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Senator Inhofe may introduce a rival chemical plant safety bill
Chemical industry ally to offer chemical plant safety bill to rival the one being proposed by Senators Collins and Lieberman; new bill more hospitable to industry concerns about IST and protection of companies industrial secrets
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California trucking association supports port security measures
It was unclear for a while whether California trucking association would support background checks on the more 12,000 drivers who come in and out of the sprawling twin ports of Los Anegeles and Long Beach; the trucking association ow say it is for it
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GAO: Security of water treatment facilities below par
Water treatment facilities are inviting targets for terrorists because of the toxic chemicals they use and their proximity to population centers, but the water collection system is also vulnerable, and a recent report says not much has been done to protect it
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Trend: Responsible chemical plants adopt "inherent safer technology" on their own
The chemical industry has resigned itself to some form of federal regulations of safety measures at chemical plants; one of the major goals of industry lobbyists is now to make sure that safety legislation does not mandate plants to replace the most dangerous chemicals they produce or use with inherently safer chemicals; more than 200 plants have already made the switch on their own, showing that it is not economically prohibitive to do so
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NCX provides service for greater IT security
This Newport Beach business risk management company will now provide its services to small and medium sized companies through its new MyCSO product
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SafeNet launches encryptors for Metro Ethernet
More businesses now rely on Metro Ethernet for their business communications, so securing these networks becomes even more essential
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Trend: Growing debate over safety of nuclear power plants
Worries about the rising price of oil and the degradation of the environment by fossil fuels have led to renewed interest in nuclear power plants; worries about terrorism, however, cut in the other
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Is San Francisco prepared for the next Big One?
One hundred years ago the earthquake which hit San Francisco killed 3,000, left more than 200,000 homeless, and destroyed more than 28,000 buildings. Is the city ready for the next one?
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Legislation to review foreign ownership of critical infrastructure introduced in New York
Bipartisan legislation proposed to review thoroughly requests by foreign entities who want to control parts of New York’s critical infrastructure
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TTAC awards large IT management contract to InfoZen
Maryland-based company to manage the IT systems for the Office of Transportation Threat Assessment and Credentialing
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Chemical company faulted in Georgia chemical release accident
The reckless behavior of a Georgia chemical plant is yet another proof — if one were needed — that “voluntary, industry-developed” chemical plant safety standards are anything but; forget safety measures: The company managers and engineers did not even bother to consult studies in the open literature about the new chemical process they were experimenting with
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Outsourcing software development to China
There is a growing trend to outsource software development to China because of the advantages that country offered relative to its main rival, India; but there is a national security aspect to all of this
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Legislators say DoD IT transformation too slow
Many billions of dollars have been invested in DoD IT transformation; legislators complain the pace of transformation is too slow
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Public-private coalition to coordinate security spending at Houston port
An innovative public-private coordination effort of security measures at and around the Port of Houston
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The long view
FCC Bans Use of Federal Funds in Purchases of Chinese Telecom
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on 22 November blocked U.S. telecommunications providers from using an $8.5 billion subsidy fund – the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) — to buy Chinese-made telecommunications gear deemed a national security threat to critical infrastructure. The U.S. said that given Huawei and ZTE’s close relationship and legal obligations to the Chinese government, their gear poses a threat to telecommunications critical infrastructure, as well as to national security.
The Sea Wanted to Take This California Lighthouse. Now, It’s Part of a Conflict Between a Town and Two Tribes
For decades, the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse stood like atop the coastal bluff overlooking the rocky outcrops of Trinidad Bay in northern California. But then, climate change began to take its toll: “the ground began to crumble. Rain moved the earth. The bluff cracked, a sidewalk warped, and thus ended the charmed life of the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse, which suddenly threatened to slide into the Pacific,” Hailey Branson-Potts writes.
The Drums of Cyberwar
A recent study found that if hackers were to take down the electric grid in just fifteen states and Washington, D.C., 93 million people would be without power, quickly leading to a “rise in mortality rates as health and safety systems fail; a decline in trade as ports shut down; disruption to water supplies as electric pumps fail and chaos to transport networks as infrastructure collapses.” The cost to the economy, the study reported, would be astronomical: anywhere from $243 billion to $1 trillion. “Sabotaging critical infrastructure may not be as great an existential threat as climate change or nuclear war, but it has imperiled entire populations already and remains a persistent probability,” Sue Halperin writes.
The Earth Needs Multiple Methods for Removing CO2 from the Air to Avert Worst of Climate Change
Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in human history, and nine of the warmest years have occurred since 2005. “Avoiding catastrophic impacts on our coastal infrastructure, biodiversity, food, energy and water resources will require more. In particular, many climate researchers like myself believe government needs to advance technology that will actually suck carbon dioxide out of the air and put it away for very long periods,” David Goldberg writes.
U.S. Military Precariously Unprepared for Climate Threats, War College & Retired Brass Warn
A series of climate-related disasters has paralyzed the strategic capabilities of several U.S military bases in recent years. David Hasemyer writes that it has exposed the military’s vulnerability to extreme weather, shining light on its failure to prepare adequately and on the consequences this lack of preparation could have for U.S. national security.
5. The Ransomware Menace
Experts say that 2019 should be declared the Year of Ransomware Escalation. The increasing number of attacks and the move by perpetrators to target large companies and public institutions in the United States and abroad is a turning point in the evolution of this digital form of blackmail.