The ‘homeland’ of homeland security does not refer only to America’s heartland. Indeed, the thousands of miles of US coastline are some of the most valuable – and vulnerable – of US commercial and residential communities. The complexities of harbor and coastline security are only now becoming fully appreciated, yet security in these areas is one of the most critical aspects of our overall homeland security. The accessibility of our nation’s ports of entry, or harbors, is a strong contributor to the US economy, but may very well be a key weakness when it comes to security. We are accustomed to relatively free transport of cargo and passengers into dozens of ports along US coastlines.
INTELLIGENCE FOR COASTLINE PROTECTION William C. Marra, Vice President and CTO of Tyco Telecommunications, looks at a scalable network approach to pushing back the borders
The dangers today, however, may not be from events as obvious as the arrival of large combat vessels. Much more subtle, but perhaps more devastating, threats to US harbors are possible today through transport vessels. The entry of conventional, biological, chemical or radiological weapons into our nation via sea vessels of any size along the extensive coastline, ports of entry or harbors, is today’s constant threat. Addressing this threat has resulted in considerable improvements in harbor protection methods, ranging from increased
16