• Protecting DNA privacy

    New mathematical tool protects genetic privacy while giving genomic data to researchers

  • Understanding nuclear ignition better

    The U.S. nuclear warheads are aging; researchers looking for new ways to figure out safe and reliable ways to estimate their longevity and to understand the physics of thermonuclear reactions in the absence of underground testing currently prohibited under law

  • Ridge worries about complacency

    Former DHS secretary Tom Ridges says he is worries about a certain “complacency” about preparing the nation and preventing another attack that has set in on Capitol Hill, and among the wider American public

  • Pilot argues TSA is needlessly obsessive with airline security

    A pilot argues that TSA’s obsession with the improbable repetition of a 9/11-like attack has left the U.S. commercial aviation more vulnerable to terrorism; rather than worry about box cutters, he says, TSA should scan more baggage for explosives

  • President to be able to seize private-sector networks in an emergency

    A bill being drafted in Congress (the is a revised bill — the original went further) permits the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a cybersecurity emergency

  • Handwriting analysis offers alternate lie detection method

    Israeli researchers discover that with the aid of a computerized tool, handwriting characteristics can be measured more effectively; they have found that these handwriting characteristics differ when an individual is in the process of writing deceptive sentences as opposed to truthful sentences

  • New disappearing ink developed

    Nanoparticle inks that fade away in hours could be ideal for secure communications, top-secret maps, and other sensitive documents

  • Laptops at border crossings may be searched without probable cause

    DHS formalized policy regarding searches of electronic devices and media at border crossings; such searches may be conducted without suspicion or probable cause

  • Stockton College to offer homeland security certificate

    Joining a growing number of colleges and universities, and responding to the growing demand for certifications in various homeland security fields, New Jersey’s Stockton College is offering a blended online and classroom-based certification program

  • Michigan seeks homeland security business

    Michigan ranks 31st among states receiving homeland security money, with Virginia, California, and the District of Columbia the top three; a coalition of Michigan business people want to bring more security companies to Michigan to move Michigan

  • NRC awards $20 million to 70 colleges for nuclear education

    It has been nearly 30 years since the last nuclear power plant was built in the United States; the United States has also been cutting, rather than increasing, its arsenal of nuclear weapons; with many things nuclear falling out of favor, fewer and fewer engineering students have been choosing nuclear engineering for their career; the NRC wants to change that

  • U.K. banks lax on Internet fraud

    U.K. Payments Administration (formerly APACS) reports that online banking fraud reached £52.5 million in 2008, more than doubling from the £22.6 million recorded in 2007; not all banks take measures which are adequate

  • More swine flu cases at U.S. colleges as students return

    CDC spokesperson: “I don’t think we’re surprised by the fact influenza is returning to these campuses. What is concerning to us is people becoming complacent about this and not taking the steps we know can protect them”

  • New Orleans storm pumps do not protect city

    The Army Corps of Engineers quickly installed new storm control pumps in New Orleans in the months after Katrina; trouble is, these pumps do not protect the city, the the Corps could have saved $430 million in replacement costs by buying proven equipment

  • Worries about Iraq's biometric database

    The U.S. biometric database in Iraq, now containing identification information on more than 2.5 million Iraqis, has been helpful to U.S. troops in identifying the bad guys and thwarting acts of terror; as the U.S. forces prepare to leave Iraq, worries grow that the same database may be used for monitoring critics of the regime and for political repression