• Cybersecurity Goes Undercover to Protect Electric-Grid Data

    Researchers, inspired by one of the mysteries of human perception, invented a new way to hide sensitive electric grid information from cyberattack: Within a constantly changing color palette.

  • Deadly Lessons from Fukushima Changed Japan and the World

    By Caitlin McDermott-Murphy

    The strongest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history triggered a massive tsunami in 2011. Together, the two natural disasters claimed close to 20,000 lives, making the event one of the deadliest in Japan’s history. But the crisis didn’t end there.

  • Two Men Sentenced in Plot to Attack Power Grids in the United States

    Two men were sentenced in federal court Friday, 21 April, for crimes related to a scheme to attack power grids in the United States in furtherance of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism. DHS and the FBI have warned that domestic terrorists were increasingly focused on disrupting the U.S. power grid.

  • Cities Will Need More Resilient Electricity Networks to Cope with Extreme Weather

    Dense urban areas amplify the effects of higher temperatures, due to the phenomenon of heat islands in cities. This makes cities more vulnerable to extreme climate events. Large investments in the electricity network will be necessary to cool us down during heatwaves and keep us warm during cold snaps.

  • As States Replace Lead Pipes, Plastic Alternatives Could Bring New Risks

    By Joseph Winters

    Across the country, states and cities are replacing lead pipes to address concerns over lead-contaminated drinking water, an urgent health threat. But critics say that substituting PVC for lead pipes “may well be leaping from the frying pan into the fire.”

  • Economic Earthquake Risk in the United States

    Earthquakes cost the nation an estimated $14.7 billion annually in building damage and associated losses, a new report finds. The new estimate is twice that of previous annual estimates due to increased building value and the fact that the report incorporates the latest hazards as well as improvements to building inventories.

  • The Rise and Fall of the Belt and Road Initiative

    By Nadia Clark

    Amidst accusations of “debt-trap diplomacy,” Chinese companies seek more overseas direct investment opportunities and fewer foreign contracted projects as Xi’s flagship initiative is stymied by poor risk management.

  • Are 15-minute Cities a Plan to Create Lockdowns?

    By Rachel Baig and Nadine Michollek

    It’s an urban planning concept aimed at reducing emissions and travel distances by reducing everyday journeys to a quarter of an hour on foot, by bike or by public transport, with the goal of helping citizens to better meet basic needs. But some fear it will limit movement, lead to lockdowns, or increase surveillance. What do the details tell us?

  • Sea-Level Rise Poses Particular Risk for Asian Megacities

    Sea-level rise this century may disproportionately affect certain Asian megacities as well as western tropical Pacific islands and the western Indian Ocean. Among the Asian megacities that may face especially significant risks: Chennai, Kolkata, Yangon, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Manila.

  • How the U.S. Rail System Works

    By Noah Berman

    A spate of train derailments, most notably in East Palestine, Ohio, has reinvigorated the debate over the nation’s railroad infrastructure. Here’s how U.S. rail could be brought up to speed.

  • Buildings Left Sanding in Turkey Offer Design Guidance for Future Earthquake-Resilient Construction

    By Osman Ozbulut

    The Feb. 6, 2023, earthquakes in Turkey and Syria put to the test advanced building technologies that can minimize damage and keep buildings functioning after a quake. Several hospitals built with one such technology – called a seismic isolation system – survived the earthquakes with almost no harm.

  • AI Could Set a New Bar for Designing Hurricane-Resistant Buildings

    Being able to withstand hurricane-force winds is the key to a long life for many buildings on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the U.S. Determining the right level of winds to design for is tricky business, but support from artificial intelligence may offer a simple solution.

  • What Is the National Cybersecurity Strategy? What the Biden Administration Has Changed

    By Richard Forno

    On 2 March 2023 the Biden administration released its first National Cybersecurity Strategy. Some of the key provisions in the Strategy relate to the private sector, both in terms of product liability and cybersecurity insurance. It also aims to reduce the cybersecurity burden on individuals and smaller organizations. It provides some innovative ideas that could strengthen U.S. cybersecurity in meaningful ways and help modernize America’s technology industry, both now and into the future.

  • Is Your Cybersecurity Strategy Undermined by These Six Common Pitfalls?

    Many security specialists harbor misconceptions about lay users of information technology, and these misconceptions can increase an organization’s risk of cybersecurity breaches. These issues include ineffective communications to lay users and inadequately incorporating user feedback on security system usability.

  • Preventing Fires and Explosions

    Lines in natural gas grids have to be maintained and serviced regularly. This entails using flares to vent the natural gas. With FlareSimulator, research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF have developed an assistive tool that calculates the correct distance of flares to houses, trees and other nearby objects. This makes it easy to maintain minimum distances and prevent potential hazards and explosions.