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Identity fundamentals. pt. 1: Who cares who you are anyway?
Identity can be defined as a combination of the uniqueness of an individual (or device) and the attributes which are associated with that uniqueness; in the absence of a standard unique personal identification number, personal names are often used to build a single view across different unconnected applications
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DHS distributes $60 million is border security grants
Thirteen border states will receive $60 million from DHS to strengthen their capabilities to secure U.S. borders and territories
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GPO reveals confidential U.S. nuclear information by mistake
A 2004 agreement between the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requires the United States to submit to the agency a detailed list of the addresses and specifications of hundreds of U.S. nuclear-weapons-related facilities, laboratories, reactors, and research activities, including the location of fuel for bombs; the Department of Energy (DOE) prepared the report, and Government Printing Office (GPO) printed it so it could be submitted to the IAEA — but the GPO went ahead and, mistakenly, posted 268-page dossier on its Web site
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Brookline says "No" to CCTVs
Two months ago the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, installed surveillance cameras at major intersections; on Tuesday, members of the city council voted to remove the cameras because of privacy concerns
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House passes TSA authorization, tells agency to consult GA
The House of Representatives the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act; bill sends a message to TSA to increase general aviation (GA) industry participation on security initiatives
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House limits whole body imaging
Worries about privacy lead Congress to vote, 310-118, to ban whole body imaging at airports; the bill would ban TSA from using whole-body imaging instead of metal detectors as the first-screening device at airports
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Obama's emphasis on IT security a boon to Michigan companies
Focus on cybersecurity technology offers Michigan IT companies chance to grow; the state has been quietly building a respectable range of network security companies
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San Diego uses biometrics to identify and remove criminal aliens
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department deputies are the first law enforcement unit in California to use DHS Secure Community program to receive biometric-based immigration information
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Pakistan's security gadgets market booming
Dealers say people more interested in installing CCTVs, night-vision cameras at houses, filling stations, jewelry shops, hotels, restaurants
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Obama to call for better security for computers
President Barack Obama today will outline his administration’s plans to bolster U.S. cybersecurity; the president will announce the creation of a cyber czar position
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9/11 attacks cloud Americans' view of terrorism
There were 80,000 terrorist attacks around the world from 1970 to 2007; of those attacks, only 1,350 attacks, or 1.6 percent, hit American targets — mostly overseas; this percentage plummets to 0.08 percent when attacks on domestic targets are calculated
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The government's new mail room // by Keith James
How CRF regulations overhaul mail security — and the keys to timely compliance
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Tensions arise over White House reorganization plan
President Obama plans to merge the staffs of the White House National Security Council and Homeland Security Council — while stipulating that John Brennan, his homeland security adviser, will still be reporting directly to the president; tensions rise
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Hardin, Montana, wants to take in Guantanamo prisoners
Hardin, Montana (pop. 4,300) had a problem: it invested $27 million in a 464-bed modern prison facility which is standing empty; the city council offered to use it to house Guantanamo prisoners; Montana’s congressional delegation objects
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ABI Research: DHS a "potential goldmine" for wireless kit providers
Obama’s stimulus package earmarks $6.8 billion for wireless communications upgrades and new deployments; the health care and education market will receive some of it, but the real money is in selling wireless equipment to DHS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a new ABI Research report says
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The long view
Kinetic Operations Bring Authoritarian Violence to Democratic Streets
Foreign interference in democracies has a multifaceted toolkit. In addition to information manipulation, the tactical tools authoritarian actors use to undermine democracy include cyber operations, economic coercion, malign finance, and civil society subversion.
Patriots’ Day: How Far-Right Groups Hijack History and Patriotic Symbols to Advance Their Cause, According to an Expert on Extremism
Extremist groups have attempted to change the meaning of freedom and liberty embedded in Patriots’ Day — a commemoration of the battles of Lexington and Concord – to serve their far-right rhetoric, recruitment, and radicalization. Understanding how patriotic symbols can be exploited offers important insights into how historical narratives may be manipulated, potentially leading to harmful consequences in American society.
Trump Aims to Shut Down State Climate Policies
President Donald Trump has launched an all-out legal attack on states’ authority to set climate change policy. Climate-focused state leaders say his administration has no legal basis to unravel their efforts.
Vaccine Integrity Project Says New FDA Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines Show Lack of Consensus, Clarity
Sidestepping both the FDA’s own Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), two Trump-appointed FDA leaders penned an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine to announce new, more restrictive, COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Critics say that not seeking broad input into the new policy, which would help FDA to understand its implications, feasibility, and the potential for unintended consequences, amounts to policy by proclamation.
Twenty-One Things That Are True in Los Angeles
To understand the dangers inherent in deploying the California National Guard – over the strenuous objections of the California governor – and active-duty Marines to deal with anti-ICE protesters, we should remind ourselves of a few elementary truths, writes Benjamin Wittes. Among these truths: “Not all lawful exercises of authority are wise, prudent, or smart”; “Not all crimes require a federal response”; “Avoiding tragic and unnecessary confrontations is generally desirable”; and “It is thus unwise, imprudent, and stupid to take actions for performative reasons that one might reasonably anticipate would increase the risks of such confrontations.”
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a ‘Terrorist’
Discretion is crucial to the American tradition of criminal law, Jacob Ware and Ania Zolyniak write, noting that “lawmakers enact broader statutes to empower prosecutors to pursue justice while entrusting that they will stay within the confines of their authority and screen out the inevitable “absurd” cases that may arise.” Discretion is also vital to maintaining the legitimacy of the legal system. In the prosecution’s case against Luigi Mangione, they charge, “That discretion was abused.”