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Roboboat to fight pirates
An American company has developed an automated counterpiracy system that could be outfitted to a vessel and set loose on patrol
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U.S. government takes leap into the Internet cloud
Vivek Kundra, the White House CIO, said wider adoption of cloud computing solutions would allow federal agencies to “fulfill their missions at lower cost, faster, and ultimately, in a more sustainable manner”
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How cloud computing can help the U.S. government -- and citizens
The administration has seen benefits in the way private industry uses cloud computing, and intends to mirror these benefits; ultimately, the idea is to make it simple for agencies to procure the applications they need
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Mafia's new business: sinking nuclear waste at sea
The Sicilian Mafia had muscled in on the lucrative business of radioactive waste disposal; to increase the profit margin, mafia operatives blow up and sink the ships at sea rather than process the nuclear waste on board
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U.S. Government recommends weighing laptop before and after visit to China
The U.S. government urges travelers to follow extremely strict policies for visits to China which extend far beyond standard software protection; the policies encourage them to leave their standard IT equipment at home and to buy separate gear only for use in China
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California police employs nonlethal weapon used against pirates
ATC’s long range acoustic device (LRAD) blast sounds at 150 decibels — 50 times the human threshold of pain — to fend off approaching pirates or massing insurgents; California law enforcement is now using the device at local political events
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Corps asked to scrap floodgate plans in Belle Chasse, Louisiana
There is a debate in Louisiana about the best way to protect homes in the Jesuit Bend area: the Army Corps of Engineers wants to build a floodgate — but this would leave some 1,400 homes unprotected; residents prefer an 8-mile levee
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DHS collects -- and keeps -- large amount of information on U.S. citizens traveling abroad
Are you an American citizen frequently traveling abroad? You may be surprised by how much of your personal information DHS collects — and stores; now you have a way of finding out
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Most expensive RAF aircraft in history takes to the skies
More than ten years ago BAE signed a contract to upgrade, by 2000, 21 Nimrod MR2s — the last De Havilland Comet airframes left flying in the world — so that they can perform antisubmarine duties; it is now nine years later, and the number of Nimrods was reduced from 21 to 9; the first of them, now renamed Nimrod MRA4, has just taken to the skies; cost to retrofit one plane: $660 million at current rates (not to mention to price for the original planes); the cost of the 9 Nimrods is equal to the cost of 3½ space shuttles
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NRC moves to allow more heavily armed nuclear facility guards
The U.S. Nuclear regulatory Commission (NRC) has moved to allow guards at U.S. nuclear facilities to be equipped with more “enhanced weapons,” including machine guns, short-barreled shotguns, or short-barreled rifles
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Troy, N.Y. police uses biometrics system to secure weapons
Police personnel in Troy, New York, will have to provide a a thumbprint for identification before checking out a Taser or a rifle to take on patrol
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Catalyst Interactive: Training for the security industry
A conversation with Catalyst Interactive managing director Ken Kroeger; “What the public sees are the people on the front line, but its important to remember that putting those people on the frontline requires a fair bit of investment to their training. That’s were we come into play — to make sure that those people have the skills and the attitude they need to do their jobs”
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Analyzing Congress's homeland security agenda
Heritage Foundation’s report offers useful analysis of what Congress should — and should not — do on the homeland security legal front
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Judge allows E-Verify rule to go into effect
The U.S. District Court for Maryland denied an injunction for another delay to five industry groups that are appealing the court’s earlier decision to allow implementation of the rule to go forward
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Saudi suicide bomber hid IED in his anal cavity
A al-Qaeda-affiliated Saudi suicide bomber, carrying explosives in his anal cavity, managed to get close to the Saudi deputy interior minister and detonate himself (the minister was unharmed); analysts fear this may be a new method of carrying explosives on a plane
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The long view
European ethno-nationalist and white supremacist movements thrive
More than seventy years after the defeat of Nazi Germany, ethno-nationalist and white supremacist movements in Europe continue to thrive. They include far-right political parties, neo-Nazi movements, and apolitical protest groups. Some groups openly espouse violent white supremacy, while others have propagated their radical stances under the guise of populism. Though not all of these groups directly link their ideologies to Nazism, their propaganda portrays immigrants and ethnic minorities in a similar manner to how Nazi propaganda portrayed Jews, blaming them for national economic troubles and depicting them as a serious threat to the broader national identity.
Deradicalization and countering violent extremism
Since the early 2000s, more than fifty countries have developed initiatives to counter violent extremism (CVE). Despite this, there still remains a lack of strong evidence on which interventions are effective. Researchers have reviewed the literature on CVE programs to give examples of what good CVE practice should look like.
White supremacist propaganda and events soared in 2018
White supremacists dramatically stepped up their propaganda efforts targeting neighborhoods and campuses in 2018, far exceeding any previous annual distribution count for the United States and showing how these extremist groups are finding ways to share hateful messages while hiding the identity of individual members.
Assessing the risk of violence by extremists
A new directory has been assembled from frameworks that have been developed in recent years to assess aspects of extremist violence, a term used to encompass terrorist violence that is framed by ideology and targeted violence that is framed by idiosyncratic beliefs. A new CREST report published today provides detail on several frameworks that are used to assess risks of extremist violence.
Biotechnology advances offer opportunities for actors with malicious intent
Over the past decade, the biotechnology economy has experienced remarkable growth, resulting in the rapid expansion of biological knowledge and application. These advances create openings for actors with malicious intent to harness readily available tools and techniques to create biological threats or bioweapons.
Populism, conspiracy, and the politics of misinformation
Europeans are being supplanted by foreign invaders, aided by cultural Marxists who are plotting an Islamist subversion of the continent. Angela Merkel is the secret daughter of Adolf Hitler, Barack Obama was illegitimate, and George W. Bush was in on the 9/11 attacks. These are just some of the tales that are told by populist political actors across Europe and the United States.