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Finding the needle in a haystack
Video cameras are popping up everywhere; on a typical day out in a big city a person could be filmed by hundreds of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras; the combined output of all these systems is far greater than the capacity of security staff to watch all the images; an Israeli company is offering a solution which makes searching through video images easy; in some cases, twenty-four hours of video from a security camera can be searched in under a minute
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Using location-based services to protect infrastructure
Location-based services (LBS) have enabled marketing firms to alert mobile phone users of nearest coffee shops and eateries as well as help phone owners find their geographical location on hand-held mapping devices; now, location based service enabled phones can help protect critical infrastructure facilities by alerting authorities about threats and giving them time to apprehend intruders
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Fireballs neutralize biological weapons
A California company will develop fireballs that can neutralize biological weapons and infrared decoy flares that are nearly invisible to the naked eye; the company, the fireballs are among the counter-terrorism tools that Exquadrum plans to start testing soon at four abandoned military bunkers in Victorville, California
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Engineering competition features Blue Tooth-capable trebuchet
During the first Storm the Citadel Trebuchet Competition in Charleston over the weekend, Google employees combined Android cell phones, a computer the size of a credit card, and a Blue Tooth receiver to trigger a medieval weapon used in the twelfth century to destroy enemy fortifications
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New association for maritime security industry formed
Maritime security consultant Peter Cook recently announced the formation of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI); SAMI will help establish rules and regulations in the fledgling maritime security industry; the maritime security industry has grown rapidly in recent years, but has suffered from lack of regulation and rapid expansion; the industry’s reputation has been tarnished with incidents of hired security firms abandoning ships when pirates attack leading to long periods of captivity for the ship’s crew; to prevent these incidents from occurring and to uphold the reputation of the industry, SAMI will vet maritime security companies, establish standards, and ensure that its members comply with established standards
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Tainted apps make their way into official Android store
More than fifty applications have been found to be infected with a new type of Android malware called DroidDream, an information stealer; fraudsters repackaged legitimate apps (mostly games) so that they included malicious code before uploading them to the marketplace; the tactic has been seen in mobile marketplaces in China and elsewhere but this is the first time the approach has been successfully applied in the United States
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ASIS and (ISC)2 join forces for annual security conference and more
(ISC)2 will hold its first annual Security Congress in conjunction with ASIS International’s 57th annual Seminar and Exhibits conference in Orlando, Florida; the combined events are expected to attract more than 20,000 security professionals from around the world; during the conference the two organizations will jointly offer certification seminars for various security and technology-related credentials; (ISC)2 and ASIS signed a deal to work together and leverage their mutual strengths and membership bases; beyond the conference, the two organizations will work together on developing educational programming, research, and legislative issues; the ASIS International conference will be held from 19 September 2011 to 22 September 2011
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Kenya orders 100,000 more biometric ID cards from OTI
On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) recently received an additional order for 100,000 of its MediSmart healthcare biometric ID cards; the cards were purchased by Kenya’s Smart Applications International Ltd. (SMART) for use in medical facilities across Kenya; the card contains a microchip that stores a patient’s name, picture, signature, and medical treatment records; SMART has already issued an estimated 200,000 MediSmart cards to combat fraud
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China races to claim Arctic resources
As temperatures around the world continue to rise and the ice in the Arctic Ocean melts, the once frozen seas are increasingly open for exploration and countries have been scrambling to claim the region’s vast resources; several countries including Canada, the United States, and Russia have all sought to expand their territorial claims over the region and now new countries like China are pushing in; Chinese researchers recently sailed to within 120 nautical miles of the North Pole; only a few years prior, this trip would have been impossible due to the thick ice in the ocean that can be more than 30 feet thick; scientists estimate that during the summer months, the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free by as early as 2013 or as late as 2060
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Acoustic gunfire detection devices heading to the field
Technological developments may one day create artificial soldiers, but until they come along, the United States and other countries will continue to rely on human soldiers; the militaries thus want to preserve as many of their soldier’s lives as possible; to that end, Shoulder-Worn Acoustic Targeting System (SWATS), which helps Marines zero in on enemy sniper fire, is a godsend to the United States; asymmetric warfare favors the forces that can strike and runaway unharmed, but with plentiful acoustic sensors in the field it will be that much harder for snipers to ambush U.S. soldiers and live to escape
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Law enforcement, and domain name registrars discuss ways to tackle net crooks
Police and other law enforcement agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom are increasingly turning their attention to domain names as an Internet choke-point that can be used to shut down Web sites selling counterfeit goods and enabling the trading of pirated movies and child pornography
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Are your phones really secure?
Breakthroughs in technology have enabled malicious actors to listen in on any conversation using your phone even when not in use; eavesdroppers have circumvented encrypted audio channels by relying on a relatively simple principle in physics — resonance; by tapping into an object’s natural resonance, spies have turned phones and phone cables into listening devices even when they are not in use; researchers at Teo, a manufacturer of secure telecommunications equipment, were able to capture human voices using standard phones, unplugged Ethernet cables, or even a rock; to address this security gap, Teo has designed its IP TSG-6 phones with special vibration dampening circuitry and materials that render them impervious to these types of listening devices
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Android apps send private data in the clear
Cell phones running the Android operating system fail to encrypt data sent to and from Facebook and Google Calendar, shortcomings that could jeopardize hundreds of millions of users’ privacy; Facebook’s recently unveiled always-on SSL encryption setting to prevent snooping over insecure networks — but the encryption is no good, meaning that all private messages, photo uploads, and other transactions are visible to eavesdroppers
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Harris Corp. awarded $9 million Army contract to boost biodefense
The U.S. Army recently signed a $9 million deal with Harris Corp. to bolster the army’s biological defense capabilities; Harris will provide the Army’s Joint Biological Point Detection System (JBPDS) with its advanced Falcon II AN/PRC-150 high-frequency radio system; the radio system is capable of detecting and identifying biological warfare agents and will automatically send alerts to headquarters when it senses the presence of these agents; JBPDS is a portable self-contained unit designed to automatically detect and identify airborne biological agents
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Border bottlenecks hamper trade
Last year, U.S. exports to Mexico totaled $163 billion, and imports from Mexico totaled $229.6 billion; nearly 80 percent of that trade crosses through land border ports on trucks and railcars; the 1.8-million strong Border Trade Alliance says bottlenecks at border crossings hamper this trade and make it more costly to grow it; the Alliance urges Congress and the Obama administration to invest in border ports of entry, including hiring more staff; Obama’s proposed 2011 budget includes only 300 new Customs and Border Protection officers, while Republicans propose shrinking the Border Patrol by 870 agents
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More headlines
The long view
Ransomware Attacks: Death Threats, Endangered Patients and Millions of Dollars in Damages
A ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a company that processes 15 billion health care transactions annually and deals with 1 in 3 patient records in the United States, is continuing to cause massive disruptions nearly three weeks later. The incident, which started on February 21, has been called the “most significant cyberattack on the U.S. health care system” by the American Hospital Association. It is just the latest example of an increasing trend.
Chinese Government Hackers Targeted Critics of China, U.S. Businesses and Politicians
An indictment was unsealed Monday charging seven nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their involvement in a PRC-based hacking group that spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in furtherance of the PRC’s economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives.
European Arms Imports Nearly Double, U.S. and French Exports Rise, and Russian Exports Fall Sharply
States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms (+94 per cent) between 2014–18 and 2019–23. The United States increased its arms exports by 17 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while Russia’s arms exports halved. Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France.
LNG Exports Have Had No Impact on Domestic Energy Costs: Analysis
U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports have not had any sustained and significant direct impact on U.S. natural gas prices and have, in fact, spurred production and productivity gains, which contribute to downward pressure on domestic prices.