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Leonardo DRS, for the third time,  has been awarded the  Defense Security Service Award for Excellence in Counterintelligence.  The award is the highest U.S. honor given to the defense industry for protecting classified information and technology through a culture of compliance with government security regulations and partnership with DoD intelligence services.

Leonardo DRS received the 2016 award for developing new techniques to identify malicious communications and subsequently, training other defense contractors on how to implement countermeasures.

In a new policy update written for the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, Hugh Segal, former Senator, Master of Massey College, CGAI Fellow, and senior advisor at Aird & Berlis LLP, outlines recommendations for Canada and Canadians to stay ahead of a rapidly changing security threat.

Dr. Jim Anderson manages the Biological Warfare Threat Medical Countermeasures project at the Deptartment of National Defence (DND). He recently sat down with FrontLine editor Chris MacLean to discuss the challenges and implications of the biological threat and related preparedness requirements.

Police analytics has been gaining more and more attention (which means FrontLine readers will see more on this topic in future editions). When the Ottawa Police Services began looking into it, they identified some 150 police analytics centers in the United States alone.

In 2010 Police Chief magazine published an article titled: “s”. In it, they wrote about the critical role that needs to be played by local law enforcement in proactively preventing terrorism.

House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence hears from Communications Security Establishment (19 May 2016)
(FrontLine-edited and officially-translated transcript)

Canadians should take warning from the events in Paris on 13 November. Too often, Canadians dismiss terrorist threats, warnings and close calls with the usual attitude that “Canada is not important enough to attract terrorism,” or that “it can’t happen here.” That kind of thinking is dangerous. It can happen here, and it has happened here.

Fear and propaganda are the weapons of war and, increasingly, so too is social media. Indeed, social media has come under attack as it becomes the ideal media outlet for terrorists and extremist groups. Recruitment, training, ­planning and coordination of attacks, intimidation tactics, and displays of weaponry and power have all been achieved online through avenues such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Whatsapp.

(2009) Marsh's Chemical Practice has produced a 2009 benchmark study that compares the risk management and insurance programs of more than 220 chemical industry buyers in the United States.

Much activity and improvement in the realm of public safety communications interoperability have occurred since the horrific events of September 11th, 2001. One very promising area is that of wireless paramedicine, the ability to get paramedics, and the health community they support, the information they need when needed.

Great progress has been made since 2007 when Frontline Security first reported on radar surveillance technology designed for use in the homeland by public safety organizations, whose responsibilities include border security, search and rescue, transportation security, and law enforcement.

Typical radar node.

Do Unsecure Communications Put Officers at Risk?

During the manhunt for the suspected Boston Marathon bombers in April, hundreds of thousands of people listened to police radio communications live over the Internet as hobbyists rebroadcast messages. Listeners then passed on information via Twitter, so that hundreds of thousands more learned how the hunt was proceeding from their computers, iPhones and BlackBerries, in very close to real time.

It's More Than Gadgets and Gizmos
In the ‘non lab coat’ world of law enforcement, security and first responders, “technology” is a means to an end and not an end unto itself. That ‘end’, of course, is the successful performance of operational duties, which have enormous public safety ramifications as well as real risk to the men and women who perform them on our behalf.

Normally, when I’m asked to organize an event, I ensure that the subject matter is something in which I have some expertise. I made an exception to that rule earlier this year when the Conference Board of Canada asked me to put together a program for one of their highly regarded security conferences.

Dr. David Butler-Jones has presided over Canadian and North American professional associations, and participates in international professional work sessions and has worked in many parts of Canada. As Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, he heads the newly created Public Health Agency of Canada, providing leadership on the government’s efforts to protect the health and safety of all Canadians. After 18 months in this position, FrontLine Security had the opportunity to interview him about his responsibilities with the new Public Health Agency.

Beware of an alarming illiteracy in Canada! This problem is evident among health officials tasked with protecting the public. It appears that they have not read, or possibly not understood, the science – we know they have disregarded it. Their lack of understanding is egregious. They also have not called upon the cadre of professionals who are well versed in the science and art of protecting people from disease, particularly airborne disease.