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U.S. to increase reliance on private security contractors
Scandals involving activities of private security firms in Afghanistan notwithstanding, the U.S. government is increasing its reliance on these firms; last week five firms were awarded contracts totaling $485 million
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ASIS selects 10 ASIS Accolades winners
Panel of judges selects ASIS’s first ASIS Accolades winners — the security industry’s most innovative new products, services, or solutions
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U.S. buys additional shot-spotters
The U.S. Army already deploys more than 6,000 Boomerang shot-spotter systems; the manufacturer, BBN, has just received a $22.5 million contract to supply 3,300 additional units
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Improving inspections of agricultural products
Agricultural goods crossing into the United States are subject to Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) by DHS’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP); current practices call for inspecting 2 percent of the items in a container; a new study says that applying decision-making theory to inspections would improve them and make them more effective
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NSF international marks Food Safety Education Month
NSF, founded in 1944, is a veteran in the food safety business; September is U.S. National Food Safety Education Month, and NSF highlights its different activities aiming to improve food safety
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New business model for researching, producing vaccines
Relying on venture capital-funded biotech research is problematic when it comes to vaccines for pandemics and bioterrorism; an expert proposes a private-public partnership within the HHS Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority
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U.S. pays $31 million for development of smallpox treatment
Florida company awarded $31 million to to produce an inhaled version of an existing smallpox drug; Danish company in negotiations with the U.S. to develop a freeze-dried form of its smallpox vaccine
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FDA requires faster food safety reporting
FDA unveiled a new electronic database where manufacturers must notify the government, within 24 hours, if one of their products is likely to cause sickness or death in people or animals
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Developer of system to prevent ID theft forms joint venture
The new identity theft prevention system — software and countertop machines — would verify Social Security numbers when people do business at government agencies, banks, stores, and other businesses
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Fifth of jobs U.S. government will fill in 2010-2012 will be security related
In security and protection, there are 52,077 projected hires in areas of intelligence analysis, international relations, foreign affairs, and security administration
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Los Angeles councilman wants ATM "duress code" system
In the wake of Lily Burk’s slaying, Councilman Greig Smith urges citywide anti-robbery effort; under one system, ATM users could enter their PIN backward to covertly notify police that they were being robbed
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Voice biometrics have not yet caught on in the United States
Canada and Australia are further along than the United States in this regard, mostly because of U.S. critics spreading unnecessary fear and doubt about the technology
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Malmo, Sweden, installs new public toilet payment system
If you want to use public toilets in Malmo, Sweden, you must now call or text-message the city’s park service, receive a one-time numerical code, enter that code on the stall door’s touch pad, and have your credit card charged — or you cannot go in
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Businesses seek to delay implementation of E-Verify
A business coalition files suit to prevent DHS from implementing E-verify as of next Tuesday; E-Verify would require federal contractors to verify the legal status of their workers
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Trojan horse virus allows hackers, law enforcement, to eavesdrops on VoIP
A Trojan horse virus allows hackers, but also law enforcement, to record VoIP calls; law enforcement in the U.S. would presumably need a court order to surveil someone’s Skype calls, but the barriers to deploying the virus might be lower for intelligence agencies and authorities in other countries
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The long view
Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
Trump Is Fast-Tracking New Coal Mines — Even When They Don’t Make Economic Sense
In Appalachian Tennessee, mines shut down and couldn’t pay their debts. Now a new one is opening under the guise of an “energy emergency.”
Smaller Nuclear Reactors Spark Renewed Interest in a Once-Shunned Energy Source
In the past two years, half the states have taken action to promote nuclear power, from creating nuclear task forces to integrating nuclear into long-term energy plans.