HOMELAND SECURITY
18 Mar 09. EADS has won a $1bn contract for border security in Saudi Arabia, the group’s defence and security chief Stefan Zoller said on Wednesday. (Source: Google/ Reuters)
11 Mar 09. ITT Corporation unveiled a new product offering for the homeland security community that will help reduce the response time to chemical incidents. ITT’s DOMAIN/Chemical product is a chemical process database designed to enhance the research and identification of chemically-based production processes for analysts, chemists, engineers, forensic investigators, and first responders. “In today’s environment, the threat of chemical warfare is continually growing,” said Dr. Claudia Randolph, vice president of ITT’s Advanced Engineering & Sciences business. “ITT’s DOMAIN/Chemical product can greatly enhance the efficiency by which responders can identify the magnitude of these incidents and take corrective action.” Users will be able to research more than 1,300 industrial chemical processes for detailed information about process conditions, specialized equipment, products, images, feedstock, exits and effluents. In addition, the product provides information on the physical properties and requirements for storage and handling of more than 4,000 chemicals and the uses of more than 300 types of chemical process equipment. ITT’s DOMAIN/Chemical product is available as a web-based subscription.
10 Mar 09. To meet its urban security requirements, Mexico City has instigated a vast project known as ‘Ciudad Seguraâ’ (‘Secure City’). This three year project has an overall value of $460m. The goal of the project is to better protect citizens from a wide spectrum of risks including crime, terrorism, attacks on strategic sites, natural catastrophes and other emergencies. It brings together in a cooperative endeavour the government of Mexico City, one of the world’s largest megacities, Telmex, a leading Latin American telecommunications company and Thales, an international leader in security solutions. The ‘Ciudad Segura’ surveillance project to improve urban security is unique because it will be the most highly integrated and complete system in the world. More than 500 engineers and experts from the Mexico City police department, Telmex and Thales will work together on the implementation of this project. Mexico City authorities decided to implement an integrated urban security system to handle calls and process information from surveillance systems, built on the city’s most modern secure and widespread telecommunications network. The system processes information from 8,080 video cameras and sensors located across the city and transmits alarms to the appropriate operators when any unusual events or behaviour are detected. In a major emergency situation, police can deploy specially equipped mobile command centres that maintain contact with the central command centre (C4I). The system can also locate or identify vehicles in the city’s main streets thanks to its ability to read number plates. Telmex, a leading telecommunications company in Mexico and indeed in all of Latin America, is putting its entire existing network, and a new dedicated optical fibre network, at the service of the ‘Ciudad Segura’ project. Telmex will also guarantee implementation of the programme. The cutting-edge technology of Telmex’s infrastructures, the security, robustness and coverage of its network and its experience in operations and integrational, along with the best-trained telecommunications personnel in the country will all contribute to and guarantee the project’s success. Thales uses the most modern technology available to provide video-surveillance, analyse images and other information, process emergency calls, manage events and simulate emergency situations. With its experience in Defence, the company has all the expertise required to implement its technologies in complex environments, adapt solutions to requirements and provide necessary training.