Our picksU.S. missile defense system hackable; surge in foreign-influence prosecutions; bump stock ban, and more

Inspectors find big cyber vulnerabilities in U.S. missile defense system (Patrick Tucker, Defense One)
The managers of the nation’s missile defense system aren’t implementing basic cybersecurity practices, according to a new inspector report.

Seizure drug approval expands countermeasures for chemical weapons attack (Global Biodefense)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in Sep 2018 of the drug Seizalam (midazolam injection) as an anti-seizure medication, provided the nation with a medical countermeasure (MCM) for people exposed to chemicals that cause prolonged seizures, whether those situations are in combat, domestic accidents or an intentional attack.

The death of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin in Border Patrol custody isn’t an isolated outrage (Dara Lind, Vox)
It raises uncomfortable questions about when the US is responsible for migrants’ deaths.

A surge in foreign-influence prosecutions (Natasha Bertrand, The Atlantic)
Authorities indict two former associates of Michael Flynn for acting as illegal agents of the Turkish government in the United States.

The Iran hacks cybersecurity experts feared may be here (Lily Hay Newman, Wired)
In May, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the 2015 nuclear agreement, negotiated by the Obama Administration, designed to keep Iran from developing or acquiring nuclear weapons. As part of that reversal, the Trump administration reimposed economic sanctions on Iran. From the start, the US actions stoked tensions and fear of Iranian retaliation in cyberspace. Now, some see signs that the pushback has arrived.
Iranian state-sponsored hacking never stopped entirely; it has continually targeted neighbors in the Middle East, and often focused on the energy sector. But while concrete attribution remains elusive, a wave of recent digital attacks has led some security analysts to suggest that Iranian state-sponsored hackers may have ramped up their digital assaults against the US and Europe as well.

Gun rights group says it will sue over bump stock ban (Lydia Wheeler, The Hill)
Gun Owners of America and its foundation said Tuesday they will challenge the Trump administration’s new ban on bump stocks and seek a court order to block the rule. After the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a final rule Tuesday to ban the device, which allows a semi-automatic weapon to be fired much more rapidly, the gun rights group said it will challenge the rule in court.

So many migrant children are detained, government could run out of room in 30 days (Irwin Ledrener, Daily Beast)
Onerous new procedures have created a bottleneck, keeping more than 15,000 unaccompanied minors in facilities that are at full capacity.

Forecast of more rain, flooding via El Nino this winter to Houston (Paul Takahashi, Houston Chronicle)
The National Weather Service forecasts an 80 percent chance for a weak to moderate El Niño this winter, starting around Christmas and lasting through February. In Houston, El Niño means a warmer and wetter winter that could have more severe storms and a higher risk of localized flooding.