• CBP hails C-TPAT 2007 achievements

    DHS’s Custom and Border Protection agency says that Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program made major contributions to U.S. security in 2007 by keeping a close eye on the supply chain bringing goods into the U.S.

  • New method for anthrax decontamination developed

    Yellow Jackets, SMD researchers develop an X-rays and UV-C light-based method for anthrax decontamination; it is rapid and nondisruptive, and also less expensive than currently available decontamination methods; it kills anthrax spores — even those hidden in crevices and cracks — within two to three hours without any lingering effects

  • Companies, government responses to war game draw mixed reviews

    Details emerge of a $3 million, invitation-only war game — Cyber Storm —which simulated what DHS described as plausible attacks over five days in February 2006 against the technology industry, transportation lines, and energy utilities by anti-globalization hackers

  • Spam, Q4 Email Threat Trends of 2007

    A steep rise in attacks using social networking techniques which target user psychology and behavior patterns; spammers launched attacks by predicting user behavior patterns, such as looking for easy cash and discounted gifts during the holiday season, and preying on consumer trust to generate interest in cheap pharmaceutical products and stocks

  • Emphasis shifts to analytical tools rather than building sturdier walls

    The $169 million PayPal paid for Israeli on-line security specialist Fraud Sciences is part of a larger trend in security: “Security is less a matter of keeping everyone outside the outer wall and more one of detecting them sneaking through the premises,” as one analyst put it

  • Marks & Spencer loses personal information on 26,000 staff

    A laptop belonging to Marks and Spencer was stolen in May 2007, joining a lengthening list of personal data breaches in the United kingdom; Information Commissioner’s Office takes action against company

  • RFID technology ever more pervasive, pt. I

    RFID tags are everywhere — on boxed goods, in some computer printers, car keys and tires, on shampoo bottles and department store clothing tags; they are also in library books, contactless payment cards, passports, and travel documents; they introduce efficiency and security to the supply chain, but also allow companies and organizations to track the behavior and shopping patterns of individuals

  • MSV to operate two mid-Atlantic radio talkgroups

    Specialist in hybrid satellite-terrestrial communications network will operate radio talkgroups which will allow emergency units from several states to cooperate more easily during emergencies

  • IOTV Body Armor, Improved Outer Tactical Vest

    Soldiers have complained that the standard body armor is too heavy, too hot, and too cumbersome; the Army is now deploying new body armor: It is three pounds lighter, provides more coverage in the small of the back, sits higher around the armpit area, and sits lower on the torso

  • Disgruntled employee deletes 7-years worth of architectual drawings

    An employee in a Florida architectural firm believed she was about to be fired; she came to the office on Sunday and deleted 7-years worth of drawings and blueprints, valued by the firm at $2.5 million

  • Estonian student convicted for 2007 attack against Estonian Web sites

    A 20-year-old Estonian student has been fined $1,642 for launching a cyber attack which crippled the Web sites of banks, schools, and government agencies

  • GAO cites barriers to antiviral, vaccine roles in pandemic

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says that a pandemic vaccine might play little role in the early phases of a pandemic because it will take 20 to 23 weeks to develop and produce a targeted vaccine

  • Product profile: Zone Multi Sensor Control Platform (MSCP)

    An innovative solution from an Australian company allows security managers better direction and control of the organization’s security system and the information streams these systems generate; massively redundant peer-to-peer architecture has many benefits: flexibility, scalability, and cost savings on hardware and professional IT staff

  • What are the security risks of virtualization?

    Server virtualization can aid security, but virtualized environments bring their own headaches as security threats can originate externally and internally in a virtualized environment

  • OMB wants privacy review details in FISMA reports

    U.S. government agencies will have to provide more details about the privacy reviews they conduct as part of annual reporting in compliance with FISMA