• Assessing the Risks of Existential Terrorism and AI

    Professor Gary Ackerman, associate dean at the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) at SUNY-Albany, recently published an article, “Existential Terrorism: Can Terrorists Destroy Humanity?” which he co-authored with Zachary Kallenborn of CSIS. The article explores the plausibility of terrorist organizations using emerging technologies such as AI to enact existential harm, including human extinction.

  • New Center for AI Security Research to study AI’s Impacts on Society, Security

    The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced the establishment of the Center for AI Security Research, or CAISER, to address threats already present as governments and industries around the world adopt artificial intelligence and take advantage of the benefits it promises in data processing, operational efficiencies and decision-making.

  • Wind and Solar Power Could Significantly Exceed Britain’s Energy Needs

    Britain’s energy needs could be met entirely by wind and solar, according to a policy brief from Oxford University. Wind and solar can provide significantly more energy than the highest energy demand forecasts for 2050 and nearly ten times current electricity demand (299 TWh/year). The research shows up to 2,896 TWh a year could be generated by wind and solar, against the demand forecast of 1,500 TWh/year.

  • The U.S. Government Should Stockpile More Critical Minerals

    The 2022 National Defense Strategy describes China as America’s “most consequential strategic competitor for the coming decades.” Yet, Gregory Wischer and Jack Little write, the United States is unprepared to fight a major war against the Chinese. “A longer, more intense U.S.-Chinese conflict over Taiwan would expose even deeper cracks in the defense industrial base and undermine the U.S. military’s ability to defeat the Chinese military: The United States lacks sufficient stocks of critical minerals to support the defense industrial base, from nickel in superalloys for jet engines to rare earth elements in magnets for guided munitions,” they write.

  • Tech War: Is Huawei's New Chip a Threat?

    The US-China chip war is heating up after Huawei launched a new phone featuring technology that Washington was hoping to keep out of China’s reach: China’s largest chipmaker SMIC has surprised the West by creating a homegrown 7nm chip. Will the United States respond with more sanctions?

  • Cyber Defenders: Interns Take on National Security Challenges

    Over the past two decades, nearly 500 undergraduates and graduate students in cybersecurity, computer science, computer engineering and related fields have worked on research projects, attended training courses and technical tours while receiving mentorship and unparalleled networking opportunities.

  • China’s Lead in Advanced Sensors Is Overwhelming

    China’s research in several advanced sensor technologies vital to military navigation and targeting is overwhelmingly ahead of the three AUKUS partners, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Even if the three team up with likeminded Indo-Pacific countries Japan and South Korea, they do not match the Chinese output in high-impact research.

  • DOE Invests $39 Million to Support a 21st Century Electric Grid

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $39 million for projects across DOE’s National Laboratories to help modernize the electricity grid. The investments will support the development and deployment of concepts, tools, and technologies needed to measure, analyze, predict, protect, and control the grid of the future while incorporating equity and the best available climate science.

  • With Automated Treatment, Affordable Water from Nontraditional Sources Can Flow to Underserved Communities

    Researchers are developing advanced automation techniques for desalination and water treatment plants, enabling them to save while providing affordable drinking water to small, parched communities without high-quality water supplies.

  • U.S. Investment in Semiconductor Manufacturing: Building the Talent Pipeline

    To reverse the three decade long decline in the United States’ share of semiconductor manufacturing, a concerted effort is required. Right now, the United States does not have the talent pool to support the ambitious goals of the August 2022 CHIPS Act.  

  • Walking the Artificial Intelligence and National Security Tightrope

    Artificial intelligence (AI) presents nations’ security as many challenges as it does opportunities. While it could create mass-produced malware, lethal autonomous weapons systems, or engineered pathogens, AI solutions could also prove the counter to these threats. Regulating AI to maximize national security capabilities and minimize the risks presented to them will require focus, caution and intent.

  • Sovereignty in Space

    The EU wants to establish its own satellite network by 2027, with the aim of increasing the resilience of the European communications infrastructure and gaining technological sovereignty in space. Achieving this will require novel solutions.

  • How Do We Dismantle Offshore Oil Structures Without Making the Public Pay?

    More than 12,000 offshore oil and gas installations straddle the globe, and industry analysts anticipate annual offshore oil and gas investments to reach $173 billion by 2024. A number of oil companies are expected to significantly expand their offshore drilling activities in the coming years. At the same time, many jurisdictions face a growing need to dismantle offshore infrastructure, whether because it is aging, the resources are depleted, or mandated net-zero strategies require some installations to be decommissioned earlier than expected.

  • A Review of NIST’s Draft Cybersecurity Framework 2.0

    Cybersecurity professionals, and anyone interested in cybersecurity, have noted that the gold standard of cybersecurity is getting a needed polish. “But all that glitters is not gold,” Melanie Teplinsky writes. NIST’s voluntary cybersecurity framework leaves organizations vulnerable to the nation’s most capable cyber adversaries. NIST’s proposed overhaul won’t change that.

  • Deepfake Threats Advisory from NSA, U.S. Federal Agencies

    The National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. federal agency partners have issued new advice on a synthetic media threat known as deepfakes. This emerging threat could present a cybersecurity challenge for National Security Systems (NSS), the Department of Defense (DoD), and DIB organizations.