- Egypt building new wall along Gaza border
February 18, 2020
Egyptian security and military forces are working around the clock to build a new concrete wall on the Egyptian side of the border with the besieged Gaza Strip which they aim to have completed by mid-2020, Palestinian sources told Middle East Eye. Egypt embarked on the first stage of construction on 27 January in the area ...
- Israel to Build Anti-Tunnel Sensor Network Along Lebanon Border
January 19, 2020
Israel’s military announced on Sunday the start of construction of an underground network of sensors along the Lebanese frontier to detect any cross-border tunnel building. The project is getting under way a year after the Israeli military said it had destroyed a series of infiltration tunnels dug by the Lebanese Hezbollah group. “All the drilling is being ...
- US Coast Guard discloses Ryuk ransomware infection at maritime facility
December 30, 2019
An infection with the Ryuk ransomware took down a maritime facility for more than 30 hours; the US Coast Guard said in a security bulletin it published before Christmas. The agency did not reveal the name or the location of the port authority; however, it described the incident as recent. “Forensic analysis is currently ongoing but the virus, ...
- DHS Rolls Back Facial-Recognition Expansion Plan
December 10, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reconsidered a plan to use facial-recognition technology on all U.S. citizens traveling internationally through airports, deciding to roll back the plan after meeting with privacy experts. Last week the DHS said it would expand facial recognition checks to all travelers entering and leaving the U.S., including previously-exempt U.S. citizens. However, now ...
- Customs agents seize $95M in counterfeit goods along with thousands of fake IDs
November 27, 2019
U.S. customs agents in Louisville announced Wednesday they have seized illegal items worth more than $95 million since Sept. 1. The announcement came just days after U.S. Customs and Border Protections said they had confiscated around 5,000 fake IDs. Since Sept. 1, agents have intercepted and seized 164 shipments worth 75% more than seizures from 2018 at ...
- British IS terror suspect arrested at Heathrow after Turkey deportation
November 14, 2019
A man has been arrested at Heathrow airport after Turkey said it had deported a British Islamic State suspect. Scotland Yard said the 26-year-old was held “on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006”, adding that it was “Syria-related”. The man arrived on Thursday “on an inbound flight to the ...
- Essex lorry deaths: Three bailed as work to identify 39 victims goes on
October 27, 2019
Three people arrested in connection with the deaths of 39 people found dead inside a lorry in Essex have been released on bail. The suspects, two men and a woman, had been held on suspicion of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people after the discovery in Grays last Wednesday. Lorry driver Maurice Robinson, 25, is due to ...
- Supreme Court OKs $2.5B DoD Funding for Border Wall Construction
July 29, 2019
The Supreme Court has greenlit the Trump administration’s proposal to allocate $2.5 billion in Department of Defense funds for the construction of a more than 100-mile wall along the southern border, Military.com reported Saturday. The effort requires $789 million for the 46-mile portion in New Mexico, $646 million for a 63-mile part in Arizona and other funds for smaller ...
- Maker of US border’s license-plate scanning tech ransacked by hacker, blueprints and files dumped online
May 23, 2019
The maker of vehicle license plate readers used extensively by the US government and cities to identify and track citizens and immigrants has been hacked. Its internal files were pilfered, and are presently being offered for free on the dark web to download. Tennessee-based Perceptics prides itself as “the sole provider of stationary LPRs [license plate ...
- The Kenya–Somalia Maritime Dispute and Its Potential National Security Costs
May 15, 2019
The at-times fraught relationship between Kenya and Somalia took a new turn in 2014, when Somalia submitted a compromis before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) claiming that Kenya was conducting illegal acts in what Somalia claimed to be part of its territory. The territory in question is a 100,000 square kilometer (38,610 square mile) triangular patch created by ...
- USAF Takes Big Hit as DOD Reprograms Funds to Pay for Border Wall
May 13, 2019
The Air Force is taking the biggest hit of all the services as the Pentagon reprograms funds to build a wall along the southern border, with about half of the procurement costs coming from appropriated USAF projects. The Pentagon announced May 10 it is reprogramming about $1.5 billion from appropriated operations and maintenance and overseas contingency operations funding ...
- UK: Stricter laws to tackle terrorism come into force
April 12, 2019
Measures including longer sentences for several terrorism offences and ending automatic early release for convicted terrorists have commenced two months after the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act received Royal Assent. The management of convicted terrorist offenders has also been strengthened with stricter notification requirements. It is now illegal to recklessly express support for, or publish images of flags, ...
- Four Sri Lankan terror suspects arrested at Luton Airport
April 12, 2019
Four men have been arrested moments after they arrived in Luton Airport on board an international flight. Airport police arrested the men and handed them over to anti terrorism officers from the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command. The men, all Sri Lankan nationals, arrived in Luton on Wednesday evening. They are currently being held in a Bedfordshire police station. They ...
- Large amount of explosives seized at Turkey-Iran border
April 11, 2019
Turkish customs enforcement officers seized a large amount of explosives at the Turkish-Iranian border, officials said Thursday. According to a statement from the Trade Ministry, an Iranian citizen tried to cross the Esendere Customs Gate with a valid passport. He had six sacks and a suitcase with him, which he said, were filled with limes. The officers got ...
- Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill given Royal Assent
February 12, 2019
New laws which gives the give the UK greater powers to crackdown on hostile state activity, have today received Royal Assent. The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 also ensures sentencing for certain terrorism offences can properly reflect the severity of the crimes, as well as preventing re-offending and disrupting terrorist activity more rapidly. In addition, the act updates ...
- Syria conflict: £62m UK boost to Lebanon to stop terrorists reaching Europe
February 10, 2019
A new defensive line of 76 watchtowers and patrol bases has been completed along Lebanon’s border with Syria, which the UK’s ambassador to the country says is vital to prevent terrorists from reaching Europe. The improved border security was funded by the British government and will also help stabilise Lebanon from the conflict next door. Britain’s support ...
- Agents discover record amount of fentanyl in drug bust on US border
February 1, 2019
Officials in the US have seized 114kg (254lbs) of fentanyl, in what is being described as the biggest haul they have ever detected. The synthetic drug has been fuelling a national epidemic of fatal opioid overdoses, and the stash was discovered in a secret compartment underneath a load of Mexican produce headed for Arizona. A scan of ...
- NZ customs can now demand phone or laptop passwords
October 2, 2018
The New Zealand Customs Service this week received new powers at the country’s borders, including the ability demand a password off a passenger to search their “electronic device”. Customs officers have always been able to search a passenger’s laptop or phone, but the changes to the Customs and Excise Act 2018 now specifies that passengers must hand over ...
- Facial recognition technology catches impostor trying to enter US illegally at airport, officials say
August 25, 2018
A man trying to illegally enter the United States this week was tripped up by state-of-the-art facial recognition technology, marking the first instance of the system being used at an airport to help federal officials flag a fraud, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday. A 26-year-old man traveling from Brazil entered Washington Dulles International Airport ...
- Home Office to beef up Critical Systems Project Delivery capability within Digital Services at Border
August 20, 2018
The Home Office’s Digital, Data and Technology (HODDaT) Borders IT is looking for a delivery partner for specialist project delivery capabilities to work on critical Border Force systems within the Border Systems Technology Project (BSTP) team to deliver a mixture of upgrades, enhancements and technology refresh to critical existing legacy systems. DSAB resides within the Border Systems Portfolio ...
