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NASA working on sonic boom-less jets
Sonic booms are one of the major downsides of supersonic jets; they may not matter much over the battlefield, but are a hindrance in civilian aviation — the noise was sufficient to restrict the Mach-2 Concorde to subsonic speeds when over land
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Check Point releases impressive FY2008, Q4 2008 financial results
IT security company Check Point release financial results for Q4 2008 and FY 2008; revenue increase 11 percent to $808.5 million; GAAP operating income was $356.5 million
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India to see a large, broad growth in expenditures on domestic security
A series of terrorist attacks, culminating in the coordinated attack in Mumbai last month, convinced both government and industry in India that more security — much more security — is required to cope with mounting threats to domestic peace; business opportunities abound for companies in IT security, biometric, surveillance, detection, situational awareness, and more
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Certicom agrees to takeover by VeriSign
VeriSign’s $92 million bid is 40 percent higher than RIM’s failed hostile offer of $66 million
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Homeland security-related college courses bolster graduates' job chances
There are now more than 150 academic institutions offering homeland security related undergraduate and graduate programs and degrees; this growth mirrors trends and needs in the job market
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Honey laundering: Tainted, mislabeled honey makes it to store shelves
Two-thirds of the honey Americans consume is imported; almost half of that comes from China; Chinese honey often contains chloramphenicol or other antibiotics which are illegal in any food; Chinese producers, government mislabel honey jars to mislead consumers
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Heartland says it has fixed security problem
Heartland Payment Systems, the sixth-largest payment processor in the United States, processes payments for 250,000 companies; thieves install malicious program on company’s computers which captured data as it flowed across the network
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Warwick Warp uses government funds to develop better fingerprint technology
Coventry, U.K.-based company uses research funding from regional authorities to develop software which significantly improves matching accuracy by being able to handle low-quality prints and a variety of spatial distortions
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Utilities plan to stay the course with spending plans for infrastructure
Despite the economic slowdown, utilities around the world plan to press ahead with investments in both their infrastructure and “smart grid” automation program; investments will be in the range of $90-$105 billion
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CBP highlights C-TPAT accomplishments
The Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program (C-TPAT) was established in 2001 to build cooperative relationships that strengthen and improve international supply chain and U.S. border security; DHS says program is achieving its goals, with more than 8,000 applicants validated since 2003
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IT security spending to grow despite economic slowdown
Forrester Research finds that companies are still spending to protect their data — and that they will spend more in 2009; respondents to survey say security is an ongoing necessity unaffected by economic peaks and valleys
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Security specialist Core Systems sees U.S. prisons as opportunity
Belfast-based Core Systems provides biometric equipment to prisons in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland; it is now expanding to the United States; with a prison population of 2.2 million; “In the prisons business, the United States is the market leader,” says Patricia O’Hagan, company’s co-owner
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$400 million ballistic missile defense award
The Bush administration awarded Boeing a $400 million contract for Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptors; it may well be the last large ballistic missile defense contract, as both Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress have shown little interest in the program
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2008 natural disasters cause record loss of life, damage
More than 220,000 people died in events like cyclones, earthquakes and flooding; overall global losses totaled about $200 billion, with uninsured losses totaling $45 billion
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India's bioterror plans will take some time to get off the ground
India is augmenting its preparations for bioterror attacks; experts complain that one of the major weaknesses in India’s ability to cope with a bioterror attack is the lack of interest, so far, of the private sector in being enlisted in the effort
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The long view
Bookshelf: The Waning Dominance of U.S. Dollar
Perhaps the greatest threat to the dominance of the dollar may come from the US itself. US government debt is basically ‘out of control’, representing 120 percent of GDP, and neither political party has a serious plan to bring it back under control.
A Turning Point: U.S. Recognizes Agriculture as a Domain of Defense
The US has legitimized the role of food supply in national defense. It has recognized that in a world of rupture, a nation that cannot feed itself cannot defend itself. A new policy effectively ends the era of agriculture functioning solely as a commercial sector.