• Would-be terrorists in U.S. hobbled by logistics

    Explosives experts say there are many reasons for the string of bomb failures in recent attempts by would-be terrorists in the United States; among them: it is hard to get explosive materials in the United States; putting together a bomb is a complicated process; and these kinds of attacks require a team to get them off the ground

  • Street microphones eavesdrop on crimes

    The city of Coventry has installed microphones on street at the city center; the microphones detect suspect sounds, including trigger words spoken at normal volumes as well as angry or panicked exchanges before they become violent; operators can then direct police straight to the scene

  • Political summits should be held in remote locations

    Canadian security expert says that holding the G8 summit in Toronto makes no sense; bringing world leaders to an urban setting escalates cost — and risk; “it is overwhelmingly easier to get a device such as a powerful dirty bomb into Toronto than it would have been into Kananaskis [Alberta],” where the 2002 G8 summit was held

  • Forecasting the misuse, and abuse, of evolving technologies

    New project aims to identify and assesses future threats posed by the abuse of evolving science and technology knowledge; examples could include the development of new infectious bacteria or viruses resistant to known medical treatments, or the invention of materials with camouflaging properties for covert activity

  • Who is to blame for delays in installing surveillance cameras in NYC?

    The project of installing surveillance cameras in New York subways was meant to be completed by Lockheed martin by August 2008; now, nearly two years later, the best-case scenario is completion (by a company or companies other than Lockheed) of a scaled-back electronic security system by some time in 2012; Lockheed Martin, NYC blame — and sue — each other for contract violations

  • Study: Pakistan's ISI military intelligence directly funds, trains, directs Taliban

    New study argues that Pakistan’s secret service, the ISI, directly funds and trains the Afghan Taliban, and provides its fighters with intelligence and logistical support; “Pakistan appears to be playing a double game of astonishing magnitude,” the report says; “There is thus a strong case that the ISI orchestrates, sustains and shapes the overall insurgent campaign,” it said

  • U.K. government slashes police's cybercrime budget by 30 percent

    When on the opposition benches, Tory MP James Brokenshire (Old Bexley & Sidcup) said: “if you don’t prioritize cybercrime you compromise national cyber-security”; he is now a junior Home Office minister, presiding over a 30 percent cut in the cybercrime budget of the U.K. national police; security experts, industry, and academics are not happy

  • Mexican drug cartels smuggling illegals into U.S. create security risk, officials say

    DHS has defined several countries — primarily China, but also Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan — as “special interest countries”; smuggling potential terrorists and citizens of special interest countries across the U.S. border is evolving into a billion dollar industry for Mexican drug cartels, posing a significant threat to the United States

  • Questions about killing of 15-year old Mexican boy by U.S. Border Patrol agent

    A 15-year old Mexican, Sergio Hernandez, was shot dead by a U.S. Border Patrol agent; the agent was on the U.S. side of the border, and Hernandez and his friends on the Mexican side; unnamed U.S. sources say Hernandez was a known ” juvenile smuggler,” and that in 2009 he was charged with alien smuggling; he was also on a “most wanted” list of juvenile smugglers compiled by U.S. authorities in the El Paso area; the Border Patrol says its agents came under “assaulted with rocks” by Hernandez and his friends; the Mexican government wants to know whether it was necessary to shoot a teen-ager dead for throwing rocks

  • Obama's 29 May 2009 cybersecurity speech: a year on

    On 29 May 2009 president Obama said “America’s economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity”; since then the United States has moved systematically toward enhancing cybersecurity through the following initiatives, but much remains to be done

  • The consequences of new surveillance technology

    Many wish for better security in public places, and support installation of new video surveillance technologies to achieve this goal; these surveillance technologies, however, have important psychological and legal implications, and four German universities cooperate in studying these implications

  • Outrage in India over Bhopal verdict

    The 1984 toxic gas leak in the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India claimed between 15,000 and 20,000 lives; in addition to thousands of dead, the toxic gas left hundreds of thousands either disabled or grappling with chronic illnesses ranging from kidney and liver damage, to cancer and birth defects; court in India sentences seven of the plant managers to two years in jail and a fine of $2,200 each; Union Carbide India was fined $10,500; Warren Anderson, a top Union Carbide executive and named defendant, lives in the United States and has not answered court summons from India

  • Demand for stand-alone terrorism coverage down

    Reinsurers would like to place more terrorism business, but the demand for stand-alone terrorism coverage is on the wane; the market could tighten if the Obama administration proceeds with its plan to scale back the federal government’s terrorism insurance backstop, which has been in place since 2002

  • Israel-Iran confrontation looms as Iranians set to challenge Gaza blockade with aid ships

    The Iranian Red Crescent has said it will send three aid ships to Gaza, plus an aid cargo plane to Egypt, as it joins the efforts to defy Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip; Iran’s leaders said they would send the Iranian navy to accompany the ships; an aid ship from Iran was prevented from reaching Gaza in 2008.

  • Israel navy thwarted naval terrorist attack from Gaza

    With the land borders of Gaza tightly controlled by Israel, Palestinian militants resort to trying to attack Israel from the sea; IDF foiled rare maritime attack by armed Palestinian squad equipped with wetsuits and diving gear; Hamas says four Palestinians killed and a fifth is missing; in January a number of barrels packed with explosives were washed ashore in Israel after being launched from Gaza