• Model Used to Evaluate Lockdowns Was Flawed

    In a recent study, researchers from Imperial College London developed a model to assess the effect of different measures used to curb the spread of the coronavirus. A new study, published in Nature, however, claims that the model had fundamental shortcomings and cannot be used to draw the published conclusions.

  • Modeling Can Help Balance Economy, Health During Pandemic

    Using mathematical modeling, new interdisciplinary research determines the best course of action when it comes to walking the line between economic stability and the best possible health outcomes. The model indicates that of the scenarios they consider, communities could maximize economic productivity and minimize disease transmission if, until a vaccine were readily available, seniors mostly remained at home while younger people gradually returned to the workforce.

  • U.S. Cybersecurity Firm FireEye Hit By “Nation-State” Attack, Russia Suspected

    Prominent U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye says it has recently been targeted by hackers with “world-class capabilities,” believing that the hacking was state-sponsored. In a blog post, FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia said the hackers broke into its network and stole tools used for testing customers’ security. “The attacker primarily sought information related to certain government customers,” Mandia wrote, without naming them.

  • Russian Government Hackers Exploit Known Vulnerability in Virtual Workspaces

    The National Security Agency (NSA) released a Cybersecurity Advisory on Monday, detailing how Russian state-sponsored actors have been exploiting a vulnerability in VMware products to access protected data on affected systems.

  • Brain Drain: China’s Campaign of Intellectual Property Theft

    Hundreds of scientists at British universities, who would be banned from almost all postgraduate study in the United States over their ties to military-linked Chinese universities, are currently researching subjects which involve knowledge useful to the creation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. A new reportexplores the number of individuals researching seven subjects considered particularly sensitive by the U.K.’s Academic Technology Approval Scheme.

  • IBM Detects Hacking Ploy to Target COVID Vaccine Supply

    Researchers from technology giant IBM say hackers have tried to collect information on the global initiative for distributing coronavirus vaccine to developing countries. They said a nation state appeared to be involved.

  • Study Identifies Reasons for Soaring Nuclear Plant Cost Overruns in the U.S.

    Analysis points to ways engineering strategies could be reimagined to minimize delays and other unanticipated expenses. Many analysts believe nuclear power will play an essential part in reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases, and finding ways to curb these rising costs could be an important step toward encouraging the construction of new plants.

  • The China Initiative: Year-in-Review

    On the two-year anniversary of the Department of Justice’s China Initiative, the Department said it continues its focus on the Initiative’s goals, and announced progress during the past year in disrupting and deterring the wide range of national security threats posed by the policies and practices of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government.

  • Surveillance State: Why Zhenhua Data Is Researching Irish People for the Chinese Government

    An obscure Chinese company with close ties to the Chinese intelligence services was found to have collected detailed information on 963 influential Irish people. The Irish dataset is part of the company 2.4 million-strong database, consisting of influential people from practically every country in the world. Intelligence specialists say China’s goal is to identify potential weaknesses that could be exploited to advance China’s interests.

  • Help Wanted: The Cybersecurity Workforce of the Future Starts with Students Today

    Today’s critical infrastructure systems from farm fields planted with digital sensors that track soil moisture and nutrient levels to electric power grids equipped to instantly respond to digital signals about shifts in supply and demand are increasingly vulnerable to attacks that could cripple civil society, according to cybersecurity experts. Today, there are nearly 2 million U.S. job openings in the field of cybersecurity, studies indicate.

  • New Body Armor Offers Better Knife Protection

    The number of knife attacks in Britain has increased over the past few years, while police officers and correctional personnel must contend with an increasing threat from makeshift weapons, such as shanks and spikes. PPSS Group the other day announced a replacement for their polycarbonate-based stab resistant body armor. According to company CEO Robert Kaiser, the new body armor is lighter, thinner, more effective, and more functional.

  • Coronavirus: Sweden Keeps Its Laid-Back COVID-19 Strategy

    Despite rising infection rates, Sweden is sticking to its relatively relaxed approach to managing the coronavirus pandemic. But not everyone in the country is pleased with this tactic.

  • Odds and Evens: A Strategy for Safely Exiting Lockdown 2

    Should lockdowns be reimposed, and, if so, for how long? A key difficulty for governments in finding the right answer is that they do not know with any certainty how transmission rates might increase if restrictions are removed. Based on our research, we believe there is a case for a cyclic lockdown policy, which could help control the spread of COVID-19 and also provide evidence to help predict the future much better.

  • Plenty More Phish: Why Employees Fall for Scams and What Companies Can Do about It

    Preventive countermeasures to phishing emails may actually increase the likelihood of employees falling for such scams, a new academic study reveals. Protective controls, such as email proxy, anti-malware and anti-phishing technologies, can give employees a false sense of security, causing them to drop their vigilance because they incorrectly assume such measures intercept all phishing emails before they reach their inbox.

  • Most Surprising Thing about a New Report Showing Climate Change Imperils the U.S. Financial System Is That the Report Even Exists

    As an expert on the impacts of climate change, I contributed to a recent report that examined what climate change means for the U.S. financial system. Our report includes many important findings and recommendations, perhaps most notably that the U.S. financial system is imperiled by climate change. The report’s greatest significance, though, may be that it exists at all.