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CSIRO wireless sensor commercially available
Wireless sensor networks are used in more and more homeland security roles such as monitoring water quality at sprawling water facilities and in perimeter defense of critical infrastructure facilities; they can also help keep the environment healthy
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New bridge-inspection software contributes to bridge security
Inspecting a bridge for hairline cracks, flaking concrete, and rust has been a manual process — inspectors have always examined bridges for visible damage directly on site; German researchers develop software which allows digital inspection of bridges and other structures
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"Digital DNA" to fight cyber crime
Scottish researchers develop what they call “digital DNA”: It is based on analyzing the way in which users access data on their computers and then creating a digital fingerprint that is unique to each user
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Good code, bad computations: A computer security vulnerability
Beware of return-oriented programming — that is, if you want to make sure your computer or server is not tricked into undertaking malicious or undesirable behavior
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The priorities of DHS's Science and Technology Directorate
DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate is known for its restless, entrepreneurial spirit; it has a $830 million dollar budget, and 250 projects under development at any one time
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Earthquake's trampoline effect
During earthquakes the ground not only shakes from side to side, but also bounces up and down; this has important implications for designing quake-proof structures
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Better ground radar to find land mines
There are more than 100 million land mines buried in 68 countries around the world; more than 2,000 people are killed or injured by land mine explosions each month; University of Missouri engineer creates more sensitive, safer land mine detectors
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ESA's gamma-ray technology used to detect dirty bombs
The European Space Agency has licensed its gamma-ray detection technology to a U.K. company; the latter has signed a contract worth $222 million with DHS to next-generation radiation gamma-ray detection and identification system
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Where is James Bond when we need him?
The villains James Bond was fighting — Dr. No, Goldfinger, and Blofeld — looked improbable in the 1960s; these miscreants of globalization — part master criminal, part arms smuggler, part terrorist, part warlord —are now the stuff of reality
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Better chemical sensor emulates animals' noses
A new “electronic nose” is more adept than conventional methodologies at recognizing molecular features even for chemicals it has not been trained to detect
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Using laptops to detect earthquakes
Laptops have a small accelerometer chip built into them in order to protect the delicate moving parts of the hard disk from sudden jolts; same chip is a pretty good earthquake sensor, too
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Tiny gas sensor to detect explosive vapors and chemical agents
EU-funded project aims to develop a tiny sensor — sensor will be less than two centimeters in length and at least twice as sensitive as other sensors of its size
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Small hand-held detector for security, health threats
Researchers develop the world’s smallest detection system: The size of a shoe box, the complete mass spectrometer identifies tiny amounts of chemicals in the environment
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U.K. project examines the idea of a nuclear-powered passenger aircraft
As worries about the rising price of oil and climate change grow, so grows the interest in nuclear power — but not only for ground-based power generation; a U.K. government-funded project examines the idea of nuclear-powered passenger plane
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Sun's growing brightness a threat to Earth
The Sun is slowly getting brighter and warmer; in seven billion years it will engulf Earth — but much sooner, in 1.1 billion years, the Sun will grow 11 percent brighter, raising average terrestrial temperatures to around 50 °C, causing oceans to evaporate; the solution: move Earth away from the Sun
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The long view
Technology Evolves the Tactics: Preparing for the Rise of Terrorist AI Harms
Terrorist groups, like the societies they emerge from, adapt to new technologies. As AI capabilities evolve, so too do the tactics of extremist actors. While the full effects may take years to observe, as the technologies continue to develop, we are starting to see them directly alter extremism tradecraft.
Bookshelf: A Tale of American Lawyers and Chinese Engineers
The U.S. and China have fundamental differences, a new book argues. China would be an “engineering state” whereas the U.S. is a “lawyerly society.” Most Chinese Communist Party leaders have been engineers focused on building mega projects such as highways, bridges, fast trains. and airports. In recent decades the U.S. has become a “lawyerly society” as the country’s elite, dominated by lawyers, focused on procedure and process rather than getting things done.
Europe’s Banks Quietly Mobilize for Economic Warfare
For years, banks treated defense as a reputational issue, as well as an environmental, social and governance risk, often lumping it with tobacco or fossil fuels as something to be managed at arm’s length. That era is ending. Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s coercive trade tactics and the United States’ pressure on Europe to shoulder more of its defense burden have exposed the limits of moralistic restraint. Financial mobilization is the new norm.
A New Generation of Industries Emerges in Texas as Feds Push to Mine More Rare Minerals
The U.S. doesn’t produce the minerals and metals needed for renewable energy, microchips or military technology. Major oil companies are drilling in East Texas again, but not for oil. This time, they’re after lithium for batteries and other rare elements.
U.S. and Australia Deepen Critical-Minerals Engagement to Counter China
Engagement between Australia and the United States on critical minerals has matured from technical cooperation into a strategic partnership, aligning resource security with clean energy and defense priorities.
Bookshelf: Critical Mineral Dilemmas
Whoever controls the production and processing of lithium, copper and other critical minerals could dominate the 21st century economy, much as producers of fossil fuels defined the 20th century, writes Ernest Scheyder in a new book.