• Banning TikTok Could Weaken Personal Cybersecurity

    TikTok is not be the first app to be scrutinized over the potential exposure of U.S. user data, but it is the first widely used app that the U.S. government has proposed banning over privacy and security concerns. As a cybersecurity researcher, I see potential risks if the U.S. attempts to ban TikTok. The type of risk depends on the type of ban.

  • EV Batteries: Chinese Dominance Raises Thorny Questions

    Chinese firms currently dominate the electric vehicle battery supply chain — from mining and refining through to final assembly. This leaves Western automakers with little option but to rely on Chinese-made batteries.

  • The Rise and Fall of the Belt and Road Initiative

    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.

  • Economic Security and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

    DHS’s contributions to U.S. economic security and, by extension, the economy itself are often misunderstood and undervalued. A new report describes DHS’s role in supporting economic security now and into the future, a future in which the United States will face a changed world and evolved threat landscape.

  • Better Together: Japan and the Five Eyes Need to Focus on Critical Minerals

    Critical minerals are being consumed in greater volumes than ever before, and the level of demand will only increase over the next 10 to 20 years, and beyond. The governments of Japan and the Five Eyes countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States) are aware that critical minerals, including rare-earth elements, will be increasingly needed as the world shifts from fossil-fuel systems to renewable energy sources. The partner nations are also clear about the challenges and opportunities, especially given that the supply chains for several critical minerals have only one or few dominant key players.

  • Critical Metal Needs Rise as Cars, Trucks Decarbonize

    The demand for battery-grade lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and platinum will climb steeply as nations work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through mid-century, but will likely set off economic snags and supply-chain hitches.

  • From High to Low in 15 Years: Coal Continues Its Precipitous Decline

    The country’s power generators used more coal in 2007 than ever before — a little over one billion tons. This year, coal use by U.S. electric-power producers would likely not reach 400 million tons. Roughly 40 percent of the country’s current coal-fired capacity is set to close by 2030. “This is not an economic cycle that is simply going to go away,” says an expert. “It is a real phaseout across the industry of the use of coal.”

  • The Energy Transition Will Need More Rare Earth Elements. Can We Secure Them Sustainably?

    Decarbonizing the world’s power generation will require huge numbers of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles (EVs), and storage batteries — all of which are made with rare earth elements and critical metals. Supplying these vast quantities of minerals in a sustainable manner will be a significant challenge, but scientists are exploring a variety of ways to provide materials for the energy transition with less harm to people and the planet.

  • DOJ Investigating SPFPA Local - at Disney Land - in Theft of $160K

    The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is investigating the theft of $160,0000 from the union pension funds for workers at California’s Disneyland from a local of the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) union.

  • The Time to Prevent Shortfalls in Critical Materials Is Now

    Rare earth elements are—despite their name—everywhere. They’re in your cellphone, your car, maybe even in a crown in your mouth. They’re in satellites, wind turbines, night-vision goggles, laser-guided missiles, and fighter jets. All of which makes China’s near-total domination of the rare earth market a matter of economic and national security concern.

  • Making the Most of Australia’s Endowment of Critical Minerals

    The geostrategic scramble to reduce supply-chain dependencies for critical minerals has overshadowed opportunities for Australia to use its resources to provide major benefits for the nation.

  • A Spill Outside Philadelphia Adds to the Growing List of Chemical Accidents This Year

    There have already been 50 chemical spills or fires in the U.S. this year, and it’s only March.

  • 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.

  • Should the U.S. Ban TikTok? Can It? A Cybersecurity Expert Explains the Risks the App Poses and the Challenges to Blocking It

    A full ban of TikTok raises a number of questions: What data privacy risk does TikTok pose? What could the Chinese government do with data collected by the app? Is its content recommendation algorithm dangerous? And is it even possible to ban an app?

  • New Method Helps Locate Deposits of Critical Metals

    The global shift to a carbon-free energy system is set to drive a huge increase in the demand for rare or limited earth minerals. This presents an urgent need to locate new sustainable sources of these elements. New technique could help locate new deposits of critical metals needed to enable the green-energy transition.