• Michigan-based militia violent plot investigation included undercover FBI agent

    The Michigan-based Hutaree group planned to kill a large number of law enforcement officers by mimicking the manner in which IEDs are used in Iran and Afghanistan against American soldiers; the purpose was to trigger a wide-spread, violent revolt against the U.S. government; some of information about the group’s violent plans came from an undercover FBI agent

  • Nine in Michigan-based militia group sought Christian uprising in U.S.

    The FBI raids the homes of members of a Michigan-based militia and arrests nine; the group members are charged in plot to wage war with U.S.; the men planned to kill a law enforcement officer and then attack and bomb that officer’s funeral, where there was certain to be legions of law enforcement attending

  • Experts worry about resurgence of radical militias

    Experts say that discontent with the state of the U.S. economy, resentments of illegal immigrants, suspicions that health care-like bills are ushering in an age of “socialism” in America, and unease with the fact that the U.S. president is an African American — all mixed with a volatile brew of conspiracy theories — have swelled the ranks of extremist militia organizations, increased the vehemence of their hate rhetoric, and pushed some of their members to plan violent acts against the U.S. government

  • Russia braces for new wave of terror attacks in metropolitan areas

    Russia’s cities are bracing themselves for a renewed terrorist bombing campaign after two “black widow” suicide bombers launched a rush-hour attack on the Moscow metro killing 38 people and injuring 64; the Monday explosions were the deadliest suicide attacks in Moscow since 2004, when the bombing of a metro train killed 41

  • Moscow explosions: a small blip or long-term drag on the Russian economy?

    The terrorism behind the Moscow subway explosions could become an economic drag on the Russian economy if it changes perceptions of security risks in Russia; research shows that a sustained low-level terror campaign can raise long-term security concerns and hurt economic growth more than even a very dramatic single event: the 9/11 terror attacks punctured America’s sense of domestic security in a single day, but nevertheless, a year after the attacks, the U.S. economy was growing again; on the other hand, two decades of Basque terrorist activity in Spain — activity which caused far fewer fatalities than 9/11 — created a 10 percent drop in per capita gross domestic product in that area of Spain

  • Children must go through full body scanners at U.K. airports

    U.K. transport minister says that to exclude children from going through full body scanners risked undermining the security measures at U.K. airports; the government’s code of practice on the scanners said airport security staff had all been vetted, including a check of criminal and security service records

  • Top U.S. cyber official: cyber threat poses existential threat to U.S.

    Senior Obama administration official: “I am convinced that given enough time, motivation and funding, a determined adversary will always — always — be able to penetrate a targeted system”; as a result: “The cyber threat can be an existential threat — meaning it can challenge our country’s very existence, or significantly alter our nation’s potential”

  • U.K. police targets Internet cafés in anti-terror effort

    The U.K. police are testing a new tool in the fight against terrorism: surveillance of Internet cafés; owners and patrons are asked to watch for — and report to the authorities — suspicious behavior; owners are asked to scan the hard drives in their shop on a regular basis to look for suspicious browsing and communication patterns; monitoring of Internet cafés’ computer use has been tried in several
    countries, including India and the United States; civil libertarians worry that without a clear definition of suspicious behavior or suspicious Web
    browsing, individuals with outside-the-mainstream political or religious views may be targeted

  • First: Private security guards shoot and kill a Somali pirate

    More and more ships sailing through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden hire private security guards for protection; on Tuesday, private security guards on a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship shot and killed a Somali pirate; the killed pirate was part of a group of pirates using high-speed skiffs controlled by a mother ship

  • DHS to work with ISP to test Einstein 3 cyber security system

    DHS will work with a commercial ISP to test the partially classified Einstein 3 system; Einstein 3 is designed to do real-time, deep packet inspection and threat-based decision making on data traffic entering or leaving federal agency networks

  • Smartphones, PDAs may be used to avoid long security lines at airports

    TSA is looking at installing devices in airports that home in and detect personal electronic equipment; the goal is to track how long people are stuck in security lines; information about wait times could then be posted on Web sites and in airports across the United States; civil libertarians worry

  • Bluetooth signals monitor airport security-line waiting times

    Purdue University researchers use Bluetooth signals from cell phones and other wireless devices to track how long it takes travelers to get through security lines at the Indianapolis International Airport; the data can be used to help airports make more accurate staffing decisions and aid security officials comparing wait times at airports across the country

  • Backlog at Baltimore crime lab a concern

    The Baltimore Police Department’s crime lab has a backlog of thousands of analysis requests — roughly 3,100 cases for testing bodily fluids, 3,000 cases for drug analysis, and more than 400 cases for DNA analysis; lab delays caused high-profile trial delays, spike in dropped drug cases

  • New Hampshire legislature overwhelmingly defeats biometrics restrictions bill

    The New Hampshire legislation considered a bill which would have banned the use of biometrics in identification cards issued by the state and private entities, except in the case of employee identification cards; the bill also would have barred a state or private group from requiring individuals to submit biometric information as a condition for doing business; the bill was overwhelmingly defeated in a vote last Thursday

  • Trucking industry says it is prepared for terrorism threat

    Trucking industry says that contrary to a scenario in a recent report on the subject, in which a gasoline tanker is hijacked and disappears, a rigorous daily delivery schedule means an out-of-route tanker would be reported very quickly, with or without tracking gear; industry calls for a single, uniform background checking approach