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U.S. debates creating domestic intelligence agency
A new RAND study examines the benefits of creating a domestic intelligence agency; research group offers a break-even analysis of the various counterterrorism organizational options
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Satellite program canceled; intelligence community uneasy
Congress has shelved a Pentagon program to buy two commercial imagery satellites; in 2005 the Pentagon pulled the plug on a major component of the Future Imagery Architecture system; U.S. intelligence community fears intelligence gaps will open
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Briefly noted
Deadly plague found in Grand Canyon… IG: USDA monitoring system improves IT security… France’s DGA issues multinational contract for lightweight UAV radar tech… Thales completes acquisition of U.K. encryption specialist… N.J. safer, but not safe from terrorists
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Debate over safety of taser-proof vests
A U.S. body-armor company is selling taser-proof vests to police units; some argue that the vests make officers less safe because taser-toting bad guys would now aim for the officer’s head; the response: this is like arguing that bullet-proof vests make officer less safe because the bad guy would aim for the head
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HHS offers legal shield to anthrax manufacturers, distributors
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers legal shield to manufacturers and distributors of anthrax vaccines and treatments under a “public health emergency” to be in effect until the end of 2015
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Interpol plans facial recognition database to catch suspects
Every year more than 800 million international travelers fail to undergo the most basic scrutiny to check whether their identity documents have been stolen, Interpol has warned; the organization plans a massive face-recognition database
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Debate over safety of taser-proof vests
A U.S. body-armor company is selling taser-proof vests to police units; some argue that the vests make officers less safe because taser-toting bad guys would now aim for the officer’s head; the response: this is like arguing that bullet-proof vests make officer less safe because the bad guy would aim for the head
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TSA meets initial screening cargo goal
Congress has mandated through the 9/11 law that 50 percent of cargo on passenger carrying aircraft be screened by February 2009 and 100 percent of cargo be screened by August 2010; TSA says it currently screens all cargo on narrow body, passenger-carrying aircraft; these account for more than 90 percent of all passenger carrying aircraft in the United States
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Unsettling lack of security at Level 4 Biosafety Labs
Biosafety labs (BSLs) handle the world’s most dangerous agents and diseases; only BSL-4 labs can work with agents for which no cure or treatment exists; there are five BSL-4 labs in the United States, and GAO conducted a study of these labs’ perimeter security; you are not going to like what the GAO found
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FBI worried about increased cyber crime
Head of the FBI cyber division says the number of victims of cyber crime, and the cost of that crime, are increasing; moreover, as many as two dozen countries have taken an “aggressive interest” in penetrating the networks of U.S. companies and government agencies
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Chertoff urges industry to invest in cybersecurity
About 85 percent of the U.S. critical infrastructure is owned and operated by private industry; DHS secretary Chertoff says this fact makes cybersecurity a shared responsibility between government and the corporations that control most computer networks
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Chertoff says there will be no Big Brother approach to Internet security
Earlier this year Director of U.S. National Intelligence Mike McConnell said the government would require broad powers to monitor all Internet traffic in order to secure the U.S. critical information infrastructure; Chertoff outlines a more modest approach
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Body-armor manufacturer settles with U.S. Justice Department
The U.S. Justice Department charged that a body armor manufacturer knowingly used Zylon fiber in body army it sold to the federal government and local law enforcement; Zylon fiber degrades quickly and is not suitable for ballistic use
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New DHS network still has problems
HSIN was launched in 2004 to provide a secure, Internet-based system to share terrorism information with federal, state, and local agencies and the private sector, but ran into problems; last year DHS decided to replace it with a new system, but that one, too, has problems
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ISF annual congress in Barcelona, 16-18 November
More than 500 IT security leaders will meet in Barcelona in November for the ISF 19th annual congress
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The long view
Diversity as National Security: Why Retreating from DEI Risks Repeating Pre-9/11 Failures
One of often overlooked lessons of the 9/11 intelligence failure is that diversity — linguistic, cultural, experiential — was not simply a “nice to have” in intelligence work. It was essential infrastructure. The absence of diversity in America’s national security workforce thus represented more than a demographic imbalance; it represented a structural blind spot.
Online Mobilization and Violence in the United States
Even before the Charlie Kirk assassination, the United States was facing a resurgence of politically motivated violence that is deeply intertwined with the digital sphere. Extremists across the ideological spectrum exploit acts of violence to recruit followers, justify their ideologies, and sustain propaganda networks.
Nick Fuentes Is a Master of Exploiting the Current Social Media Opportunities for Extremism
That the antisemitic white nationalist Nick Fuentes and his followers have managed to get what their 20th-century predecessors could not — widespread awareness and political influence — reveals how fringe ideologies operate differently today compared to the mid-20th century, when institutional gatekeepers –political parties, law enforcement, the media –could more effectively contain extremist movements.
White Nationalism Fuels Tolerance for Political Violence Nationwide
Political violence is certainly not new in American society, but current patterns differ in key ways. We found that, today, white nationalism is a key driver of support for political violence –a sign that white nationalism poses substantial danger to U.S. political stability.
Political Violence Offers Extremist “Trigger Events” for Recruiting Supporters
Extremists are exploiting political violence by using online platforms to recruit new people to their causes and amplify the use of violence for political goals. High-profile incidents of political violence are useful trigger events for justifying extremist ideologies and calls for retaliation.
Fake survey Answers from AI Could Quietly Sway Election Predictions
Public opinion polls and other surveys rely on data to understand human behavior. New research reveals that artificial intelligence can now corrupt public opinion surveys at scale—passing every quality check, mimicking real humans, and manipulating results without leaving a trace.