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New bill to allow more private screeners at airports
Private security companies could soon be taking over passenger screening at U.S. airports thanks to recently passed legislation that has cleared both the Senate and the House; the proposed law would require that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) allow airports to switch to private contractors unless it can demonstrate that the move is not cost-effective and hinders security
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Four-legged robot carries troops’ load
The increasing weight of military equipment has a negative impact on soldiers’ readiness and effectiveness; reducing the load on dismounted soldiers has thus become a major point of emphasis for defense research and development; the Legged Squad Support System (LS3) robot follows squad members through rugged terrain and interact with them in a natural way, similar to the way a trained animal and its handler interact, while carrying 400 lbs. of squad’s gear
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U.S. Navy’s railgun takes an important step forward
In the coming weeks the first industry railgun prototype launcher will be tested at a U.S. Navy facility in Virginia; the railgun launcher is a long-range weapon that fires projectiles using electricity instead of chemical propellants
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ISC West goes hi-tech
This year Reed Exhibitions is going hi-tech for its ISC West security conference; the show’s organizers have developed a special mobile app and other technological changes to make this year’s show more convenient for attendees
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New methodology evaluates risk of scarce metals
China produces more than 95 of the world’s rare Earth metals, making governments and businesses around the world uneasy; researchers develop a methodology ti answer two important questions: how do we know what is scarce? If we know a metal is scarce, how do we know whether we should worry about it?
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Wireless underground robots for first responders
First responders may have to look for victims in hostile or challenging environments, such as clandestine tunnels, subway systems, and underground structures; sending a wireless robot to look around and pull victims out would be safer
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BAE enters U.S. critical infrastructure protection market
British defense Giant BAE Systems recently announced its plans to enter the U.S. critical infrastructure security market
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Obama unveils global supply chain protection strategy
Last week the Obama administration unveiled its new counterterrorism strategy aimed at securing the entirety of the global supply chain
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Researchers develop altered fingerprint detector
Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a technique to help detect when an individual has deliberately altered their fingerprints in an effort to fool biometric scanners
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Mexico , the next private contracting boom?
As military spending winds down in Iraq and Afghanistan, security contractors eying lucrative opportunities are looking towards Mexico, but strict gun laws and a turbulent environment greatly complicate things
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Disasters hurt Honda’s production, lower revenue
On Tuesday Japanese auto manufacturer Honda Motor Company announced that it had slashed its annual profit guidance as a result of the natural disasters in Japan and Thailand
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Florida blood service upgrades storage systems
Florida Blood Services has replaced three disparate storage systems with the Nimble CS240 converged storage array; FBS says the new storage operation allows FBS more efficient and centralized storage for FBS’s headquarters and forty field offices
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Free real-time facial recognition app for smartphones
Last week Face.com released a new app for smartphones that automatically recognizes the faces of friends in photos taken with an Apple iPhone
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Growing banking market for voice biometrics
According to a recently released study, voice biometrics will be increasingly used to validate users in telephone-based financial transactions
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Reveal Imaging’s liquid explosive detector passes European test
Airline passengers could soon be allowed to carry liquids on board thanks to a new explosive detector by Reveal Imaging
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The long view
U.S.-China Tech Rivalry: The Geopolitics of Semiconductors
The United States and China are locked in a high‑stakes contest for dominance in computing power. In response to US sanctions and export controls, China has ramped domestic chip design and manufacturing, aiming to create an all‑Chinese semiconductor supply chain that reduces dependence on foreign technologies.
The American TikTok Deal Doesn’t Address the Platform’s Potential for Manipulation, Only Who Profits
If we want to protect democratic information systems, we need to focus on reducing the vulnerabilities in our relationship with media platforms – platforms with surveillance power to know what we will like, the algorithmic power to curate our information diet and control of platform incentives, and rules and features that affect who gains influence. The biggest challenge is to make platforms less riggable, and thus less weaponizable, if only for the reason that motivated the TikTok ban: we don’t want our adversaries, foreign or domestic, to have power over us.
Underground Data Fortresses: The Nuclear Bunkers, Mines and Mountains Being Transformed to Protect Our “New Gold” from Attack
Bunker scholars have long noted that these buildings are as much about time as they are about space. Bunkers are designed to preserve and transport their contents through time, from an apocalyptic present into a safe future.
Funding Cuts, Policy Shifts, and the Erosion of U.S. Scientific and Public Health Capacity
The U.S. continues to face mounting threats to its health, scientific enterprise, and national security. A recent report warns that proposed FY 2026 budget cuts to the National Science Foundation (NSF) could reduce its funding by more than half – from $9 billion in FY 2025 to under $4 billion. If passed by Congress, these cuts would result in an estimated ~$11 billion in economic losses.
U.S. Energy Supply Chains Are Unlikely to Meet Anticipated Demand
The U.S. fast-growing energy demands for clean energy sources faces a problem: Under current supply chain conditions, the United States is on track to fall significantly short of surging demand for three clean energy sources: wind, solar, and battery. The shortage is due to the scarcity of critical raw materials such as nickel, aluminum, and silicon.