional imaging system was used in an emergency exercise in downtown Chicago earlier this year to locate in a high-rise building a sealed laboratory radiation source that mimics the radioactive signature of more dangerous material, Sandia says. “The system performed exactly as we expected,” Sandia physicist John Goldsmith says in a statement. “With an unshielded source, we pinpointed the location within 30 minutes. With more shielding, it took a couple of hours.” MINER is a portable neutron scatter camera that is three feet tall and weights 90-pounds. The system can discriminate between innocuous and harmful radiation sources. Funding for the effort was provided by the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Office of Research and Development within the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia says that battery-powered MINER can be set up and taken down in 10 minutes. Sandia says that future work on the system includes expanding and refining its measurement capabilities and participating in a search scenario at sea.
MSAB Releases New Version of Digital Forensics Technology
Micro Systemation (MSAB) has released a new version of its XRY software that allows for mobile, secure forensic extraction of data from a wide variety of mobile devices. Version 6.11 of the software application offers new features and capabilities including expanded access to a warder variety of devices, chipsets and Apps in use globally. “As the majority of data on smart phones is now being transmitted by apps, the difference between success or failure for an investigation will often be determined by the agility and adaptability of the forensic tools being employed to interact with them,” Glenn Hickock, MSAB’s president, says in a statement.