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Satellite program canceled; intelligence community uneasy
Congress has shelved a Pentagon program to buy two commercial imagery satellites; in 2005 the Pentagon pulled the plug on a major component of the Future Imagery Architecture system; U.S. intelligence community fears intelligence gaps will open
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Briefly noted
Deadly plague found in Grand Canyon… IG: USDA monitoring system improves IT security… France’s DGA issues multinational contract for lightweight UAV radar tech… Thales completes acquisition of U.K. encryption specialist… N.J. safer, but not safe from terrorists
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Briefly noted
Online “passports” to make Chinese foods safer… Top U.K. prosecutor warns against growing state power… France may buy Reaper UAVs
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Heron UAV delivered to Canadian forces in Afghanistan
Israel Aerospace Industries deliver Heron UAV to Canada; delivery is part of part of a $85 million contract
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Trials for Watchkeeper UAV
Israeli UAV Hermes demonstrated; part of the U.K.£800 million project to provide the British Army with UAVs for all-weather, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance use
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U.K. pauses before implementing sweeping surveillance scheme
The U.K. government said it wanted to give law enforcement sweeping power to collect electronic data as a measure to prevent terrorism; the government now says it will engage in consultations to make sure citizens’ privacy is not violated
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Battery-free, multi-detection wireless sensors
Home food and beverage safety monitoring, remote water purity testing, more effective chemical and biological sensors are all potential applications
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Briefly noted
As ports RFID deadline approaches, applications flood in… eMentum wins $23 million Contract to provide identity management services to DOJ… Early spotting of a potential IT train wreck… Getting the facts straight on cybersecurity
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Boeing unveils robo-copter program
With the U.S. forces increasing their activity in northwest Pakistan, Boeing announces a development program of a weapon system suitable for this and similar missions
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Briefly noted
U.S. Army signs $75 million contract for passive RFID… U.S. government to take over screening from airlines… IT security sector faces major changes… Senators propose changes at DHS
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Portable imaging system helps response to natural disasters
Yellow Jackets researchers develop an imaging system which can be affixed to a helicopter to create a detailed picture of an area devastated by a hurricane or other natural disaster
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U.K. security services push for expanded surveillance power
U.K. security services are pushing for a massive expansion of electronic surveillance in the United Kingdom, in the face of opposition from the Treasury and the Cabinet Office
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New surveillance program will use military satellites to cover U.S.
President Bush signed bill which allows the National Applications Office (NAO) to begin operating a stringently limited version of a program which would turn military spy satellites on the United States, sharing imagery with other federal, state, and local government agencies
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U.S. government to take counterterrorism local
The federal government says local police efforts to record and share activities that could be related to terrorism are critical to the government’s counterterrorism effort; the creation and coordination of a uniform system of reporting among thousands of jurisdictions is a problem, though
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Setback: Laser breaks "unbreakable" quantum communications
Quantum encryption was supposed to make communication completely secure — because quantum mechanics makes it impossible for an eavesdropper to emulate the receiver’s photon detection methods; researchers find flaw in commonly used encryption devices which does allow an eavesdropper to fool the receiver
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More headlines
The long view
Using Drone Swarms to Fight Forest Fires
Forest fires are becoming increasingly catastrophic across the world, accelerated by climate change. Researchers are using multiple swarms of drones to tackle natural disasters like forest fires.
Testing Cutting-Edge Counter-Drone Technology
Drones have many positive applications, bad actors can use them for nefarious purposes. Two recent field demonstrations brought government, academia, and industry together to evaluate innovative counter-unmanned aircraft systems.