• Growing problem: Private security companies pose risk to privacy

    Government mandates in the U.K. now require more and more businesses to collect more and more information about individuals who use these businesses’ services; private contractors are hired to handled the collection and handling of the personal information collected; these contractors are not bound by the tight rules governing the government handling of such information (not that the U.K. government is doing a very good job following these rules)

  • Hathaway: cybersecurity must be joint effort

    President Obama’s top cybersecurity adviser: The fragility of the world’s digital infrastructure is “one of the most serious economic and national security challenges of the 21st century”

  • U.K. government's budget proposal attracts lukewarm reaction

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling’s budget — described by the chancellor as “the world’s first carbon budget” — offers support to U.K.’s fast-growth technology sector, but some say it is not enough; EFF’s Gilbert Toppin: “The measures are helpful though he should have gone further to make a real difference”

  • Big boost for the Great Aussie Firewall

    Australia’s Labor government wants to make the Internet cleaner and safer; to do that, the government last year introduced a proposal for a filtering scheme — dubbed the Great Aussie Firewall — which would block sites on an existing blacklist determined by the Australian Communications Media Authority; the project has just received a big boost

  • No dog left behind: DARPA seeks dog-training machines

    Impatient with old-fashioned dog trainers and their archaic techniques of squeaky toys and personal affection, DARPA solicits ideas for machines which would “automates the training of complex behaviors in animals without human intervention”; the training machines should also be able to collect performance metrics that will “indicate” a dog’s “intelligence, capability, and progress”

  • Petraeus to Pakistan: The enemy is not India, but home-grown extremists

    Petraeus says Pakistan should get over its fixation on India as enemy No. 1, and recognize instead the growing danger to Pakistan’s existence from home-grown Islamic extremists

  • F-35 project hacking case highlights need for tighter contractor security

    Hackers managed to download terabytes of information about one of the Pentagon’s most prized weapons systems; experts say this latest breach highlights the need for stricter security requirements for contractor networks

  • Hackers steal several terabytes of data on U.S. fighter-jet project

    Hackers — in all likelihood Chinese operatives — breach Pentagon’s security and download several terabytes of data on the $300-billion Joint Strike Fighter project (the F-35 Lightning II) which may make it easier to defend against the futuristic aircraft

  • DHS announces ARRA funding of Coast Guard improvement projects

    DHS directs $240 of the stimulus package funds to make improvements to Coast Guard cutters and shoring up of bridges

  • U.K. technology, industry groups call on government to act

    A coalition of U.K. technology and industry groups call on the U.K. government to use the forthcoming budget as an opportunity to reshape the economy by investing in key growth technology sectors

  • Obama names Aneesh Chopra first U.S. chief technology officer

    President Barack Obama fulfills a campaign pledge to appoint chief technology officer for the United States; Chopra will work closely with Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, who is responsible for setting technology policy and federal technology spending, which amounts to more than $70 billion a year

  • Obama administration slashes ballistic missile defense funds

    In early January, the outgoing Bush administration awarded Boeing a $400 million contract for Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptors; we wrote at the time that it was “probably the last large ballistic missile defense contract, as both Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress have shown little interest in the program”; we were right: the Obama administrations proposes deep cuts in funding for the more esoteric BMD technologies

  • Outsourcing Winter Olympic security increases costs to RCMP

    The Canadian government says the security budget for the 2010 Winter Olympics, to be held in Vancouver, is $900 million; it is five-times greater than the original $175 million budget; many Canadian and American security companies stand to benefit

  • U.S. 100% screening law in doubt

    In 2007, Congress passed a law requiring 100% screening of U.S.-bound air cargo; in February, TSA reached the 50% screening milestone, but the agency says 100% screening is not likely anytime soon; other countries do not mind, saying unilateral U.S. moves on screening violate their sovereignty

  • DHS highlights successes in fight against trafficking and illegal immigration

    On a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, DHS secretary Napolitano highlights the department’s success in efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and contraband trafficking