Trigger Point: RFID Technology is Vulnerable

Jim Giermanski of Powers International says that the Department of Homeland Security needs to rethink its support for RFID technology. In an article first published in the October / November edition of Cargo Security International, Giermanski makes a powerful argument to back up his position. Also, an important but disturbing video presentation outlines and provides accentuation of a recent article written by Giermanski. Giermanski begins by saying: There comes a time when one’s conscience and sense of right and wrong compel one to speak, especially if speaking may impact the common good in a positive manner. However, often and especially in this case, speaking out can also carry potential negative consequences. On the one hand, the following commentary will expose a serious vulnerability at US seaports and land ports-of-entry in the hope that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will understand the potential consequences of the vulnerability and the cost of not addressing it. On the other hand, speaking out carries the risk of identifying a vulnerability that terrorists have not considered, although that is unlikely considering their skill in improvised explosive device (IED) usage. The dilemma is this: speak out to prompt the DHS to acknowledge its seriousness and defeat the vulnerability; or say nothing, and let a terrorist attack take out a significant US port with relative ease. I have decided to speak out. On the WEB: www.cargosecurityinternational.com On the WEB: www.powersintlinc.com About the Author: Dr. James R. Giermanski A former Regents Professor at Texas A&M International University, Dr. Jim Giermanski is now Professor of International Business and Director of Centre for Global Commerce at Belmont Abbey College. He has been chosen as the International Educator of the Year by the National Association of Small Business International Trade Educators and has been appointed to the graduate faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In conjunction with the Professional Examination Service (PES) and Bradley University, he was a member of the International Practice Analysis Committee of the NASBITE Task Force that developed the International Trade Specialist Certificate. He is also a reviewer for the Transportation Research Board, U.S. National Research Council. He served as Director of Transportation and Logistics Studies, Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade at Texas A&M International University. Dr. Giermanski is co-inventor and holds a patent in the U.S. and in the European Union on container security and consults often on international transportation and transportation security, border logistics, and trade matters involving Mexico. He has frequently given invited testimony on NAFTA, transportation, and other international business issues before the U.S. Senate and House, the Texas Senate and House, EPA, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. He served as the co-chairman of the Texas Transportation Committee of the Task Force to prepare for NAFTA, sat for 5 years on the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s Trans-border Trucking International Working Group, and for three years as a member of the Research Advisory Committee on Management and Policy, Technical Advisory Panel, Texas Department of Transportation. He has been requested to serve as a border expert to assist the Arizona Department of Transportation in developing concepts and practices to improve the border crossing activities on the Arizona-Mexico border, and at the request of the White House, Council of Economic Advisors, he provided information on trade issues and barriers on the southern border. He has authored over 100 articles, books, and monographs and has given over 100 presentations. He has been published extensively on transportation and trade issues and for five years wrote the International Insight column in Logistics Management. In addition to his scholarly writing, he has been published in the Journal of Commerce, El Financiero, Traffic World, Strategic Finance, Transport Topics, Tax Notes International, and Cargo Security International. He has been interviewed by and quoted in over 50 national and international publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Forbes, the Financial Times, Christian Science Monitor, and has appeared nationally as a special guest on the FOX News Channel’s Special Report with Brit Hume, CNN, NBC, CBS, NPR, BBC, Voice of America and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in addition to many local and regional affiliates. Finally, with his background as a former FBI special agent, OSI special agent and a Colonel in the Office of Special Investigations where he handled counterintelligence matters, Dr. Giermanski is Chairman of the Board of Powers International, Inc., an international transportation security company. He currently provides transportation security lectures on C-TPAT, and other Customs and Border Protection (CBP) programs. Dr. Giermanski has a Masters degree from the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, a Masters from Florida International University, and a Doctorate from the University of Miami. He is a graduate of Air Command and Staff College, and The Air War College while also serving as a visiting scholar at the Center of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education, an Air Force think tank.