Counter Terror Gazette

Christian Fundamentalism and Justiciar Knights: proof of the foolhardiness of ethnic profiling

“We don’t face that kind of threat” is a common phrase in countries that are unrelated to the war on terror and is one uttered by individuals who misguidedly consider that the entire aviation security infrastructure is designed to combat Islamic fundamentalist attacks alone. It was likely that many Norwegian citizens followed this line of [...]

American Science and Engineering, Inc. Receives $5.7 Million Order for Cargo and Parcel X-ray Inspection Systems for Checkpoint Security

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE American Science and Engineering, Inc. Receives $5.7 Million Order for Cargo and Parcel X-ray Inspection Systems for Checkpoint Security BILLERICA, Mass. – August 17, 2011 – American Science and Engineering, Inc. (“AS&E”) (NASDAQ: ASEI), a leading worldwide supplier of innovative X-ray detection solutions, announced today that it has received a $5.7 million [...]

American Science and Engineering, Inc. Receives $31.8 Million Service and Maintenance Order to Support Detection Systems

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE American Science and Engineering, Inc. Receives $31.8 Million Service and Maintenance Order to Support Detection Systems BILLERICA, Mass. – August 18, 2011 – American Science and Engineering, Inc. (“AS&E”) (NASDAQ: ASEI), a leading worldwide supplier of innovative X-ray detection solutions, announced today the receipt of a $31.8 million service and maintenance renewal [...]

AIRWATCH – INCIDENTS, JUDGEMENTS & ARRESTS, UNRULY PASSENGERS, SABOTAGE & ATTACKS & THREATS

9/11 + 10: a reflection

In many respects it seems like yesterday. In the context of aviation history, however, a decade is a long time. Earlier in 2011 we marked the 80th anniversary of the very first hijacking; the heyday of the Cuban hijack epidemic was half a century ago; and, the famous Ann-Marie Murphy case took place a quarter [...]

The Latest al-Qaeda Threat: the body bomb

With recent media reports of terrorists potentially surgically implanting improvised explosive devices into their bodies as a way of infiltrating bombs onto aircraft, Bruce Koffler details some of the research undertaken to establish whether this is a viable method of by-passing security On 27 August  2009, at about 23:30 hours (Saudi local time), a suicide [...]

Cargo Screening: technological options

Although bomb attacks against commercial airliners date back to the early days of aviation, air cargo security in itself is a relatively young topic. It has gained increasing importance over the last 15 years, most recently as a result of the October 2010 terrorist plot in which printer ink cartridges, filled with explosives, were infiltrated [...]

In the Event of Disaster: family assistance programmes

Most of our endeavours are designed to prevent acts of unlawful interference taking place, yet airlines must also prepare for disasters. What are the key elements of disaster preparedness programmes and how can they benefit both the airline and the family members of the passengers and crew embroiled in a hijacking or, worse still, the [...]

Terrorist Profiling: analysing our adversaries personalities

Whilst the issue of profiling may be controversial as a screening methodology deployed at airports and by airlines, it is very much accepted within the security services as a means to identify potential perpetrators long before they even book airline tickets. The attack in Norway on 22 July 2011, allegedly by a Christian fundamentalist, generated [...]

Personal View expressed by Andy Blackwell

As I am preparing this viewpoint, the tenth anniversary of 11th September 2001 is fast approaching. Like many who witnessed the attacks, I can vividly recall the tragic events that occurred on that day, and my thoughts are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones. Ten years on and the desire of [...]