• Online voting not ready for prime time

    Online voting is often considered a way to improve voter turnout and security. But according to one expert, computer scientists have got a long way to go before they make it a viable alternative to pencils and paper.

  • AfD Bunestag member under Russian influence: Report

    Markus Frohnmaier, an MP for the far-right, populist AfD party, could be controlled by Russia, several European media outlets have reported. Frohnmaier has publicly sided with Moscow on practically each and every issue important to Vladimir Putin. The investigative report – the result of a joint effort by several leading European news organizations – concluded that Frohnmaier “stands under the influence of Moscow” and that his political and legislative actions aim to further Russia’s strategic interests.

  • If we want students to feel safe at school, we can’t encourage teachers to spot potential extremists

    Governments have been reaching into schools to try to nip violent extremism in the bud for some time. The Obama administration announced a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program in 2014. Programs like these have also been introduced without adequate evidence for their effectiveness. Delivering a program that hasn’t been properly evaluated could make the underlying issues worse. It could ultimately increase youth vulnerabilities (rather than resilience) to radicalization, and other antisocial behaviors.

  • Climate-smart national flood insurance program

    Last month the Midwest faced historic floods that devastated rural communities, drowned farms, contaminated water supplies, and resulted in billions of dollars in damages. As climate change exacerbates the risk of these catastrophic flooding events, Congress can help citizens take these actions to adapt to the risks of climate change by adopting a package of climate-smart reforms for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

  • Germany to strip citizenship from dual nationals joining terrorist groups

    Germany will change its citizenship law to allow dual nationals to lose their citizenship if they fight for a foreign terrorist militia. The new law, approved Wednesday by the cabinet, will not be applied retroactively and will not apply to minors.

  • Nagging security concerns over using Huawei’s tech in Europe

    New report urges NATO members to look to emulate Britain, which created an entire government office to scrutinize Huawei’s products for security problems.

  • Polymers help minimize fuel explosions and fires from accidents and terrorist acts

    When an act of terrorism or a vehicle or industrial accident ignites fuel, the resulting fire or explosion can be devastating. On Tuesday, scientists described how lengthy but microscopic chains of polymers could be added to fuel to significantly reduce the damage from these terrifying incidents without impacting performance.

  • Attacks against elections are inevitable – Estonia shows what can be done

    Kremlin-backed attackers are working to influence the upcoming European Parliament elections, according to cybersecurity firm FireEye. These new reports highlight rising fears of digital attacks on democracy around the world, including on the U.S. presidential elections in 2020. Russian interference in the West is not new. The experiences of Estonia – the first country ever victim to a clearly coordinated and politically motivated cyber operation – can inform American and European defenses to these complex threats.

  • Bigger than Huawei: U.S. broadens scrutiny of Chinese technology

    A flurry of seemingly disconnected actions by the U.S. government to curb the involvement of Chinese technology firms in the U.S. economy over the past year reflects the Trump administration’s intensifying concern that those firms could — now or in the future — abet espionage by Beijing’s intelligence services.

  • Back to the future: The return of violent far-right terrorism in the age of lone wolves

    Five years ago, when U.S. law enforcement agencies were asked to identify the most serious violent extremist threats they faced in their respective jurisdictions, they cited far-right, anti-government extremists; followed by Salafi-Jihadi inspired extremist violence; radical environmentalists; and, racist, violent extremism. Terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman writes that “given the rise of violent white nationalism and far-right extremism, and the power of twenty-first-century communications platforms, the threat is evolving rapidly.”

  • Pox on everybody’s house

    It was not so long ago that a NIH scientist stumbled across smallpox vials in a cold-storage room — and it was not during a time of increased concern for synthetic biology. Pandora Report notes that from CRISPR babies to garage DIY biohacking kits, it seems like the last few years have been inundated with synbio conversations.

  • Venezuela announces major energy rationing amid new power outages

    Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced that the government will reduce the length of the country’s workday and keep schools closed as it attempts to ration electricity in the face of continued power cuts.

  • April Fools hoax stories may offer clues to help identify “fake news”

    Studying April Fools hoax news stories could offer clues to spotting ‘fake news’ articles, new research reveals. Researchers interested in deception have compared the language used within written April Fools hoaxes and fake news stories.

  • UN Security Council unanimously passes binding terror financing resolution

    The UN Security Council voted to impose sanctions on countries which finance terror groups. The issue of terror financing has been partially addressed before, but Thursday resolution is the first comprehensive measure of its kind.

  • British oversight body: Security flaws in Huawei 5G networks

    A British oversight board has slammed the Chinese telecom giant Huawei for software security flaws. The report, however, stopped short of blaming Chinese intelligence agencies for the engineering defects. The United States is concerned that Huawei is a front for the Chinese intelligence services, and that rolling out Huawei’s 5G system in Europe would open the door for Chinese spying or sabotage.