Homeland Security Today

11/11/2025

❄️🎉 The wait is over! We have officially announced the 2025 Holiday Hero Award Winners! ❄️

These incredible leaders and organizations are being recognized for their dedication, innovation, and service to our homeland and national security missions. 🇺🇸✨

Check out the full list of winners here:
🔗 https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/border-security/gtscs-homeland-security-today-announces-2025-holiday-hero-award-winners/

❄️ Stay tuned throughout the week as we share exclusive write-ups celebrating each honoree!

🎊 Join us December 11th to celebrate the winners in person and connect with the homeland security community:
🔗 https://members.gtscoalition.com/events/Details/hstoday-s-2025-holiday-hero-awards-1522207?sourceTypeId=Website

Washington, D.C., November 11 — Homeland Security Today, the premier non-profit information source for homeland security news, analysis, and insights, announced selections for the 2025 Homeland Security Holiday Hero Awards, including Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Benjamine "Carry" Huffman, Act...

07/11/2025

❄️✨ A Huge Thank You to Amivero! ✨❄️

We are proud to recognize Amivero as the exclusive Platinum Sponsor of the HSToday Holiday Hero Awards — a celebration of the extraordinary individuals who dedicate themselves to the safety and security of our nation. 🇺🇸

After a two-month nomination process, we received more nominations than ever before, with the highest caliber of candidates yet. The choices were incredibly difficult — because so many in our homeland security community are doing vital, often unseen work to protect our nation.

Thanks to the support of partners like Amivero, we’re able to honor these remarkable leaders who safeguard our homeland — from cyber to counter–human trafficking, from information sharing and data protection to disaster response and beyond.

✨ The list of this year’s Holiday Hero Award winners goes live Monday! ✨

Join us as we celebrate the heroes who keep our nation safe — and be part of an unforgettable evening of gratitude, connection, and inspiration!

🥂 Toasts, Centerpieces, and the Platinum sponsorships are all SOLD OUT!

But there’s still time to grab your table today and share in the celebration with leaders from across the homeland security community.

31/10/2025

As we wrap up Cybersecurity Awareness Month, HSToday is looking ahead to what’s next for cybersecurity.

GTSC Steering Committee Member Ben Shotzberger offers timely insight into the formal launch of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), taking effect November 10, 2025.

His article — with a forward by Ken Bible, former DHS Chief Information Security Officer and HSToday Editorial Board Member — explores how CMMC will reshape expectations for contractors across the Defense Industrial Base and beyond.

Read the full piece here: https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/cybersecurity/cmmc-implementation-in-the-war-department-what-it-means-for-national-security-and-federal-contractors/

Learn what CMMC is, how it developed, and why defense and DHS contractors should prepare for expanding federal cybersecurity certification requirements.

31/10/2025

🚨 The 5th Edition of Pracademic Affairs is LIVE! 🚨

We’re proud to share the latest issue of Pracademic Affairs — a peer-reviewed eJournal dedicated to bridging the gap between academic research and real-world homeland security and emergency management practice.

This milestone 5th Edition features actionable insights and innovative thinking, including:

🔹 Valuing the Invisible Shield: A Guide to Real Options Analysis for Emergency Management Investments
🔹 From Priority to Policy Choice: Reading Between FEMA’s Funding Lines When the Threat Persists
🔹 One Health, One Plan: Embedding Wildlife Conservation and Ecology in Local and State Emergency Management
🔹 The Science of Connecting: Partnering with National Laboratories for Homeland Security
🔹 The Role of AVs in Strengthening COOP: Challenges and Opportunities
🔹 Predictive AI at the Tactical Edge: Lessons from Operationalizing Emergency Management During Civil Unrest
🔹 Improving the Request for Assistance (RFA) Process in Hawaii’s State Emergency Operations Center

Each article reflects the mission of Pracademic Affairs: combining theory with operational experience to improve decision-making when it matters most.

📘 Read the new edition here: https://www.hstoday.us/pracademics/2025
🌐 Explore past issues: https://www.hstoday.us/pracademics/
✉️ Sign up for updates: http://hstoday.us/newsletters-signup/

29/10/2025

Coming Friday: The 5th Edition of Pracademic Affairs!

Pracademic Affairs was created to bridge the long-recognized gap between theory and practice in homeland security and emergency management.

The upcoming issue features articles on the intersection of innovation and policy — from AI-driven crisis response (Predictive AI at the Tactical Edge) to integrating ecology in disaster planning (One Health, One Plan), and evaluating preparedness investments (Valuing the Invisible Shield).

Don’t miss this latest release! Sign up now to make sure you’re on the list!
https://www.hstoday.us/newsletters-signup/

28/10/2025

Today, on National First Responders Day, we pay tribute to the men and women who rush toward danger when others flee.

First responders – including police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and, don’t forget, public works professionals (often among the first to arrive to assess and mitigate immediate hazards) – put their lives on the line daily to protect and serve their communities. The day serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by these professionals and their families, and the critical role they play in maintaining public safety.

Today we celebrate the achievements of Chief Morales, who was named Law Enforcement Leader of the Year by the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Foundation! Chief Morales' leadership philosophy centers on fostering relationships and building trust: qualities that have made him a role model for aspiring law enforcement professionals nationwide.

https://www.hstoday.us/first-responders/miami-police-chief-morales-law-enforcement-leader-of-the-year-award-spotlighted-on-national-first-responders-day/

27/10/2025

🔍 When data breaks, oversight breaks.

The DHS Inspector General’s March 2025 report (OIG-25-21) revealed that ICE couldn’t effectively track unaccompanied children after federal custody — not because of missing effort, but missing integrity. Fragmented systems, weak identifiers, and inconsistent fields turned responsibility into information risk.

In their new piece for HSToday, Timothy Coleman and Cristian Keroles argue that this is a solvable problem. By using open semantic standards, ontologies, and constraint validation, DHS can transform oversight from after-the-fact detective work to front-door prevention.

👉 https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/federal-government/fixing-dhs-case-data-with-open-semantic-standards/

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) investigative work lives and dies by data integrity.

24/10/2025

🚨 Hiring? Post your openings on the HSToday Job Board! 🚨

With our API access, it’s easier than ever to connect your listings directly to the HSToday audience: a network of homeland security professionals, innovators, and mission-driven experts ready to make an impact.

Now is the time to reach top talent, including skilled Feds recently affected by RIFs and restructuring. These are experienced professionals who know the mission and are looking for their next opportunity to serve.

Post your jobs today and tap into one of the most trusted hubs for homeland security career!

🔗 https://www.hstoday.us/jobs/

23/10/2025

💡 Homegrown hardware doesn’t equal homegrown AI.

In their latest piece, Tanvi Singh and Dr. Thomas Cellucci, unpack a critical truth: sovereignty in AI isn’t about where your data lives — it’s about who controls your models, how they’re trained, and whose values they reflect.

Outsourced models mean outsourced judgment. True AI sovereignty demands ownership of the full cognitive stack — from data to model to alignment.

Because the model is the mission.

Read the full article here: https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/ai-and-advanced-tech/sovereign-ai-how-states-and-institutions-have-to-take-back-their-digital-intelligence/

Governments and businesses globally are spending billions to develop homegrown data centers, homegrown compute clusters, and homegrown national infrastructure for AI.

21/10/2025

🛡️ As we approach November…

We’re proud to welcome Brian Harrell as Homeland Security Today’s lead for National Critical Infrastructure Security & Resilience Month (NCSRM)!

A national security leader and Chief Security Officer, Brian brings deep experience across cybersecurity, physical security, and resilience — and will be highlighting key issues like AI, insider threats, third-party risk, and the convergence of cyber and physical threats.

💡 Have insights to share?
Submit your thought leadership, best practices, or lessons learned to HSToday to be featured during November!

SEE THE REQUEST HERE: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/November-Is-Near---Share-Your-Experience-with-us-this-National-Critical-Infrastructure-Resilience-Month-.html?soid=1137129700506&aid=3lHZsd9IjKI

20/10/2025

⏰ One week left!
Don’t miss your chance to nominate a Holiday Hero — someone who goes above and beyond to protect, serve, and strengthen our homeland.

NOMINATE HERE: https://gtscoalition.wufoo.com/forms/m1ibwdoc1i3c8b9/

The HSToday Holiday Hero Awards honor the selfless dedication of those working in homeland security, public safety, national security, and emergency management — the people who keep our nation safe while others celebrate the holidays.

Submit your nomination today and help us recognize the heroes who make a difference when it matters most.

17/10/2025

We’re already halfway through Cybersecurity Awareness Month—but it’s never too late to get engaged.

As Nitin NCSAM leader says, "Cybersecurity isn’t a light switch, it’s a bank of dimmer switches."
There’s no “easy button” or single tool that makes us secure. Each day, we all have the opportunity to move a switch up — enabling phishing-resistant MFA, addressing third-party risks, or even removing that sticky note with a password on it.

At Homeland Security Today, we’re spotlighting the people and practices that make a difference — and we invite you to join us. Share how you’re moving your own “dimmer switches” this month.

What steps are you taking to ?
https://conta.cc/3KNWVTY