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Chemical industry urges Congress not to alter chemical facility security law
The Chemical Facility Security Act of 2006 introduced federal seafety standards to govern chemical plants, but also contained major concessions to the industry; the industry wants Congress to reauthorize the act without alterations
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Simpler, cheaper planes steal the show in Paris
Simpler, slower, and cheaper planes, loaded with weapons, attract attention at the Paris Air Show; these planes are more suitable for the budget-conscious Pentagon — and for fighting insurgents; Stephen Biddle: “Somebody roaring by at 500 miles per hour has a harder time of distinguishing between civilians and insurgents”
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Defense contractors look to cybersecurity for growth
The Obama administration’s emphasis on cybersecurity in its FY2010 defense budget — and the federal budget more generally — offers opportunities for large defense contractors; smaller companies providing gear for Afghanistan/Pakistan war also see growth opportunities
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China uses stolen software in its new Internet censorship scheme
The Chinese government will impose strict Internet censorship beginning 1 July; the software the Chinese will use for filtering Web sites was stolen from California-based Solid Oak Software; the Chinese piracy was exceedingly clumsy: a file containing a 2004 Solid Oak news bulletin has been accidentally included in the Chinese filtering coding
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Hamas, Hezbollah employ Russian hackers for cyber attacks on Israel
During Israel’s January campaign in the Gaza Strip, Israeli government’s Web site were attacked, and some were paralyzed for hours; Israeli intelligence suspects the attacks were carried out by a criminal organization from the former Soviet Union and paid for by Hamas or Hezbollah
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U.K. to centralize cybersecurity functions
Following President Obama’s cybersecurty initiative, the U.K. government will move to centralize cyber security functions in Whitehall as part of an on-going major review of U.K. cybersecurity
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Mobile workforce poses cybersecurity risk
The growing mobility of the workforce creates new cyber security threats; Symantec’s Vic Mankotia: “Data in motion is the next big threat to government information security”
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NSF receives $3 billion in stimulus package funds
NSF director: “The Obama administration understands the role of science in dealing with national problems. It’s built into their priorities and the people they have appointed to get the agenda moving”
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E-Verify implementation delayed yet again
DHS created E-Verify to allow employers to check on line the eligibility of employees to work in the United States; implementation of the system has been delayed for the fourth time; new deadline: 8 September 2009
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SF airport receives first installment of stimulus package money
The stimulus package added $3 billion to the DHS budget; of that, about $1 billion will go toward bolstering airport security; San Francisco International receives first $15 million
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Mystery surrounds detection of North Korea's nuclear test
Detecting radionuclide evidence in the form of radioactive gas is the “smoking gun” — proving that a nuclear explosion has occurred; seismologists say they are comfortable that explosion in North Korea two weeks ago was a nuclear test — but sensors have not been able to pick up radionuclide evidence
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Worries in the U.K. over Chinese-made phone equipment
BT is engaged in a massive upgrade of its 21CN network backbone; trouble is, at the core of this upgrade is equipment acquired from Chinese networking giant Huawei, a company Western intelligence services have long suspected of being a front for Chinese intelligence; fear of an undetectable “kill switch” that could disable critical communications
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What's past is prologue: Israel's covert campaign against Iran's nuclear program
During the past four-and-a-half decades, Israel has used a combination of ruthless covert operations and overt military means to prevent three Arab countries — Egypt, Iraq, and Syria — from acquiring the capability to build nuclear weapons; as Iran approaches the home stretch of its nuclear weapons program, it may want to reflect on this history
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Texas cop uses Taser gun on 72-year old combative granny
Kathryn Winkfein, 72, was stopped for doing 60 mph in a 45 mph zone; when she began to argue with the cop, he tased her
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NYCLU sues DHS over mid-Manhattan surveillance scheme
DHS wants to build a $92 million surveillance system in Lower Manhattan; civil liberties organizations sues DHS over plans to expand plan to mid-Manhattan
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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.
Don’t Buy Moscow’s Shameless Campaign Tying Biden to Its Terrorist Attack
Russia has offered many different explanations to the ISIS-K’s 22 March 2024 terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, but the most recent explanation offered by Russia is the most audacious yet: Russia now charges that the Ukrainian energy company Burisma financed the attack. Burisma is at the center of an effort by a congressional committee to impeach President Biden, but the case has all but collapsed. Hunter Stoll writes that Russia’s disinformation and propaganda apparatus appears to be searching for ways to keep Burisma in the news ahead of the U.S. presidential election.