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Pakistan admits Mumbai November attack was hatched in Pakistan
In the face of irrefutable evidence, Pakistan admits the 26 November attacks in Mumbai, in which more than 180 people were killed, were planned on Pakistani soil and carried out by Pakistanis
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Former top MI6 official says bird flu more of a threat than terrorism
Former assistant chief of U.K.’s MI6 says pandemics posed more of threat to the U.K. population than terrorism; he also says that privacy worries about the international counterterrorist databases are exaggerated
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Raytheon offers airborne radar for India's homeland security
India is paying more attention — much more attention — to homeland security in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai bombing; among the first priorities is securing the very long coast lines of the country; Raytheon, already a presence in India, stands to benefit
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Stimulus package offers billions for scientific research
Both House and Senate versions of the economic stimulus package direct billion of dollars toward scientific research; biomedical research is among the big winners, while physics appears to be among the losers
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Public support for infrastructure investment grows
University of Chicago NORC survey finds growing public support for investment in mass transit and infrastructure; support remains high for expenditures on education and health care
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U.S. faces lethal combination of transnational terrorism and criminal gangs
Sometime in the near future a lethal combination of transnational terrorism and criminal gangs is going to cross the U.S. border in force
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More bad news for Taser guns: They raise deaths in custody
University of California-San Francisco study finds that sudden death of people held by California police increased sixfold in the first year after police departments there began using Taser stun guns
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House overwhelmingly approves "white list" of non-terrorists
Congress wants DHS to create a “white list” — a database of people who are not terrorists, but are routinely flagged at airports anyway
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Political wrangling over House homeland security panel's priorities
Democratic majority on panel wants DHS authorization bill completed by 1 May - but panel chairman admits schedule may “slip”; Republicans want to make sure authorization is completed before appropriations are set, arguing that the authorization bill would give direction to appropriators
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MRAPs keep soldiers safe from mines, IEDs on battlefield
The Obama administration wants to send tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan; these troops will need protection from land mines and IEDs; Force Protection, a company producing Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MARP) vehicles, stands to benefit
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World's largest supercomputer will be used for nuclear stockpile research
IBM to build a 20 petaflops supercomputer, called Sequoia, for the Lawrence Livermore lab; a petaflop stands for a quadrillion floating-point operations per second; to put Sequoia’s computing power in perspective, what it can do in one hour would take all 6.7 billion people on Earth with hand calculators 320 years, if they worked together on the calculation for 24 hours per day, 365 days a year
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Cybersecurity contractor's network hacked
A large U.S. government contractor specializing in providing cybersecurity and privacy services, has warned its employees their personal information may have been stolen after hackers planted a virus on its computer network
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Israeli official: Gaza operation "pre-introduction" for dealing with Iran threat
Israeli ambassador to Australia says “Israel’s efforts in Gaza were to bring about understanding that we are ready to engage in a decisive way” over Iran and its nuclear aspirations
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EU security watchdog draws privacy baseline for national ID cards
As a dozen of EU members move toward e-IDs, a EU privacy and security watchdog raises questions about these ID schemes, calling for developing a strategy for protecting the privacy of data held through national ID card projects
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New York State looking for new finger-imaging system
New York State issued an RFP for finger-imaging system which would allow government agencies ti identify and verify the identity of recipients of government services;
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The long view
Economic Cyberespionage: A Persistent and Invisible Threat
Economic cyber-espionage, state-sponsored theft of sensitive business information via cyber means for commercial gain, is an invisible yet persistent threat to national economies.
Researchers Calculate Cyberattack Risk for All 50 States
Local governments are common victims of cyberattack, with economic damage often extending to the state and federal levels. Scholars aggregate threats to thousands of county governments to draw conclusions.
How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse
I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.
Southport Attacks: Why the U.K. Needs a Unified Approach to All Violent Attacks on the Public
The conviction of Axel Rudakubana for the murder of three young girls in Southport has prompted many questions about how the UK handles violence without a clear ideological motive. This case has also shown up the confusion in this area, and made clear the need for a basic reframing of how we understand murderous violence against the public today.
Water Is the Other U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis, and the Supply Crunch Is Getting Worse
The United States and Mexico are aware of the political and economic importance of the border region. But if water scarcity worsens, it could supplant other border priorities. The two countries should recognize that conditions are deteriorating and update the existing cross-border governance regime so that it reflects today’s new water realities.
Sweden’s Deadliest Mass Shooting Highlights Global Reality of Gun Violence, Criminologist Says
“We in the United States don’t have a monopoly on mass shootings,” James Alan Fox says, “though we certainly have more than our share.”