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CHINA WATCHControversial Confucius Institutes, Under New Name, Returning to U.S. Schools
Confucius Institutes, the controversial Beijing-backed language and cultural learning centers, are rebranding and reopening. Most of the 118 Institutes which operated in the U.S. were closed in June 2021 after being designated as a “foreign mission” by the State Department.
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BIOWEAPONSWould Russia Use Bioweapons in Ukraine?
In March, claims from the Kremlin of a U.S.-funded bioweapon program in Ukraine flooded global media. Those reports were amplified by China and picked up by conservative news outlets and conspiracy groups in the U.S. U.S. warned that Russia could be using this thread of disinformation to stage a false-flag incident using bioweapons, or to justify the use of its own bioweapons against Ukraine. It wouldn’t have been the first time Russia used false-flag tactics, and the threat of Russia using bioweapons in either scenario isn’t an outlandish prospect.
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ARGUMENT: DIGITAL WORKFORCEThe Strategic Relevance of Cybersecurity Skills
Evidence suggests there is a global cybersecurity skills shortage affecting businesses and governments alike, which means that organizations are struggling to fill their cybersecurity vacancies. Tommaso De Zan writes that “the absence of cybersecurity experts protecting national critical infrastructures constitutes a national security threat, a loophole that may be exploited by malicious actors.”
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CYBERCRIMEFighting Global Cybercrime
Cyber threats from across the world—from Russian attempts to influence the war in Ukraine by threatening cyberattacks against the West, to China stealing defense and industrial secrets, to Iran’s 2021 targeting of Children’s Hospital in Boston, thwarted by the FBI — were the focus of recent remarks by FBI Director Christopher Wray.
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EXTREMISMU.K. Extremists Sentenced to More Than 30 Years Imprisonment
A Sheffield, U.K., court sentenced four extremists who advocated racist violence and the manufacture and possession of weapons to more than 30 years imprisonment.
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AIRPORT SECURITYRemote Screening Demonstration at Cape Cod Gateway Airport
DHS S&T successfully conducted a demonstration of remote screening infrastructure for airport security checkpoints. The Integrated Defense & Security Solutions (IDSS) can send computed tomography (CT) X-ray images of carry-on baggage flagged for threats to remote locations for near real-time analysis.
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ENERGY SECURITYAnnouncing the Electric Resilience Toolkit
A new Electric Resilience Toolkit aims to support policymakers and stakeholders working on issues around electric sector regulation and climate resilience planning. Such planning is essential to ensure electricity infrastructure is designed and operated in a way that accounts for the impacts of climate change—impacts that are already being felt and which will only intensify in coming years.
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OUR PICKSOath Keepers Wanted a Coup | U.S. Army Lessons from Ukraine | Mars Samples Endanger Earth, and more
· The Oath Keepers Wanted a Coup
· ‘Bring Rifles’: Extremist Groups Call for Violence over Abortion Ruling
· US Proposes Flexible Hiring Rules, Faster Permanent Residency Application Process in H-1B Rejig
· Suspected Iranian Cyberattack on Israel Triggers Sirens
· Federal Judge Orders Biden Administration to Continue Title 42
· The Other Big Lesson That the U.S. Army Should Learn from Ukraine
· Quantum Sensors—Unlike Quantum Computers—Are Already Here
· The Future is Now: The Use of 3D-Printed Guns by Extremists and Terrorists
· DHS and Treasury to Assess Need for a Federal Response to Cyber Attack Insurance
· Controversy Grows Over whether Mars Samples Endanger Earth
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GUN SAFETYWill Closing the “Boyfriend Loophole” in Gun Legislation Save lives? Here’s What the Research Says
If you have two domestic abusers who have both committed the same severe physical violence against their partners, but one of them is married to their intimate partner while the other isn’t, then only the domestic abuser who is married could be prohibited from having a gun. Among the provisions of the bipartisan gun safety bill passed by Congress, is one which closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” which allows some people with a record of domestic violence to still buy firearms.
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CRIME FIGHTINGPublic Safety Experts Warn: NYC’s Crime-Fighting Strategy Could Backfire
As city leaders double down on policing amid a spike in shootings, a new idea is gaining hold among experts: could less policing actually reduce gun violence?
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EXTREMISMFirearms: Weapons of Choice for Domestic Extremists
Every year, extremists overwhelmingly use guns to carry out their deadly attacks. In any given year, more people are killed by extremists who use firearms than those who choose any other weapon. Over the past decade, shootings accounted for 75 percent of the deaths at the hands of extremists.
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CYBERSECURITYInsights into Blockchain Vulnerabilities
Distributed ledger technology, such as blockchains, has become more prevalent across a variety of contexts over the past decade. The premise is that blockchains operate securely without any centralized control and that they are immutable or unsusceptible to change. New report details how centralization can be introduced, affecting security.
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BUILDING COLLAPSENIST Champlain Towers South Investigation
The NIST investigation into the June 2021 collapse of Surfside, Florida, condo building , is preparing to begin invasive testing and preparation of physical evidence collected from the collapse site.
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FLOOD INSURANCEThe Administration’s New Vision for the National Flood Insurance Program
The Biden administration is proposing a major overhaul to the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP — the main source of insurance for homeowners who are required to or choose to obtain coverage for flooding. The administration’s flood insurance reforms could improve transparency — and make some Americans more vulnerable.
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EXPLOSIVES DETECTION3D X-Ray Makes it Easier to Detect Hidden Explosive Weapons
As travelers pass through border crossings, ports of call, airport checkpoints, and various precautionary measures in both federal and private venues, their safety and wellbeing are constantly ensured through various forms of screening technologies that have one critical goal: to identify and alert the proper authorities to potential threats. These technologies do their jobs very effectively, but it is important to ask the question: Can they be improved?
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OUR PICKSCompensation for Havana Syndrome Victims | Deadly Heat Wave’s Lesson | Telephone Pole Camera Surveillance, and more
· Deadly Heat Wave’s Lesson: ‘This Is the Future We All Face’
· Biden Administration Plans Six-Figure Compensation for Havana Syndrome Victims
· US Senate Approves Bipartisan Gun Violence Bill
· Hurricanes May Pose a Threat to People Along the Coasts and Far Inland
· America Is Growing Apart, Possibly for Good
· Putin’s Decade-Long Secret Sabotage Scheme Revealed
· ‘Increased Threat’ of Foreign Terrorists, Election Influence Operations in 2022: DHS
· DHS Warned Abraham Accords Could Destabilize Region in 2020
· A First Circuit Decision and the Future of Telephone Pole Camera Surveillance
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GUNSSupreme Court Sweeps Aside New York’s Limits on Carrying a Gun, Raising Second Amendment Rights to New Heights
The core argument of the 23 June Supreme Court decision in a case involving New York State law is that gun rights are to be treated the same as other hallowed rights like the freedom of speech or freedom of religion recognized in the First Amendment. For most of the history of the court, Second Amendment rights have been seen as distinct, more dangerous, and thus more open to regulation. The majority of justices have now changed that approach to the Second Amendment.
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EXTREMISMObsessive Passion and Social Alienation Linked to Support for Political Violence
What underlies violent extremism – that is, support for violence to achieve political, ideological or social objectives — and what drives an individual to exhibit these behaviors in which political violence is a desirable option?
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CYBERSECURITYA Simple Tool Curbs Hacking, Makes Websites More Secure
Researchers have developed a scanning tool to make websites less vulnerable to hacking and cyberattacks. The black box security assessment prototype is more effective than existing web scanners which collectively fail to detect the top 10 weaknesses in web applications.
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BIOMETRICSBreath Biometrics: Sniffing Out Your Identity
Biometric authentication like fingerprint and iris scans are a staple of any spy movie, and trying to circumvent those security measures is often a core plot point. Now, researchers have developed a new potential odorous option for the biometric security toolkit: your breath.
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NUCLEAR POWERAssessing the Environmental Impact of Nuclear Power Generation
Nuclear power is considered a panacea for the environmental degradation caused by fossil fuels. However, its environmental impact and natural resource use need to be assessed. Researchers make a life cycle assessment of resource use in nuclear power generation from uranium.
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NUCLEAR POWERWill Germany Return to Nuclear Power?
As Germany moves to wean itself off Russian energy, politicians are debating a pause to the country’s planned nuclear phaseout. Experts warn, however, that it may not be so easy.
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The long view
ARGUMENT: VIRTUOUS ESCALATIONWestern Leaders Should Take Escalation over Ukraine Seriously
The United States and members states of the EU and NATO have taken significant action to assist Ukraine and pressure Russia, but there is increasing pressure to “do more.” Michael Lopate and Bear Braumoeller write that as we provide Ukraine with more sophisticated weapons, and as calls grow for allowing Ukraine to push Russian forces back over the border without requiring any concessions on the part of Ukraine, “we should be clear-eyed about the risks of escalation as we seek that victory.” They write that their research shows that “War escalation is extremely unpredictable, and most people don’t appreciate just how easily and quickly wars can escalate to shocking levels of lethality.”
ARGUMENT: CRITICAL MINERALSAddressing China’s Growing Influence over Latin America’s Mineral Resources
The United States and its partners in the hemisphere must address a major strategic challenge: China’s growing influence over Latin America’s critical and natural mineral resources. Adina Renee Adler and Haley Ryan write that “Allowing a geostrategic competitor like China to wield disproportionate influence over access to critical minerals—or allowing production to become concentrated in a single geographic region—poses a serious risk to the United States and its allies.”
BIORISKSGain-of-Function Studies Need Stricter Guidance: Researchers
Researchers and biosecurity specialists are calling on the U.S. government to issue clearer guidance about experiments the government might fund which would make pathogens more transmissible or deadly.
PANDEMICSClimate Change Could Spark the Next Pandemic
As the Earth’s climate continues to warm, researchers predict wild animals will be forced to relocate their habitats — likely to regions with large human populations — dramatically increasing the risk of a viral jump to humans that could lead to the next pandemic.
BIOTHREATSDeveloping New Vaccine Against Three Biothreat Pathogens
Scientists are seeking to develop a multi-pathogen vaccine that will protect against three bacterial biothreat pathogens.
ARGUMENT: AI & NATIONAL SECURITY Preparing National Security Officials for the Challenges of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of several rapidly emerging technologies that promise to disrupt not only multiple sectors of the U.S. economy but also the manner in which the U.S. government carries out its foundational responsibility to protect national security consistent with the rule of law and constitutional values. Steve Bunnell writes that “The United States’ national security apparatus is not known for nimbleness, nor is the law that governs it. When it comes to AI, the risk is not just that our generals will fight tomorrow’s war with yesterday’s strategy but also that the United States will lack the legal and policy guardrails that are essential to a lawful, accountable, and ethical protection of the nation’s security.”
AIThe Civil-Military Divide over Artificial Intelligence
What factors influence how comfortable and uncomfortable software engineers feel with potential applications of AI for the U.S. military? Is there a correlation between the degree of trust that software engineers have in societal institutions—specifically, in DoD—and their perception of the acceptability of building AI applications for DoD? Do software engineers perceive the countries that DoD has identified as strategic competitors as a meaningful threat to the United States? What types of news media and other sources of information are software engineers relying on to inform them about events related to DoD?
CYBERSECURITYBad for Computer Security: Employees Returning to the Office
When employees feel they deserve superior technology compared to other employees—and they don’t receive unrestricted access to it—they pose a security risk to their companies, according to a new research.
INSIDER THREATIdentifying and Predicting Insider Threats
Insider threats are one of the top security concerns facing large organizations. Current and former employees, business partners, contractors—anyone with the right level of access to a company’s data—can pose a threat. A new project seeks to detect and predict insider threats.
FOOD SECURITYFood Production Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
Wide-ranging use of smart technologies is raising global agricultural production but cyber experts warn this digital-age phenomenon could reap a crop of another kind – cybersecurity attacks.
QUANTUM COMPUTINGMaking hardware and software Quantum-Safe
Quantum computers are thought to have the potential to perform specialized calculations beyond the reach of any supercomputers in existence and will be able to break current public key cryptosystems used today.
CYBERSECURITYNew Method Kills Cyberattacks in Less Than a Second
Researchers, using artificial intelligence, new method that could automatically detect and kill cyberattacks on our laptops, computers and smart devices in under a second.
SEARCH & RESCUENext-Generation Search & Rescue: Body Cameras, Live Streaming
Typically, search and rescue teams in the wilderness use radio, in-person briefings, text messaging, drones and paper forms to communicate and coordinate their efforts. New digital tools have the potential to revolutionize wilderness search and rescue efforts.
ENERGY SECURITYEmerging Hydrogen Storage Technology to Increase Energy Resilience
With the rise in renewable energy as well as increasing uncertainty associated with outages due to power surges and extreme weather events, energy storage plays a key role in ensuring reliable power supply to critical infrastructure such as healthcare facilities, data centers, and telecommunications. New study assesses cost competitiveness of metal-organic framework materials to store hydrogen for large-scale backup power applications.
CRITICAL MINERALSThe "Rock-to-Metal Ratio" of Critical Minerals
A new metric to quantify the amount of waste rock generated by mining for minerals essential to 21st century society has been created by the U.S. Geological Survey and Apple.
WATER SECURITYDiminishing Snowmelt to Make Colorado, Utah, Wyoming Resemble the Arid Southwest
New research predicts that changes in mountain snowmelt will shift peak stream flows to much earlier in the year for the vast Colorado River Basin, altering reservoir management and irrigation across the entire region. As a result, upper basin in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming may more closely resemble the arid Southwest.