• Strengthening First Responder Communications

    A critical element of protecting the U.S. is securing the ability of first responders to communicate. A DHS-run exercise aimed to help responders prepare to mitigate potential jamming incidents.

  • Guidance for Holistic Home and Community Wildfire Protection

    Once they have a foothold, severe wildfires can quickly overwhelm a community, particularly one that is densely packed. To shield houses against such a fierce threat, a thorough defense is key.

  • How Our Bushfire-Proof House Design Could Help People Flee Rather Than Risk Fighting the Flames

    Building houses better at withstanding the impacts of climate change is one way we can protect ourselves in the face of future catastrophic conditions. I’m part of a research team that developed a novel, bushfire-resistant house design, which won an international award last month.

  • Russia's Claims of Ukrainian Biological Weapons: A Propaganda Ploy?

    Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has claimed Kyiv is developing biological weapons with support from the US and Germany. Experts familiar with laboratories in Ukraine say the accusations are groundless.

  • Russia’s Hybrid War in Ukraine

    Microsoft last week released a report which details a broad cyberattacks campaign by Russia in Ukraine, a campaign conducted in concert with kinetic military action. At least six Russian Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actors and other unattributed threats, have conducted destructive attacks, espionage operations, or both, while Russian military forces attack the country by land, air, and sea.

  • News Media Heeding Call to Limit Naming Perpetrators in Mass Shootings

    Is reducing the number of times the perpetrator’s name is used in news coverage in the public interest? It certainly diminishes the notoriety of the perpetrator and reduces any incentive to become famous. Yet when the name is not used, other more relevant details, such as the person’s motives and background, may also not be reported.

  • To Check Iran’s Missiles, JCPOA Re-Entry is a Must

    Iran’s missile program is a cause for international concern. John Krzyzaniak and Akshai Vikram write that Iran’s increasing willingness and ability to launch missiles at neighboring countries merits a coordinated, international response. If Iran were to ever acquire a nuclear weapon, its unchecked missile program could allow it to hold entire cities at risk in the Middle East and potentially beyond. “If the United States is ever going to restrict Iran’s missile program through diplomacy, re-entering the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is the best – and likely only – way to make it happen,” they write.

  • World Military Expenditure Passes $2 Trillion for First Time

    Total global military expenditure increased by 0.7 per cent in real terms in 2021, to reach $2113 billion. The five largest spenders in 2021 were the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia, together accounting for 62 per cent of expenditure.

  • Reviving the National Defense Stockpile Funding

    Established during World War II, the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) ensures that the Department of Defense can access key materials necessary to maintain readiness in the event of a major supply chain disruption. Current critical minerals stockpile is inadequate to meet the requirements of great power competition.

  • Amid Carnage in Ukraine, a Shadow War on the Russian Side of the Border

    Away from the active battlefronts within Ukraine, though, there’s a less bloody, less prominent front in the two-month-old war, a shadow campaign that has included attacks on military and industrial targets in Russia itself. It’s not clear how many incidents have occurred, or whether they resulted from air strikes, or missiles, or sabotage.

  • Risk Models Overlook an Important Element

    Earthquakes themselves affect the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates, which in turn could impact on future earthquakes, according to new research. This new knowledge should be incorporated in computer models used to gauge earthquake risk, according to the researchers behind the study.

  • Risk Models Overlook an Important Element

    Earthquakes themselves affect the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates, which in turn could impact on future earthquakes, according to new research. This new knowledge should be incorporated in computer models used to gauge earthquake risk, according to the researchers behind the study.

  • Can the Russian Military Overcome Its Manpower Problems in Ukraine?

    A new phase of the Ukraine war is shaping up in the eastern part of the country, but succeeding with its new war goals will be no simple task for a Russian military that has lost some 15,000 personnel since its February 24 invasion.

  • National Action Plan: The U.S. Domestic Counter-Unmanned Aircraft

    Over the last decade, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or “drones”) have become a regular feature of American life. We use them for recreation, for research, and for commerce. But the proliferation of this new technology has also introduced new risks to public safety, privacy, and homeland security. On Monday, the administration released whole-of-government plan to address UAS threats in the homeland.

  • Co-Offenders Likely to Violently Turn on One Another: Gang Study

    Researchers use over a decade of data from Thames Valley Police to reveal ‘mechanisms’ that generate and sustain violence within networks of organized crime.