-
IAF's fighter jets intercept Delta Airlines plane for lack of communication
A state of emergency declared at Ben-Gurion Airport after Delta Airlines airplane headed to Israel failed to contact control tower due to technical problem
-
-
Iran makes a major step toward the bomb
Iran inaugurated its the country’s first nuclear fuel production plant, allowing it to produce enough plutonium for two bombs a year; at the same time it is increasing the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges; Iran already has enough enriched uranium for one bomb
-
-
CBP unveils plan to modernize U.S. land ports of entry
Funds from the stimulus package — $720 million to be exact — will be directed toward address infrastructure needs at ports of entry
-
-
Seeing through concrete, clearly
Insurgents and terrorists fight from within civilian structures, making it difficult for soldiers and first responders to respond without injuring many civilians; DARPA wants a solution which would allow soldiers to look through concrete walls and give them a detailed picture of a building’s interior — right down to the fixtures
-
-
White House to coordinate cybersecurity efforts
White House to coordinate securing networks government-wide, identifying more than 250 requirements in an on-going 60-day review of federal cybersecurity initiatives
-
-
Manipulating Google searches as counter-terrorism tool
The U.K. government will train pro-West Islamic groups to game Google searches in order to fight the influence of radicals; search engine optimization techniques will make moderate Islamic groups come up first in Google searches
-
-
Texas electrical grid's operator says he is on watch for hackers
Bob Kahn, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas: “We are constantly modifying and upgrading our protections as technology advances, business requirements change and new threats emerge”
-
-
SBAC to U.K. government: don't starve successful sectors
The Society of British Aerospace Companies tells government investment in defense and aerospace should be increased; more investment should go to science, technology, engineering, and maths education
-
-
Aussie government in $43 billion fast Internet scheme
The economic slowdown found private Australian telecommunication companies unwilling to fund a high-speed national broadband network, a network which Kevin Rudd’s government believes is essential for the country’s economic competitiveness; the government is stepping in, saying it would invest at least $21.9 billion of taxpayers’ money to get the project going
-
-
Hackers of U.S. electrical grid left behind "sleeper" software programs
The U.S. electrical grid has been penetrated by sophisticated hackers who left behind “sleeper” software programs which could be remotely activated to disrupt the system; the intelligence community says it is the work of Russian and Chinese government operatives
-
-
U.K. Home Office terrorism advisory site offered link to a porno site
On Monday, a new EU regulation went into effect mandating that ISPs store details of user e-mails and Internet calls; a Home Office site contained a link for citizens who felt the measure was too intrusive, and who would want to send the Home Office a complaint about it; trouble is, those who clicked on the link were sent to a Japanese porno site
-
-
CCTV doorbell could deter, catch crooks
New CCTV-equipped doorbell takes pictures of people ringing your doorbell, and stores picture for future use
-
-
£44 million to U.K. universities to share knowledge with business
U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) created the Knowledge Transfer Accounts (KTA) program to increase collaboration between academia and business; so far, the EPSRC’s KTA programs have awarded a total of £44 million
-
-
Texas university offers maritime degree
The growing security mandates imposed on U.S. sea ports, and need to manage these mandates with but minimal disruption of the flow of commerce, have led Texas Southern University to begin to offer a new degree program in maritime transportation; the bachelor’s and master’s degrees will prepare students in three areas: maritime logistics, security, and environmental compliance
-
-
Dennis Blair ousts ONI Inspector General
Last November, the Inspector General (IG) at the U.S. Office of National Intelligence issued a report in which he highlighted ongoing problems inside ONI and the intelligence community, including poor communication, turf battles, incompatible computer systems, and mission confusion; last Friday, Dennis Blair, director of ONI, fired the IG
-
More headlines
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.”