• Indiana sheriffs use video conferencing to reduce costs

    In an effort to reduce costs, officials in Tippecanoe County, Indiana have begun using video conferencing technology to hold court hearings without transporting the defendant to the courtroom

  • LAPD named best counterterrorism squad

    The Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau (CTSOB) recently received Government Security News’ highest honor for a division of its kind

  • Digital DNA the new DNA

    With the increasing ubiquity of computers, smart phones, and other electronic devices comes a torrent of “digital DNA,” which can be used to record an individual’s every move and even convict them of a crime

  • Yet another mysterious explosion in an Iranian nuclear facility

    A powerful explosion rattled Iran’s third-largest city Isfahan early Monday evening Iran’s time (late morning EST); a major nuclear weapons-related facility is located eight miles from Isfahan; the facility is used for processing uranium so it can be fed into uranium enrichment centrifuges; the massive blast is the latest in a series of mysterious explosions in Iran during the past two years – explosions which not only destroyed military facilities and development centers, but which also wrecked natural gas transport facilities, oil refineries, bridges, and other infrastructure assets; the blasts have caused dozens of deaths, disrupted Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and inflicted damage on key infrastructure

  • Georgia to build privately funded first responder training center

    A local firm in Georgia is set to build a privately funded training facility for first responders that would bring more than 100 jobs to Perry; the sophisticated training center, built by Guardian Centers of Georgia, would help prepare first responders for natural disasters and terrorist attacks

  • Pierce County Washington effort to upgrade marine fleet stymied by cost

    The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department needs a new patrol boat. The problem? A $730,000 price tag which has county officials balking

  • NYPD spying on Muslims leads to spiral of mistrust

    Following the revelation that the New York City police department was spying on the daily lives of ordinary Muslims, community activists have launched a campaign encouraging people to avoid directly reporting suspicious activity to the police

  • Pennsylvania’s homeland security office to operate out of state police HQ

    The Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Homeland Security will move its operations to the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) headquarters in Harrisburg; the office was merged into the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) during the previous administration, but the governor determined that relocating the office to the state police headquarters would result in an even greater combination of intelligence gathering and sharing

  • Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure reach U.S.

    Most of the U.S. critical infrastructure is run by computers which are connected to the Internet; this makes them susceptible to cyber attacks; a few days ago the control system of a water pump in Illinois was taken over by a hacker’s remote command, and then deliberately destroyed; what critical infrastructure facilities will hackers — nerdy teenagers, terrorists, or intelligence operatives of other nations — target next?

  • Terrorist attacks and the false specter of security

    With the recent passing of the tenth anniversary of the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, the United States would benefit greatly from a candid discussion on the nature of terrorism and the current rhetoric surrounding it; the fact is, no wall, law, or interrogation technique will keep us 100 percent safe from violent terrorist acts; the sooner we acknowledge this morbid reality, the sooner we can begin focusing on a long under-emphasized aspect of counterterrorism: the psychological dimension of terrorism – an area where we are losing ground

  • Domestic terrorist on FBI wanted list may be in Massachusetts

    The FBI believes they may have found Daniel Andreas San Diego, the first domestic terrorist to be placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list, in Northampton, Massachusetts; San Diego is wanted for bombing two companies in 2003 that were related to a firm that engaged in animal testing and there is currently a $250,000 reward for information leading to his arrest

  • Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure reach U.S.

    Most of the U.S. critical infrastructure is run by computers which are connected to the Internet; this makes them susceptible to cyber attacks; a few days ago, the control system of a water pump in Illinois was taken over by a hacker’s remote command, and then deliberately destroyed; what critical infrastructure facilities will hackers – nerdy teenagers, terrorists, or intelligence operatives of other nations – target next?

  • U.S. probing use of U.S.-made surveillance technology in Syria

    U.S. Department of Commerce officials are seeking to determine whether Blue Coat Systems of Sunnyvale, California, knew its equipment and software were being used by the Syrian government to monitor anti-government demonstrators. If Commerce find that Blue Coat knowingly violated technology export and licensing rules, it could fine the company up to $1 million.

  • U.S. investigates Illinois pump failure as cyber attack on infrastructure

    The U.S. government is looking into the possibility that a cyber attack may have been responsible for the failure of a water pump at a public water district in Illinois last week; such an attack would be worrisome because cyber attacks on businesses are commonplace, but attacks that invade industrial control systems and intentionally destroy equipment are unknown in the United States.

  • Syria: the end game

    The willingness of the Assad regime in Syria to unleash a brutal suppression campaign against the anti-regime movement, and the reluctance of outside forces openly to intervene – as they did in Libya — to curb the regime’s ability to use its military superiority to suppress the insurgency, have led analysts to argue that the Assad government can outlast its opponents and emerge victorious, if bloodied, from the this latest challenge; the emergence of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) – especially if aided by Saudi Arabia – and the move by Turkey to assume a more active role in Syria, may well spell the end of the regime