Posted by Matthew Clark, Director, Office of University Programs, DHS Science & Technology Directorate

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded $3.6 million to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), as part of our Centers of Excellence (COE) Program. START’s work is critical to our efforts of to expand scientific understanding of the human causes and consequences of terrorism.

This funding allows START researchers to build upon its existing knowledge to address crucial issues related to terrorist behavior, violent extremism, and counterterrorism. Maintaining financial support for the COEs such as START and the others will ensure an enduring and useful capability in homeland security research for the nation today, and for generations to come.

START began in 2005 and was the first DHS S&T COE to focus on behavioral and social science. Based at the University of Maryland, START researchers from more than 40 institutions worldwide will use the new grant to explore the social, behavioral and cultural factors that influence violent extremism, including political, financial and religious causes while examining the emergence and operations of domestic terrorists and how they interact with law enforcement strategies, community initiatives and government policies. In addition, START also collects and codes terrorist data so that it can be incorporated into behavioral models that can be used to inform homeland security decision making.

Leveraging the expertise of academia is key to  S&T’s strategy to support the Department’s mission. Through the COE Program, universities and private sector partners pursue a mixed portfolio of basic and applied research addressing both short- and long-term homeland security needs.

Posted by Dr. Tara O'Toole, Under Secretary for Science and Technology

Ten years ago, five people were killed and seventeen others became ill when letters containing anthrax were delivered through the mail. These incidents caused panic, confusion, and an avalanche of reports about suspicious packages and speculation about bio-terror attacks. In the decade since, the federal government has made significant gains in the country’s ability to detect, respond to, and recover from a deliberate biological incident. The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has played an important role in these advancements in collaboration with with Federal agencies, national laboratories, state and local governments, first responders, the medical and public health communities and the private sector.

S&T has made significant progress in keeping the nation safe from biological threats through the development of technologies, technical tools, and standards to improve the nation’s biological detection, mitigation, and response capabilities. Specifically, we have focused on deepening our understanding of the biological agents, protecting agriculture, and developing ways to conduct forensic bioattack investigations.  We have also developed programs, such as BioWatch, which provide detection and early warning of a pathogen release, and standards, which enhance the capabilities of first responders and public health professionals.

In supporting first responders, S&T is leading the development of a strategy to build a mission capability for biothreats that is consistent with the National Strategy for CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives) Standards recently published by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. We have also crafted a standard field protocol for rapid resolution of suspicious powders as well as developing training curricula for first responders.

While challenges remain, these extensive efforts by DHS and its partners have resulted in a government and citizens considerably more prepared to respond to and recover from a biological attack.

Posted by Doug Maughan, Director, Cyber Security Division, DHS Science & Technology Directorate

Throughout Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we have discussed the importance of making the Internet safer and more secure. This is a shared responsibility, and each of us has a role to play. Emerging cyber threats require the engagement of the entire society—from government and law enforcement to the private sector and most importantly, members of the public. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) received two awards for work in strengthening our nation’s cybersecurity posture.

We received a National Cybersecurity Innovation Award at the Sans Institute’s Second Annual National Cybersecurity Innovation Conference for our Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) project , which protects the public by ensuring that websites visited are the real deal and not imposters. Phony websites steal users’ log-in names, passwords, and even money, from thousands of innocent Internet users every year. S&T’s Cyber Security Division (CSD) was recognized for its innovation in promoting research that “pays off” by focusing on work that can result in real products and real risk reduction. Moreover, the award noted that the CSD’s approach has forced the R&D community to think beyond the theoretical to consider a more practical horizon.

DHS S&T also received the Open Source for America (OSFA) 2011 Government Deployment Open Source Award for the Homeland Open Security Technology (HOST) project , which brings together technology leaders from across government and developing advanced open source security solutions that address their prioritized gaps. This award recognize projects and people that educate decision makers in the federal government about the advantages of using free and open-source software and encourage federal agencies to give equal priority to procuring free and open-source software in all of their procurement decisions. The development of the open source intrusion detection system, Suricata, was sponsored through this project and is now being sustainably maintained by industry through a non-profit foundation.

The DHS Science & Technology Directorate is leading efforts to develop and deploy more secure internet protocols that protect consumers and industry internet users. As evidenced by these awards, the Department is making significant strides to enhance the security of the nation’s critical physical infrastructure as well as its cyber infrastructure and networks.

The Department of Homeland Security set fire to a house in Richburg, South Carolina yesterday to prove a point about how simple practices can make your home more resilient to wildfires – part of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Wildfire Ignition Resistant Home Design (WIRHD) program.

A full-scale 1,200 square foot, one-story home was subjected to wind-blown embers, which quickly ignited mulch in the gardens around the house and pine needle and leaf debris in the gutters. Within minutes, many portions of the structure itself were engulfed in flames.

DHS and its partners in the project – the Savannah River National Laboratory, the U.S. Forest Service and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) – conducted this test to demonstrate differences in the ignition potential of various construction techniques, building materials, and landscaping practices.

Wildfires are common occurrences. According to Forest Service statistics, there have been more than 10,000 wildfires in the United States this year and hundreds of homes have been lost. But the tragedy of losing a home to wildfire can be preventable. Simple measures can be taken to increase a home’s resilience, and most of them are either free or inexpensive, such as keeping gutters clear and avoiding using flammable materials, such as pine straw, in garden beds close to the home.

The IBHS facility is unique in its ability to replicate the conditions of an actual wildfire on a full-scale structure – it’s built on a turntable so all of the materials can be exposed to the ember storm.

The results of the demonstration will be combined in a tool for homeowners evaluate their own homes for resilience to wildfires.

Contrary to what most people believe, it is not the heat and flames of a wildfire that provide the greatest threat, it’s the wind-blown embers. Firefighters frequently find homes that are completely consumed by fire while nearby vegetation is left untouched. That’s because wind-blown embers found combustible materials on or near the home.

DHS got closely involved in this issue following the 2007 wildfires in Southern California. The Forest Service and the firefighter community asked for help in understanding the behavior of wildfires, and demonstrations like this one illustrate how modifications to construction and landscaping design and materials can minimize the damage to homes and businesses – and save lives.

Yesterday, I joined White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan to announce recommendations that DHS has made to the President for improving the technology and procedures used to protect air travel from acts of terrorism.

The attempted attack on Northwest Flight 253 is a powerful illustration that terrorists will go to great lengths to try to defeat the security measures that have been put in place since Sept. 11, 2001. The steps I outlined yesterday will strengthen aviation security—at home and abroad—through new partnerships, technology and law enforcement efforts.

These steps include

• Re-evaluating and modifying the criteria and process used to create terrorist watch lists—including adjusting the process by which names are added to the “No-Fly” and “Selectee” lists.
• Establishing a partnership on aviation security between DHS and the Department of Energy and its National Laboratories in order to develop new and more effective technologies to deter and disrupt known threats and protect against new ways by which terrorists could seek to board an aircraft.
• Accelerating deployment of advanced imaging technology to provide greater explosives detection capabilities—and encourage foreign aviation security authorities to do the same—in order to identify materials such as those used in the attempted Dec. 25 attack. The Transportation Security Administration currently has 40 machines deployed throughout the United States, and plans to deploy 300 additional units in 2010.
• Strengthening the presence and capacity of aviation law enforcement—by deploying law enforcement officers from across DHS to serve as Federal Air Marshals to increase security aboard U.S.-bound flights.
• Working with international partners to strengthen international security measures and standards for aviation security.

Additionally, last week I dispatched Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman and other senior Department officials to meet with leaders from major international airports in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and South America to review security procedures and technology being used to screen passengers on U.S.-bound flights and work on ways to collectively bolster our tactics for defeating terrorists

Later this month, I will travel to Spain for the first of a series of global meetings with my international counterparts intended to bring about broad consensus on new international aviation security standards and procedures.

These steps come in addition to the Department’s immediate actions following the attempted attack on Dec. 25, 2009—including enhanced security measures at domestic airports and new international security directives that mandate enhanced screening of every individual flying into the United States from or through nations that are State Sponsors of Terrorism or other countries of interest and threat-based, random enhanced screening for all other passengers traveling on U.S.-bound flights.

I want to thank the Department of Homeland Security personnel who have been working day-in and day-out to implement these security measures since Christmas—as well as the traveling public for their continued patience. The public remains one of our most valuable layers of defense against acts of terrorism.

Janet Napolitano

In a recent technology snapshot, our Science and Technology Directorate highlighted a project that, if successful, could help find and plug up smuggling tunnels as fast as criminals can dig them.

The Tunnel Detection Project is working on a design that places radar antennas in a trailer towed by a truck. Electromagnetic waves penetrate the earth, and what shows up on a monitor inside the truck is a picture of what’s beneath them, composed of red, yellow, and aquamarine dots. Civil engineers already use ground-penetrating technology, but it’s just to find pipes or cable a few meters beneath the earth. S&T’s taking this and giving it some oomph. They’re using much lower frequency waves to penetrate deeper into the ground, and the sophisticated imaging technology they’re working on produces surprisingly clear pictures of any tunnels that are found.
As a program director points out, tunnels have been found so far by good law enforcement work or by chance, but never by technology.

The team showed off a prototype this spring that used mock-up “border” made of sand and rocks. Soon, they’re bringing everything they’ve developed down to the Southwest to give it a spin against the rigors of the real border. What’s going to be key for them, they say, is being able to separate tunnels from rocks, plants, and other objects buried in the ground.

Check out the full snapshot.

When President-elect Obama nominated me to become our country’s third Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, I was warned that the vast Department was too cumbersome to lead; that the 225,000-strong workforce was too big to manage; that the 22 agencies with 22 corresponding missions that were brought together in 2003 were too disparate to meld into a coherent structure with a clear vision.

Yet, nearly five months into my tenure, the purpose of our Department is unambiguous: we must guard against terrorism; we must secure our borders; we must enforce our immigration laws; we must improve our readiness for, response to, and recovery from disasters; and we must unify the Department so that we can even more effectively carry out our mission.

On each of the five fronts, we have already made important strides.

Protecting the American people from terrorist threats is the founding principle of the Department and our highest priority. This is an effort where everyone--families and communities, first responders, the private sector, state and local governments, as well as the Department--must contribute. My approach is simple: direct every resource available towards prevention and preparedness, and ask Americans to live in a constant state of readiness, not a constant state of fear.

Since January, we have forged new partnerships with our international allies to provide more tools in the fight against terrorism. We have dedicated new resources to detect threats at our transportation hubs and protect our critical infrastructure. And, we are strengthening information-sharing efforts, working hand-in-hand with state, local and tribal law enforcement.

Fulfilling our mission also means securing our borders—our Southern border, our Northern border, and our air and sea ports. Every year, we apprehend and deport more than one million illegal immigrants, no doubt deterring countless more from trying to cross the border. Recently, we announced a new initiative to strengthen security on the Southwest border to disrupt the drug, cash and weapon smuggling that is helping to fuel cartel violence in Mexico.

When it comes to immigration, we need to facilitate legal immigration while we crack down on those who violate our nation’s laws. A few weeks ago, we issued new guidance to our agents in the field to focus our efforts on apprehending criminal illegal aliens and prosecuting employers who knowingly hire illegal workers. At the same time, we are committed to providing employers with the most up-to-date and effective resources to maintain a legal workforce. This new focus is drawing widespread praise--from law enforcement to the business community--because it addresses the root cause of illegal immigration.

As a nation, we must develop a more urgent sense of readiness. Hurricanes happen. Tornadoes happen. Floods happen. And as we recently experienced, so do health outbreaks like the H1N1 flu. The Department plays a critical role in helping communities in all stages of a disaster--preparation, response and long term recovery. Since January, we have worked in close coordination with state and local authorities to respond to severe storms in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Missouri and flooding in North Dakota and Minnesota. We have taken bold new steps to accelerate recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region, streamlining decision making and consolidating offices to eliminate redundancies.

And we took immediate and aggressive steps to lead the federal government’s efforts to confront the H1N1 flu outbreak.

Finally, we must unify and mature our Department. Our goal is simple: one DHS, one enterprise, a shared vision, with integrated results-based operations. Through a consolidated headquarters, we are bringing 35 locations together. We have launched an expansive efficiency initiative that is leveraging the economies of scale in our Department in order to recover hundreds of millions of dollars and create a culture of responsibility and fiscal discipline.

Throughout these five priority areas, we are applying a series of cross-cutting approaches. We are bolstering cooperation with our partners at the local, tribal, state, federal and international levels; we are expanding our capabilities through the deployment of science and technology while developing and maturing new technologies for tomorrow; and we are maximizing efficiency to ensure every security dollar is spent in the most effective way.

We cannot afford to relent on any of these five fronts because together, they amount to our one overarching mission—a mission whose scope is massive, challenging, and humbling, but also a mission so straightforward and clear that it is contained in our name: securing the homeland.

Janet Napolitano

On Monday, I returned from a trip to Germany in which I met with my homeland security counterparts from six European Union countries. This regular meeting – called the “G6 plus 1” (I’m the “plus 1”) – is an important part of our security cooperation. Threats like terrorism, the spread of infectious diseases, and natural disasters know no borders, which makes global partnership an integral part of American security.

We focused on many different elements of this partnership – including information-sharing about terror suspects, bolstering the security of international cyber networks and combating the smuggling of drugs, money, and people.

One outcome from the trip is a new science and technology agreement with the government of Germany. The photo here shows me at the signing ceremony with the German Minister of Science and Education, Annette Schavan.

This partnership will identify science and technology projects where the U.S. and Germany can collaborate on innovations that improve our security. One effort will kick off in just a few months: developing “visual analytics” technologies that can organize and cluster millions of pieces of intelligence data and arrange them visually, allowing intelligence analysts to understand more quickly the patterns contained in enormous amounts of diffuse information.

I’m excited about the doors this will open to scientific understandings not only of threats, but also solutions. Wherever we can partner with our allies to make both our nations safer, we should – and this will be an important priority moving forward, starting with my visits to Mexico and Canada over the next few weeks.

Janet Napolitano