• Dayton's new UAV center receives initial funding

    UAVs are becoming more and more ubiquitous in military and homeland security missions; Dayton, Ohio — a neighbor to Wright-Patterson Air Force base — wants to capitalize on the UAV trend, and it opens a new UAV technology center

  • DHS unveils improved online presence

    DHS unveils new Web site; National Threat Advisory graphic is given much less prominence

  • Israel successfully tests anti-ship missile defense

    During the summer 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, the Shi’ia organization almost sank an Israeli ship with an advanced Iran-made anti-ship missile; Israel has now successfully tested a sophisticated defense against anti-ship missile — a defensive system which should be of interest to U.S. Navy ships on patrol at the Persian Gulf

  • GAO slams choice of Kansas as location of new BioLab

    In a critical report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that the process by which DHS selected Kansas as the site for the $450 million BioLab was not “scientifically defensible”; GAO said DHS greatly underestimated the chance of accidental release and major contamination from such research; Tornado Alley may not be safe

  • Vcom3D's iPod translator device is a valuable tool for U.S. soldiers

    Florida-based Vcom3D developed software which was used in conjunction with Apple’s iPod to teach sign language to hearing-impaired students; now, the U.S. military and UN peacekeepers use the device as an instant translator in war-torn regions

  • Republicans try to keep Yucca Mountain project alive

    The Obama administration has signaled its intention to bring the curtain down on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project, but Republicans have not given up on it

  • U.S. considers cloud security standards

    Cloud computing is gaining among businesses, so the U.S. government says it may step up with a set of cloud-security standards to meet government requirements for protecting sensitive data

  • U.K. undecided on UAV purchase

    The U.K. Defense Ministry’s Dabinett ISR program has two core elements: One is aimed at better exploiting what is already collected by existing platforms; the other is a “deep and persistent” collection capability-to be addressed by a long-endurance UAV; but which UAV?

  • U.K. looking for ways to deal with IEDs

    Eighteen U.K. troops have been killed in Afghanistan in July, raising the overall toll in the conflict to 187 British deaths; many of these soldiers were killed by IEDs; the government is looking for a solution

  • Cops tasered three kids, threatened one with sodomy

    Police officers use tasers repeatedly on three youth in Illinois; a girl who tried to intervene is choked and locked in a closet

  • This product description will self-destruct

    Huskies researchers develop a tool to make online personal data vanish; after a set time period, electronic communications such as e-mail, Facebook posts, and chat messages would automatically self-destruct, becoming irretrievable from all Web sites, inboxes, outboxes, backup sites, and home computers

  • Widespread privacy failings in online social networks

    A Cambridge University study finds serious privacy weaknesses in the way social networking sites are run; those who join such site are often unaware of these weaknesses

  • U.S. Senate ends production of F-22 fighter

    The contentious debate about whether or not to continue production of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-22 fighter jets beyond the 187 now on order has ended: the Senate votes 58-40 for an amendment striking $1.75 billion for seven more F-22s from a defense spending measure

  • Concerns over E-Verify effectiveness as illegal immigration detentions drop

    The Obama administration has mandated that by 8 September, all contractors who do work with the federal government must use E-Verify to ensure their prospective employees can legally work in the United States; senators say it is too easy to fool the current E-Verify system

  • The business aspects of get-tough immigration policy

    The post-9/11 get-tough policy toward immigration has meant booming business for private prison-management companies; the building of prisons and detention centers is now a much-needed source of income for cash-strapped rural communities