One key aspect of airport security is perimeter protection. This involves the use of fencing, gates, and other physical barriers to prevent unauthorized access to the airport. This can include the use of security cameras and other surveillance technologies to monitor the perimeter and detect any potential threats.

Another important element of airport security is the protection of aviation traffic. This can include measures such as the use of radar and other technologies to detect and track aircraft in the sky, as well as the deployment of air defense systems to protect against ground to air attacks. In recent years, the threat of rogue drones has become increasingly prevalent, and as a result, airports have implemented measures to detect and prevent drones from entering airspace around the airport.

The entrance and exit control of cars, trucks, and passengers is another important aspect of airport security. This can involve the use of security checkpoints and scanners to screen vehicles and individuals for potential threats, as well as the deployment of security personnel to monitor and control access to the airport.

Cargo trucks are also subject to security controls in order to ensure that dangerous or hazardous materials are not brought onto the airport. This can involve the use of scanners and other technologies to inspect cargo before it is allowed onto the airport premises.

Finally, baggage control security is an important aspect of airport security, as it helps to ensure that dangerous or prohibited items are not brought onto planes. This can involve the use of x-ray scanners and other technologies to screen luggage and other items, as well as the deployment of security personnel to inspect and search bags as needed to prevent all types of illegal smuggling.

Airport security is a complex and multifaceted effort that involves the use of a variety of technologies and measures to protect against a wide range of threats. By implementing these measures, airports can ensure the safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and airport infrastructure.

Airport Perimeter Infrastructure Protection

Perimeter infrastructure protection is a crucial element of airport security, as it helps to prevent unauthorized access to the airport and protect against potential threats. There are a number of guidelines that airports can follow to effectively protect their perimeter infrastructure, including:

1. Fencing: The use of fencing is a common way to physically separate the airport from the surrounding area. This can include the use of chain-link or barbed wire fencing to create a physical barrier, as well as the installation of gates and other access control measures to regulate who can enter and exit the airport.
2. Surveillance technologies: Security cameras and other surveillance technologies can be used to monitor the airport perimeter and detect any potential threats. This can include the use of motion sensors, thermal imaging cameras, and other technologies to detect unusual activity.
3. Alarms and notifications: Alarms and notifications can be used to alert security personnel to potential threats or breaches of the perimeter. This can include the use of loud alarms, flashing lights, and other warning systems that can be triggered by motion sensors or other surveillance technologies.
4. Lighting: Adequate lighting is important for visibility and security on the airport perimeter. This can include the use of floodlights or other high-intensity lighting systems to illuminate areas around the perimeter fence.
5. Access control measures: To further restrict access to the airport, airports can implement access control measures such as turnstiles, card readers, and biometric scanners. These measures can be used to verify the identity of individuals attempting to enter the airport and prevent unauthorized access.
6. Security personnel: Security personnel can play a key role in protecting the airport perimeter. This can include the use of guards to monitor the perimeter, as well as the deployment of canine units to detect any potential threats.
7. Response protocols: In the event of a breach or potential threat to the perimeter, it is important for airports to have established response protocols in place. This can include the deployment of security personnel or other emergency responders, as well as the implementation of lockdown procedures to secure the airport.

Effective perimeter infrastructure protection is crucial for maintaining the security and safety of an airport. By implementing these guidelines, airports can create a secure perimeter that helps to prevent unauthorized access and protect against potential threats.

Air Traffic Protection

Airport security involves the protection of aviation traffic from potential threats, including rogue drones and ground to air attacks. To effectively protect against these threats, airports can follow a number of homeland security guidelines, including:

1. Radar and tracking technologies: The use of radar and other tracking technologies can help to detect and track aircraft in the sky, as well as detect any potential threats. This can include the use of primary radar, which uses radio waves to detect the presence and location of aircraft, as well as secondary radar, which uses transponder signals from aircraft to identify and track them.
2. Air defense systems: Air defense systems are designed to protect against ground to air attacks and can be deployed around airports to provide an additional layer of protection. These systems can include surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft guns, and other weapons systems that are designed to intercept and destroy incoming threats.
3. Drone detection and prevention technologies: In recent years, the threat of rogue drones has become increasingly prevalent, and as a result, airports have implemented measures to detect and prevent drones from entering airspace around the airport. This can include the use of radar and other tracking technologies, as well as drone detection and prevention systems that use lasers or radio waves to disrupt or disable drones.
4. Security personnel: Security personnel can play a key role in protecting against threats to aviation traffic. This can include the deployment of air marshals on flights, as well as the use of security personnel to monitor and patrol the airport perimeter.
5. Emergency response protocols: In the event of a threat to aviation traffic, it is important for airports to have established emergency response protocols in place. This can include the deployment of emergency responders, such as firefighters and medical personnel, as well as the implementation of lockdown procedures to secure the airport.

Protecting against threats to aviation traffic is a crucial aspect of airport security. By implementing these guidelines, airports can effectively defend against potential threats, including rogue drones and ground to air attacks, and help to ensure the safety and security of passengers and aircraft.

Airport Entrance and Exit Control

Fence perimeter protection, entrance and exit control of cars, trucks, and passengers are all important elements of airport security that help to prevent unauthorized access to the airport and protect against potential threats. To effectively implement these measures, airports can follow a number of guidelines, including:

1. Fencing: The use of fencing is a common way to physically separate the airport from the surrounding area and create a secure perimeter. This can include the use of chain-link or barbed wire fencing, as well as the installation of gates and other access control measures to regulate who can enter and exit the airport.
2. Surveillance technologies: Security cameras and other surveillance technologies can be used to monitor the airport perimeter and detect any potential threats. This can include the use of motion sensors, thermal imaging cameras, and other technologies to detect unusual activity.
3. Alarms and notifications: Alarms and notifications can be used to alert security personnel to potential threats or breaches of the perimeter. This can include the use of loud alarms, flashing lights, and other warning systems that can be triggered by motion sensors or other surveillance technologies.
4. Lighting: Adequate lighting is important for visibility and security on the airport perimeter. This can include the use of floodlights or other high-intensity lighting systems to illuminate areas around the perimeter fence.
5. Access control measures: To further restrict access to the airport, airports can implement access control measures such as turnstiles, card readers, and biometric scanners. These measures can be used to verify the identity of individuals attempting to enter the airport and prevent unauthorized access.
6. Security personnel: Security personnel can play a key role in protecting the airport perimeter and controlling access to the airport. This can include the deployment of guards to monitor the perimeter, as well as the use of canine units to detect any potential threats.
7. Screening measures: To screen cars, trucks, and passengers for potential threats, airports can implement a number of measures such as security checkpoints and scanners. This can include the use of x-ray scanners, metal detectors, and other technologies to screen vehicles and individuals for dangerous or prohibited items.

Effective perimeter protection and entrance and exit control are crucial for maintaining the security and safety of an airport. By implementing these guidelines, airports can create a secure perimeter and regulate access to the airport, helping to prevent unauthorized access and protect against potential threats.

Airport Passenger Baggage Border Control

Baggage control security is an important aspect of airport security, as it helps to ensure that dangerous or prohibited items are not brought onto planes. To effectively implement baggage control measures, airports can follow a number of guidelines, including:

1. X-ray scanners: X-ray scanners are commonly used to screen luggage and other items for potential threats. These scanners use x-rays to create an image of the contents of a bag, which can be examined by security personnel to identify any potential threats.
2. Since the implementation of the patriot act, all passengers are subjects to strenuous inspection, and identification procedures, more recently face recognition protocols have been implemented in various US and international airports.
3. Manual inspection: In addition to x-ray scanners, security personnel may manually inspect bags to look for any potential threats. This can involve searching through the contents of a bag and looking for suspicious items or packages.
4. Prohibited items: To help prevent dangerous or prohibited items from being brought onto planes, airports can establish lists of prohibited items that are not allowed in carry-on or checked luggage. These lists can include items such as weapons, explosives, and hazardous materials.
5. Security personnel: Security personnel play a key role in implementing baggage control measures. This can include the deployment of guards to monitor the baggage screening process and inspect bags as needed.
6. Training: To effectively implement baggage control measures, it is important for security personnel to receive regular training on how to identify and respond to potential threats. This can include training on the use of x-ray scanners and other technologies, as well as instruction on how to conduct manual inspections of bags.
7. Standard operating procedures for Border Security: To ensure that baggage control measures are consistently implemented, it is important for airports to establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) for these processes. These SOPs can outline the steps that security personnel should follow when screening luggage and other items, as well as the protocols for handling any potential threats that are identified.

Overall, effective baggage control measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and security of passengers and aircraft. By implementing these guidelines, airports can help to prevent dangerous or prohibited items from being brought onto planes and protect against potential threats.

Source HLS.Today

TSA is integrating digital identity capabilities for Airport Protection – including the acceptance of state-issued mobile driver’s licenses – at the TSA checkpoint using the Credential Authentication Technology 2 (CAT-2) system to provide for a secure and seamless method of verifying an individual’s identity. Check IDEMIA TSA systems provider. 

A mobile or digital driver’s license is a digital representation of the information contained on a physical ID, stored on and accessed through a mobile device (such as a smartphone).

TSA will continue to notify the public of its pilots and testing efforts through publicly issued Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs).

Digital ID and Mobile Driver’s License 

TSA will deploy CAT-2 units in early 2022 to support the phased rollout of digital IDs, including mobile driver’s licenses. During the initial stages of the rollout, TSA will only accept select mobile driver’s licenses and digital IDs from TSA PreCheck® passengers. 

TSA will post signs at checkpoints that accept mobile driver’s licenses. TSA plans to expand this effort in the coming months and will release information about additional airports, states, devices, and partners. Passengers without TSA PreCheck® status will be able to use mobile driver’s licenses at a future date.

How it Works 

To use your mobile driver’s license at a participating checkpoint, tap your mobile device against the CAT-2 digital reader or scan the QR code displayed on your mobile device’s screen. You will see an alert on your mobile device with a summary of the data being shared with TSA and will be asked to consent to send that information to TSA for identity verification purposes.

The technology verifies a passenger’s identity by authenticating the digital ID, matching the digital ID information against information provided when booking the flight, and matching the live photo captured against the photo on the digital ID. After a passenger’s identity is verified, the TSA officer will allow the passenger to proceed through the checkpoint. A TSA officer will be present to oversee and validate the verification process.

Data to be Collected

TSA will collect live photos and passenger data from digital IDs for analysis only during the evaluation periods. 

TSA will convert the information into an anonymized format, encrypt it, and transfer it for temporary analysis to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T), which will assess the effectiveness of this technology at the checkpoint. DHS will delete the data within 24 months. Outside of the evaluation periods during normal operations, each passenger’s live photo and the personally identifiable information collected from their digital ID will be overwritten when the next passenger is scanned. 

For more information, please see TSA’s PIA, DHS/TSA/PIA-051 Travel Document Checker Automation – Digital Identity Technology Pilots.

Privacy Act Notice

Should you choose to opt-in to the DHS TSA digital identity pilot, TSA will collect the data described above from you for the purposes of enhancing transportation security, identity verification, and testing the effectiveness of this technology at the checkpoint under the authority of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act.

Providing this information is voluntary. If you do not provide it, you will proceed through the standard screening process at the checkpoint. TSA may share information that you provide with DHS S&T, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, or others under the published System of Records Notice – DHS/TSA-019 Secure Flight Records, DHS/TSA-001, Transportation Security Enforcement Record System (TSERS).

2022 Current Airports with facial recognition at security:

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
• Boston Logan International Airport
• Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,
• Denver International Airport,
• Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
• Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport
• Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport
• Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas
• Los Angeles International Airport
• Orlando International Airport
• Miami International Airport
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
• San Jose International Airport
• Salt Lake City International Airport

HLS.Today Source: TSA.GOV

The Strategic Compass was built upon the threat analysis. Thus, the final document covers all areas of cooperation; it consists of 4 pillars: to Act, to Secure, to Invest and to Partner. The first pillar includes tools as the Rapid Deployment Capacity (RDC) or the Civilian Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Compact that aim at increasing Europe’s defence capabilities and closer collaboration in missions and operations. Secondly, the EU will boost its joint intelligence capacities and further develop an EU Cyber Defence Policy. Creating a Hybrid Toolbox will ensure that the EU can detect and respond to a broad range of hybrid threats.

Thirdly, to invest means that the EU needs to spend more and better in defence, in line with the commitments already made through the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO).[3] The Member States will work together to further develop full spectrum forces that are agile, interoperable, technologically advanced, energy efficient and resilient. Hence, full use of PESCO and the European Defence Fund (EDF) is needed to develop interoperable high-end systems and advanced technologies.

Lastly, EU’s cooperation with partners is essential to address common threats and challenges. The document emphasizes on ways to enhance EU-NATO cooperation, as through structured political dialogue and frequent high-level meetings. Besides, the EU will strengthen its collaboration with organisations as the United Nations (UN) or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and its bilateral relations with like-minded states.

For military personnel the creation of RDC represents an important development, as it will be constituted with up to 5000 troops which will train and exercise together and it will be financed under the European Peace Facility (EPF). Today, the Member States are working on the operational scenarios that will lead to the common exercises next year, and the RDC will be fully operational and ready to be deployed by 2025 for evacuation, stabilization and rescuing operations. To provide an example, if the RDC was ready during summer 2021, it could have been deployed in Kabul for an evacuation mission.

To continue, RDC does not represent the first attempt of the EU to build on EU joint forces; the EU Battlegroups and CSDP missions and operations exist for years but in different forms and structures than the RDC. Firstly, the Battlegroups and the CSDP missions and operations are funded by the contributing states, while RDC will be financed by the EPF.

To elaborate more, there are currently 7 military CDSP missions and operations, and for these missions, approximately 5000 European soldiers are deployed. These soldiers work side by side but do not have the same rights, nor are they paid the same way. Mainly because the contributing States bear all personnel-related costs, such as salaries, medical coverage and travel expenses. Secondly, the RDC will work on evacuation, stabilisation and rescue operations, which the CSDP missions are not focusing on. For instance, the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM MALI) aims to train the Malian Armed Forces.[4] Thirdly, the EU Battlegroups are consisted only of land forces, but the RDC will include land, air and maritime components. Besides, the EU Battlegroups have never been deployed, mainly due to financial obstacles. The fact that military operations are usually financed through national funding, does not make participation attractive and mostly discourages the smaller Member States from participating.

Apart from the creation of this new capacity, the Compass also focuses on modifying current structures as the CSDP missions and operations by making them more robust and by taking into consideration non-military challenges. Thus, human rights and gender advisers will participate at the missions and operations. Moreover, the EU is aiming to reduce the environmental footprint of CSDP missions and operations in line with the Union’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050 under the European Green Deal; green technology, sustainable digitalisation within the armed forces or circular economy represent a few steps towards sustainability in the defence sector.

For EUROMIL the Strategic Compass is the right way forward. It builds on the process of strengthening European Defence through initiatives such as the Coordinated Review on Defence (CARD), PESCO, or the EDF. These initiatives have already opened the way for closer defence cooperation between the Member States and their Armed Forces. For instance, on 30 May 2022, the Germany-led PESCO project European Medical Command reached Full Operational Capability; it was supported by 18 countries to increase medical operational readiness and interoperability for joint EU-NATO operations. The combination of PESCO projects, funds as the EDF and the EPF, and strategic reviews as CARD and the RDC have created a new framework for the European defence forces.

The RDC will further advance Europe’s defence capabilities, avoid fragmentation and invest in interoperable Armed Forces. Moreover, the EU could overcome financial obstacles in deploying forces through the fact that it will be financed under the EPF. Hence, financing the RDC by the EPF creates a new momentum for European Defence and for military personnel. Now, it is more evident than ever that soldiers who train and work together and are paid by the same fund should also enjoy the same working and social rights. Besides, we need to make sure that soldiers receive proper training and can respond to emerging threats as climate change.

Overall, the Strategic Compass is a very ambitious document that leads towards greater European defence integration but political will is essential for the Compass to be fully implemented. The advancement of European Defence and the fact that Member States are committing to it, creates a new momentum for military personnel and EUROMIL to advocate and promote the social pillar of the Armed Forces.

[1]The document was adopted by the Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers on the 21st of March and was endorsed by the Heads of States and Governments on the 25th of March 2022.

[2]The EU’s Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity created the threat analysis by inputs from the Member States’ intelligence services and it represents a common understanding of the global and regional threats that the EU and its Member States are facing.

[3]EU participating Member States at PESCO have agreed to spend 2% of the total defence expenditure on Research and Technology, but in 2020 they spent 1.2% and in 2021 1.5%.

[4]EUTM Mali mission is composed of approximately 700 soldiers from 25 European countries including 22 EU members and 3 non-member states. The EU member countries contributing to EUTM Mali are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The non-EU countries are: Georgia, Moldova and Montenegro.

HLS.Today Source: EUROMIL

Future defence budget to rise significantly

Putin had intentions beyond the invasion of Ukraine, Scholz said. “Putin wants to build a Russian empire”, he warned. “We must therefore ask ourselves: What capabilities does Putin’s Russia possess? And what capabilities do we need to counter this threat – today and in the future?”

He announced that the 2022 national budget would therefore provide a one-off sum of EUR 100 billion for the fund. The money would be used for necessary investments and armament projects of the Bundeswehr: better equipment, modern technology, and more personnel. 

In addition, Germany would from now on invest more than two percent of its gross domestic product in defence. As Scholz explained, “we will stand unconditionally by our collective defence obligation within NATO.” 

Unprecedented national undertaking

Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht emphasised: “We need a well-equipped and strong Bundeswehr – this is becoming dramatically clear now as a result of Putin’s horrendous attack on Ukraine.” She added that this watershed in history would be met with an unprecedented national undertaking to strengthen the Bundeswehr. “The special fund of EUR 100 billion will allow us to strengthen the Bundeswehr and to take on our due role in NATO as a reliable and powerful Ally. I am devoting all of my energy to this task.”

“We are also doing this for us, for our own security.” 

Chancellor Scholz further said that one of the most important projects for modern armed forces was the construction of the next generation of combat aircraft and tanks together with European partners, particularly France. This week had also seen the signing of the Eurodrone contracts, he said. He added that the purchase of the armed Heron drone from Israel was making progress and that there were plans to equip the Eurofighter with electronic warfare capabilities. With regard to nuclear sharing, a modern replacement for the outdated Tornado jets would be procured. The F-35 fighter jet had the potential to be used as a carrier aircraft, Scholz said.

Germany is committed to its Allies and partners 

Besides these far-reaching plans, the Federal Government yesterday decided to supply Ukraine with weapons for the country’s defence. It is planned to provide 1,000 hand-held antitank weapons (Panzerfaust 3) and 500 Stinger ground-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr stocks. In addition, the Bundeswehr has in recent weeks bolstered its support for eastern Allies. Germany is a major troop contributor to the NATO Response Force (NRFNATO Response Force), currently providing 13,700 servicemen and women.  In Lithuania, the Bundeswehr has increased its contribution to approx. 900 troops for the German-led enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup at NATO’s eastern flank.

Enhanced Air Policing South is a NATO mission that helps to secure the Romanian airspace with Allied air forces. Six Bundeswehr Eurofighters are currently deployed to the mission. The German Navy is helping to secure the North Sea, Baltic and the Mediterranean with additional vessels provided to NATO’s maritime task forces.

The Bundeswehr plans to support NATO Ally Slovakia with company-size infantry forces and with the Patriot air defence missile system.

Source: BMVG.DE

The Olympic Games, surveillance accelerators

The Olympic Games have long been an opportunity for an intensification of population surveillance tools. This was the case for Beijing in 2008, with a massive deployment of cameras in the streets and in public transport. But also in Rio de Janeiro where from 2010, in preparation for the 2016 Olympics, the IBM company took advantage of this opportunity to develop its Integrated Operation Center, “Command and Coordination Center”. This command center aimed to aggregate data from the municipality, communities, public transport, weather, etc., with the aim of obtaining real-time information and building predictive models for managing the town. This is the beginning of the fantasy of remote control of the city.

Finally, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – which finally took place in the summer of 2021 – are positioned as the Olympic Games that have used the most technological gadgets (autonomous cars, robots, etc.) and the first uses of facial recognition. The latter was intended to filter access to certain places (by scanning the faces of athletes, journalists, etc.) using a system provided by the Japanese company NEC and the French Atos (also present at the Olympics 2024). Several associations had thus denounced, in July 2021, the danger of biometric surveillance deployed in Tokyo. If in Tokyo facial recognition has been implemented on an audience strongly limited by the health crisis, the Paris 2024 Olympics would be the first major event to deploy this type of device on millions of visitors.

Here are major events becoming security accelerators and transformers. They make it possible to bring certain hitherto illegal technologies and practices into common law, thus breaking the lock that was blocking their massification. In the middle of the vote, the Drone 2 law should be placed in the context of the future Olympic Games: the Ministry of the Interior has already purchased 600 drones and would like to be able to use them for the Olympic Games.

Industrialists and government hand in hand

The French government does not intend to miss its 2024 meeting either. Michel Cadot, the interministerial delegate for the Games, thus considers that “the question of security is a priority” when, for his part, the prefect Pierre Leutaud underlines that ” technological innovations will be a major asset”. Last September, Jean-Michel Mis, MP for the majority, submitted an entire report to the Prime Minister aimed at the legalization of these new surveillance devices, pushing for the adoption of a law facilitating biometric surveillance for the Games.

It is even clearer on the side of the security industry, who have come together in a committee called “GICAT” – “Grouping of French defense and land and air-land security industries” – a pressure lobby on the public authorities aimed at facilitating the deployment of their monitoring devices. Its delegate, Gérard Lacroix, has no problem emphasizing that the Olympic Games will be an essential issue for French companies and that he intends to make parliamentarians understand the need to “change certain texts” that are too restrictive. Understand: the texts that protect freedoms.

Other lobbies, those of the “Comité Filière Industrielle de sécurité” for “COFIS” (a sort of institutional link between the main security industries and the government) and the “Safe Cluster” (a “competitive cluster for security and safety sectors”), both directly at the origin of a lobby site “I innovate for the Olympics”.

Finally, it should be noted that the State has already begun to financially support these projects. As we wrote here, the National Research Agency (ANR) has already funded several million euros for experiments in automated video surveillance (surveillance of social networks, suspicious movements, facial recognition), even though the most of these projects are purely illegal.

Upstream preparations: crazy experiments

The Olympic Games have been preparing for a long time and the Rugby World Cup in 2023 seems to be looming to be a kind of security dress rehearsal. But before that, we must develop the technologies, train the agents who will use them and anticipate the reactions of the public. It is first of all a question of financing, of experimenting in real size with illegal technologies. While the legislative framework does not authorize in any case – for the moment – ​​this type of processing of biometric data, manufacturers and public authorities go through the very convenient process of “experiments”. These, by their temporal and spatial framing, would make surveillance (and the violation of the law) more “acceptable” – this is moreover the whole angle taken by Jean-Michel Mis in his techno-police report.

Thus, from 2020, experiments were planned and confirmed in France, in particular to try facial recognition devices. In Metz, in 2020, a facial recognition device was tested at the entrance to the stadium, drawing criticism from the CNIL (for the illegality of the project) and from supporters.

This was also the case during the Roland Garros tournament in the fall of 2020, where the French Tennis Federation (FFT), in partnership with the Strategic Committee for the “Security Industries” sector and the JOP 2024 brand team, hosted several experiments, as announced in the Senate.

Municipalities take the opportunity to join the security agenda

Beyond these experiments, several local authorities are getting organized to fundamentally transform their security arsenal. This is the case of Élancourt, which will host certain Olympic Games competitions and which signed a contract in 2019 with the company GENETEC to experiment with new types of video surveillance. The city’s objective is even to become a “showcase” for the company, with a new police station for 2024.

This is also the case of Saint-Denis, where a brand new urban supervision center (CSU) was created in 2021. The technical park, now equipped with 93 cameras, will be expanded to reach 400 cameras in 2024 for the Olympic Games. And elected officials are already planning to equip video surveillance with artificial intelligence to automate the detection of offenses.

Thus, elected officials are taking the opportunity to renew their surveillance systems and accelerate the installation of technologies, surfing on the security wave.

Fighting against the Olympic Games and the world they embody

For a long time, the Olympic Games have raised reluctance and protests from the inhabitants of the cities hosting the events, cracking the perfectly polished image produced by the IOC and the metropolises. Over the years, struggles against the Olympic Games and the world they represent have multiplied and been coordinated around the world.

In France, the NO to the 2024 Olympics and Saccage 2024 collectives emphasize the social, ecological and security plunder of the 2024 Olympics. a solarium attached to a training pool. A land occupation had even been launched. Until the expulsion of the activists and the destruction of these gardens, a few days before part of the project was declared illegal by the courts. Events are organized, as here, in Aubervilliers, on October 16, to face the Olympic aggression whether it is the case of Aubervilliers, other cities or more generally questions of surveillance (read the forum “No to Big Brother Olympic”).

Conclusion

Next week will open in Paris the Milipol exhibition, one of the largest international internal security exhibitions. An international meeting of repression. The cream of French technology will be exhibited: Thalès, Evitech, Two I, Atos and Idémia. On the program in particular, a return to the G7 in Biarritz, considered a model to follow in terms of managing major events. Inspiration for the 2024 Olympics?

Source: La Quadrature

The Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018 (codified at 6 U.S.C. § 124n) provides DOJ with a tailored grant of authority for authorised DOJ components such as the FBI to take appropriate and lawful action against unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft systems that threaten the safety and security of the public, covered facilities and assets, and DOJ missions, consistent with the Constitution, applicable federal laws and regulations, and department policy. 

“Drones are an amazing technology that offer great commercial promise, but they also present a serious challenge to ensuring public safety,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen.  “As events return during and after this global pandemic, we will be out in force where needed, collaborating with our partners from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, to protect the public from unsafe, careless, or malicious drone operators.”

From Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2020, the FBI has provided counter-UAS support at dozens of events, including national-level sporting events such as Super Bowl LIV in Miami, the 2019 World Series, and the 2020 Rose Bowl Game, as well as at other major events that draw large crowds like Washington, D.C.’s A Capitol Fourth and New York City’s New Year’s celebration.  During this period, the FBI has detected over 200 UAS unlawfully flying in national security airspace restricted by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration for such events and has taken corrective action. 

“The FBI is heavily invested in ensuring public safety at special events, and we are engaged, with our federal, state, and local partners, to ensure UAS do not pose a threat to these events,” said FBI Executive Assistant Director Terry Wade.  “The FBI remains committed to identifying, investigating, and disrupting the careless or criminal use of UAS.” 

Operators who violate the national security-related flight restrictions put in place to protect these events risk facing criminal charges.  This past fiscal year authorities arrested and charged drone operators with violating a national defense airspace Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR), in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 46307.  For example, in the lead up to Super Bowl LIV, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida charged two drone operators with flying drones in national defense airspace. 

In addition, the FBI has seized about a dozen UAS based on violations of flight restrictions at events during fiscal year 2020.

The department is particularly committed to preventing and prosecuting the increased use of drones for criminal purposes.  Last October, Eric Lee Brown was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after attempting to use a drone to deliver marijuana to a state prison in Georgia.  In March of this year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced charges against two men for conspiring to smuggle contraband into a federal correctional facility using drones.  These two cases illustrate the department’s effort to prevent, deter, and prosecute the use of drones to smuggle contraband into federal and state prisons. 

The department is also committed to prosecuting drone operators who use unmanned aircraft to facilitate violence.  The five-year prison sentence imposed last month on Jason Muzzicato, who used an unregistered drone to drop improvised explosive devices in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, among other offenses, reflects this commitment.

On Sept. 28, 2020 the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon announced that two individuals were charged with flying a drone within national defense airspace during civil disorder events in Portland, Oregon. 

The department has expanded its use of counter-UAS technology and anticipates that, if violations still occur, its prosecutions will continue to increase.  As UAS become more common in our everyday lives, and offer many potential benefits, the need to operate UAS responsibly is paramount.

Source: US Justice