• Calif. Sheriff Sued for Sharing Drivers’ License Plate Data With ICE, CBP, Other Out-of-State Agencies

    License plate scans occur through Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs): high-speed cameras mounted in a fixed location or atop police cars moving through the community that automatically capture all license plates that come into view, recording the exact location, date, and time that the vehicle passes by. The information can paint a detailed picture of our private lives, our daily schedules, and our social networks.

  • The Sound and the Fury: Inside the Mystery of the Havana Embassy

    By Tim Golden and Sebastian Rotella

    More than a year after American diplomats began to suffer strange, concussion-like symptoms in Cuba, a U.S. investigation is no closer to determining how they were hurt or by whom, and the FBI and CIA are at odds over the case. A ProPublica investigation reveals the many layers to the mystery — and the political maneuvering that is reshaping U.S.-Cuba relations.

  • U.S. Unveils New Cybersecurity Requirements for Rail, Air

    By Jeff Seldin

    DHS has unveiled new measures to make sure the U.S. air and surface transportation sectors will not be crippled by ransomware or cyberattacks. The new measures will apply to “higher risk” rail companies, “critical” airport operators, and air passenger and air cargo companies.

  • Hacking for Homeland Security

    On Monday (4 September), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the launch of the third Hacking for Homeland Security (H4HS). Participating students will focus on challenges associated with cybersecurity information sharing within transportation, the latency issue at screening checkpoints, and address greenspace issues after natural disasters.

  • Innovative Air Domain Awareness Technology

    DHS S&T is evaluating an innovative air domain awareness technologies to help protect the airspace along our northern border with Canada.

  • Biden Unveils Plan of Attack for COVID-19

    By Stephanie Soucheray

    Keep schools open, mandate vaccines for all federal employees, and increase testing—these are three of the goals President Joe Biden outlined Thursday during a briefing on America’s ongoing battle against COVID-19.

  • Apollo Program-Style Pandemic Preparedness Plan

    Last week, the Biden administration announced a new biosecurity plan which it likened to the Apollo program of the late 1960s. This $65 billion proposal would be one of the largest investments in public health in American history and would “remake the nation’s pandemic preparedness infrastructure in the wake of Covid-19.”

  • DOD Imagery Information Aids Wildland Firefighters

    With continuing significant fire activity in the western United States this year, the Department of Defense (DoD) is delivering requested personnel, equipment, and facilities, to assist our Federal, State, and local partners fighting wildland fires. One of the tools provided by the DoD is the Firefly system pilot program (Firefly), a capability from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). 

  • CDC Sets Up New Disease Forecasting Center

    The CDC announced a new center — the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics — designed to advance the use of forecasting and outbreak analytics in public health decision making. Among other missions, the new center will accelerate access to and use of data for public health decision-makers who need information to mitigate the effects of disease threats, such as social and economic disruption.

  • DHS S&T Selects Two Industry Partners for Second Phase Wildland Fire Sensor Research

    DHS S&T selected two industry partners for the second phase of research on wildland fire sensor. The first phase research was conducted in June 2021, and the next phase of the program will focus on hardening the sensors for longer-term field deployments.

  • U.S. Gov. Facing a Severe Cyber Workers Shortage When They Are Needed the Most

    The U.S. government is struggling to find and hire cybersecurity workers precisely at the time it needs such workers most in order to protect the government and its cyber systems from an unprecedented, and ever-more-menacing, wave of cyberattacks.

  • DHS Can Bolster Its Efforts to Counter Violent Extremism

    There were eighty-one fatal violent extremist attacks in the United States from 2010 through 2020, resulting in 240 deaths. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) strategy for preventing targeted violence and terrorism, including its efforts to counter violent extremism.

  • CyberForce Program Now offering Year-Round Cyber Defense Events

    The cybersecurity field is facing a shortfall of 1.8 million professionals by 2022. To fill that skills gap, Argonne, in partnership with DOE, launched CyberForce in 2016 as an annual competition that has challenged college teams to build and defend a simulated energy infrastructure from cyber attacks. DOE is now expanding its CyberForce program and offers more ways for students to test their cybersecurity skills.

  • Delivering Aid to Disaster Scenes with Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Powered Vehicles

    DHS S&T, along with other government agencies, is working on the design and creation of the “H2Rescue” emergency vehicle. The H2Rescue is an innovative new truck that can be a lifeline to responders and community members during times of chaos and uncertainty because the H2Rescue is fully powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

  • Redefining Homeland Security: A New Framework for DHS to Meet Today’s Challenges

    A new report from the Center for American Progress says that to meet the challenges of today, the Biden administration and Congress should reform the Department of Homeland Security around a mission that highlights safety and services alongside its traditional protecting roles.