Briefly noted

Published 24 September 2008

Aussie cyber security needs work… D.C. policy carry iPhones… Surveillance radar in Indonesian straits… HUD awards Iowa critical infrastructure funds…

Australia’s cybersecurity needs work
A previously unreleased report from Australia’s attorney-general’s department has urged the government to take action to curb the quick and ferocious nature of modern cyber-attacks.

D.C. police officers carry iPhones, Panasonic Toughbooks
An initiative spearheaded by Vivek Kundra, chief technology officer for the District of Columbia, is putting Apple’s smartphone — along with Panasonic Toughbook laptops — into the hands of public safety responders in a bid to make it easier for the police force to respond to incidents and process crime reports.

Four surveillance radars to be installed in Makassar Strait soon
Four surveillance radars provided by the United States will soon be installed in Indonesia’s Makassar Strait to enhance maritime security in one of Indonesia’s main archipelagic channels and in the ASEAN region in general, a minister said.

HUD funding to support housing, small business, and infrastructure programs
U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary Steve Preston today accepted an $85 million disaster plan from the State of Iowa to recover from severe storms, tornadoes and flooding earlier this year. Iowa intends to use the funding provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to restore damaged and destroyed housing, to stimulate small business recovery, and to repair public infrastructure.