Briefly noted

Deadly plague found in Grand Canyon
A study published in the journal Nature reported that about 60 percent of epidemics begin when a microbe makes the leap from an animal into a human. The latest example: Eric York, 37, a biologist at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, found a big cat lying motionless near the canyon’s South Rim. Determined to find out why the cat died, York operated on the cat. A few days later, he died. Both the cat and York died of pneumonic plague, a lung infection that spreads through a cough or a sneeze.

IG: USDA monitoring system improves IT security
The Agriculture Department has taken numerous steps to heighten program managers’ awareness of the need to implement effective information security, the department’s Office of Inspector General said.

France’s DGA issues multinational contract for lightweight UAV radar tech
As UAVs begin to take on a wider array of battlefield roles, the ability to carry radars for situational awareness, detection, and targeting will become more and more important.

Thales completes acquisition of U.K. encryption specialist
Defense equipment maker Thales announced it has completed its acquisition of encryption software specialist nCipher (Cambridge, England), for £50.7 million in cash. The Paris-based group said the acquisition reinforces its information and communications systems security business and enlarges its encryption products portfolio. “Following the successful acquisition of nCipher, we are now set to start the integration of the two businesses,” commented Alex Dorrian, CEO of Thales U.K. and EVP Thales International Operations. “We are looking forward to welcoming the nCipher employees into the Thales family and to strengthening Thales’s leadership in the information and communication security market.”

N.J. safer, but not safe from terrorists
Seven years after the 2001 terrorist attacks and just under two weeks before the nation names a replacement for its 9/11 president, New Jersey is safer but not safe, its top homeland-security official said Tuesday. Richard Canas, the state’s director of the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, said at a state-hosted counter-terror conference that tight financial times have federal, state and local responders looking for ways to share resources in their efforts against crime and terrorism - or as he said, “to make them smarter.”