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New system locates origin of incoming fire
A Massachusetts company develops a system which helps soldiers pinpoint the location of sniper fire; system has been successfully used in Iraq and Afghanistan
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Tactical weapon retention
A police officer or soldier approaching a criminal or a terrorist would be in dire straits if the bad guy were to grab the officer’s weapon, thus leaving him defenseless; retaining one’s weapon is thus key, and here is a discussion of how to do it
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Economic downturn to hurt medical emergency preparedness
Progress made better to protect the United States from disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and bioterrorism is now at risk, due to budget cuts and the economic crisis
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U.K. launches dedicated network for emergency communication
The U.K. government has contracted with BT to develop the National Resilience Extranet — which will enable the secure exchange of information in response to civil emergencies such as floods and outbreaks of agricultural diseases
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Day of smart fabrics nears
Researchers report progress toward a simple, low-cost method to make smart fabrics — electronic textiles capable of detecting diseases, monitoring heart rates, and other vital signs
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New chemical contamination wipe developed
New, nonwoven dry wipe material proves itself in cleaning up chemical warfare agents and toxic chemicals
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Old fingerprints help solve heretofore unresolved crimes
A forensic scientist at Northamptonshire Police and the University of Leicester has helped detectives move a step closer to solving a murder case; the key: lifting fingerprints off bullets
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FBI: Growing copper theft threatens U.S. critical infrastructure
The FBI says that, individually, isolated instances of copper theft cause big enough headaches of their own, but taken together, they present a significant problem for the United States — a threat to public safety and to U.S. critical infrastructure
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Day of 4G technology -- mobile WiMax -- nears
Clearwire and Sprint Nextel completes transaction to combine their next-generation wireless Internet businesses; companies announce $3.2 billion investment to launch 4G mobile Internet company
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European states to coordinate anti-cybercrime effort
The 27 member states of the EU are worried about the effects of cyber crimes on the European economy; new blueprint for fighting cybercrime calls for better cooperation among national law enforcement units
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Briefly noted
Feds get high marks for aviation security efforts…. Newest U.S. missile detection satellite may be failing… QinetIQ North America in $58 million TALON contract… Measuring effectiveness of emergency response
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Video games as a training tool for first responders
The U.S. video game market is booming — consumer spending for console and handheld games will reach $11.7 billion in 2012, a noticeable increase over the $8.6 billion in 2007 the firm recorded; within this market there is a small niche dedicated to training and education
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U.S. harnesses Facebook, MTV in fight against terrorism
Seventeen pro-democracy, anti-terror groups from South Africa, Britain, and the Middle East which have an online presence will gather in New York to exchange notes
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Immigration Alert: Employing immigrants during economic slowdown
There are important employer obligations to consider when employing immigrants during an economic downturn
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Seattle successfully tests emergency response policy
Can local public health providers can handle a major earthquake, pandemic flu, or some other really big disaster? King County, Washington, says it is ready
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The long view
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
“The Federal Government Is Gone”: Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States
As President Donald Trump guts the main federal office dedicated to preventing terrorism, states say they’re left to take the lead in spotlighting threats. Some state efforts are robust, others are fledgling, and yet other states are still formalizing strategies for addressing extremism. With the federal government largely retreating from focusing on extremist dangers, prevention advocates say the threat of violent extremism is likely to increase.
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a ‘Terrorist’
Discretion is crucial to the American tradition of criminal law, Jacob Ware and Ania Zolyniak write, noting that “lawmakers enact broader statutes to empower prosecutors to pursue justice while entrusting that they will stay within the confines of their authority and screen out the inevitable “absurd” cases that may arise.” Discretion is also vital to maintaining the legitimacy of the legal system. In the prosecution’s case against Luigi Mangione, they charge, “That discretion was abused.”
Autonomous Weapon Systems: No Human-in-the-Loop Required, and Other Myths Dispelled
“The United States has a strong policy on autonomy in weapon systems that simultaneously enables their development and deployment and ensures they could be used in an effective manner, meaning the systems work as intended, with the same minimal risk of accidents or errors that all weapon systems have,” Michael Horowitz writes.
Ukraine Drone Strikes on Russian Airbase Reveal Any Country Is Vulnerable to the Same Kind of Attack
Air defense systems are built on the assumption that threats come from above and from beyond national borders. But Ukraine’s coordinated drone strike on 1 June on five airbases deep inside Russian territory exposed what happens when states are attacked from below and from within. In low-level airspace, visibility drops, responsibility fragments, and detection tools lose their edge. Drones arrive unannounced, response times lag, coordination breaks.
Shots to the Dome—Why We Can’t Model US Missile Defense on Israel’s “Iron Dome”
Starting an arms race where the costs are stacked against you at a time when debt-to-GDP is approaching an all-time high seems reckless. All in all, the idea behind Golden Dome is still quite undercooked.