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Philadelphia schools deploy sex offender screening software
Adults wishing to enter schools in the Philadelphia area are now screened to make sure they are not sex offenders; the V-Soft solution created by Houston-based Raptor Technologies can also warn administrators or police of problem students, fired employees, and parents in custody disputes
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California faces major decision on dams
California already has upward of 1,000 dams that provide water supply, flood control, and hydropower, but California growing water shortages; last month Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger insisted he would not sign off on any major overhaul of the water system without money for new dams and reservoirs
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New Hampshire firms fight bioterrorism
New Hampshire’s overall food and beverage industry is spread over 93 facilities, and contributes more than $707 million in value added to the state’s economy; the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, and awareness of public anxiety about food safety, lead food companies in the state to keep a close eye on their products
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Fundamentalists' fundaments: how serious is the suicide bum-blast threat?
An al-Qaeda’s follower stuffed his bum with explosives and blew himself up next t the Saudi antiterror chief (the chief was only slightly injured); how serious is this new bum-bombers threat? Experts are divided: some say the arse-blast method poses a new threat to air travel, while others argue that the kaki-kamikaze is nothing to get anyone’s bowels in an uproar about
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Missile defense system that might just work
The Obama administration’s decision to scrap the Bush administration’s plan to place ballistic missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, and replace it with short-range defensive systems closer to Iran, makes sense; instead of making a political point to Russia, the U.S. might now have in place a defensive system that works
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Vermont recalls new biometric licenses
Some of Vermont’s biometric driver licenses were recalled after flaw is found
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DSIT Solutions in $5 million contract for underwater surveillance
The company’s diver detection sonar system employs long-range underwater security; the system automatically classifies, tracks, and detects any alleged threat approaching a protected site
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Revelations about Iran's facility raise questions about U.S. intelligence
Both the 2003 “slam dunk” assertion about Iraq’s WMDs, and the 2007 NIE’s conclusion that Iran had “halted” its nuclear weapons work, were absurdities; we should worry about the fact that they came to the surface — and influenced policy
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U.K.'s ubiquitous camera network to be made smarter
U.K. researchers develop behavioral recognition software which will focus CCTVs in public places — and on public transportation — on people behaving in a suspicious or odd manner; developers say their software would have spotted a man carrying a samurai sword to a bus in Leeds — which he used to attack the bus driver
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Napolitano announces stimulus package grants
DHS secretary Janet Napolitano announced $380 million in ARRA grants — $150 million for port security, $72 for transit security, and $166 million for fire station construction
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Fujitsu asks terrorists whether they would use its software for WMD
Fujitsu runs a patching site for Sun Microsystems’ Solaris Unix variant; the company asks end-users to fill out a survey before downloading the latest patch, and the first question asks whether the customer would be using the patch to build WMD; even if you admit to building a nuclear bomb, Fujitsu allows you to download the patch; either Fujitsu targets really honest terrorists, or the company wants to use the information in its advertising (as in: “5% of our customers are terrorists who use our software to build weapons of mass destruction”)
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ASIS International offers standards and guidelines for the security industry
ASIS standards and guidelines address issues concerning the protection and management of assets — both physical and human — which are common to all sectors of society
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Clayton Consultants on kidnapping and ransom
In many developing countries, kidnapping the family members of rich individuals and then asking for ransom has become a small industry; a specialist offers ideas about what to do to prevent kidnapping — and deal with it when it happens
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Roboboat to fight pirates
An American company has developed an automated counterpiracy system that could be outfitted to a vessel and set loose on patrol
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U.S. government takes leap into the Internet cloud
Vivek Kundra, the White House CIO, said wider adoption of cloud computing solutions would allow federal agencies to “fulfill their missions at lower cost, faster, and ultimately, in a more sustainable manner”
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More headlines
The long view
Preventing Another 'Jan. 6' Starts by Changing How Elections Are Certified, Experts Say
The 2024 presidential election may be a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, but preventing a repeat of Jan. 6, 2021 — when false claims of a stolen election promoted by Donald Trump and his allies led to an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol —will be top of mind this election year. Research finds broad support among public for nonpartisan certification commissions.
States Rush to Combat AI Threat to Elections
This year’s presidential election will be the first since generative AI became widely available. That’s raising fears that millions of voters could be deceived by a barrage of political deepfakes. Congress has done little to address the issue, but states are moving aggressively to respond — though questions remain about how effective any new measures to combat AI-created disinformation will be.
Chinese Government Hackers Targeted Critics of China, U.S. Businesses and Politicians
An indictment was unsealed Monday charging seven nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their involvement in a PRC-based hacking group that spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in furtherance of the PRC’s economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives.
European Arms Imports Nearly Double, U.S. and French Exports Rise, and Russian Exports Fall Sharply
States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms (+94 per cent) between 2014–18 and 2019–23. The United States increased its arms exports by 17 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while Russia’s arms exports halved. Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France.
LNG Exports Have Had No Impact on Domestic Energy Costs: Analysis
U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports have not had any sustained and significant direct impact on U.S. natural gas prices and have, in fact, spurred production and productivity gains, which contribute to downward pressure on domestic prices.