Infrastructure protection

NSA pushes for greater federal cybersecurity role
General Keith Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency (NSA), and other intelligence officials are pushing the Obama administration to expand the role of the NSA in federal cybersecurity initiatives
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Senators compete over critical infrastructure cybersecurity bill
Lawmakers are currently struggling to come to a consensus on which government agency should be in charge of securing the nation’s cyber infrastructure
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AlertEnteprises wins three awards for critical infrastructure security tech
Last week AlertEnterprise announced that it had been given three awards for its identity and access management technology used to help secure critical infrastructure
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Asteroid 2011 AG5 worries to be justified – or not -- in February 2023
Asteroid 2011 AG5 is one of 8,744 near-Earth objects that have been discovered; it is approximately 460 feet (140 meters) in size; it is on a collision course with Earth for 5 February 2040 – but we will k now for sure in February of 2023, when it will pass Earth no closer than about one million miles, making it possible for scientists to plot its future trajectory
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Robots to climb and assemble structures, making construction safer
In the near future, armies of robots could nimbly be crawling up towers and skyscrapers to make repairs, so humans do not have to; the design of the truss pieces, which have ridges and specially designed locks so the robot can manipulate them, is as important as the robot itself, and researchers express the hopes that in the future such robot-friendly building components would be standardized for widespread use
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Physicists predict when brittle materials fail
It does not happen often, but structures like bridges, airplanes, and buildings do fail, sometimes catastrophically; what are the odds, and how can it be prevented? Researchers just published new theoretical insights into the probability of structural failures, based on hundreds of thousands of computer simulations
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Recycled glass in cement makes concrete stronger
Researchers have found that by mixing ground waste glass into the cement that is used to make concrete, the concrete is stronger, more durable, and more resistant to water; in addition, the use of glass helps reduce the amount of glass that ends up in landfills
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Helping software to help improve software
The earlier a problem is detected, the easier it can be solved; before implementing complex programs in a time-consuming process, computer scientists also want to know whether they will reach the desired performance
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Lawmakers blast DHS for problems with chemical facility security program
At a recent Congressional hearing, lawmakers blasted DHS officials for their failure to follow through with a program designed to secure chemical facilities in the United States
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Invisibility cloak to protect buildings from earthquakes
Scientists show that by cloaking components of structures with pressurized rubber, powerful waves such as those produced by an earthquake would not “see” the building — they would simply pass around the structure and thus prevent serious damage or destruction
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Preventing earthquake-induced soil liquefaction to protect buildings
When earthquakes occur, buildings can shift or fall; often, the failure is because of soil liquefaction, a phenomenon that occurs when loose, water-saturated soils lose strength in response to the sudden shaking from an earthquake, causing the soil to behave like a liquid; scientists have come up with a way to minimize liquefaction
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Shape-memory alloys for earthquake-resistant structures
To improve the performance of structures during earthquakes, researchers have been investigating the use of “smart” materials, such as shape-memory alloys, which can bounce back after experiencing large loads
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Local officials oppose “unacceptable” levee ratings
In recent years as part of an effort to bolster the nation’s flood protection infrastructure, the Army Corps of Engineers has analyzed and declared more than 200 levee systems across the country as “unacceptable,” resulting in a firestorm of criticism from local officials
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Bill would allow DHS to impose cybersecurity standards
A bill before Congress would significantly increase the power of DHS to monitor the cybersecurity practices of industries and services which are part of the U.S. critical infrastructure
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The cost of bolstering U.S. infrastructure cyber-protection
To achieve security capable of stopping 95 percent of cyber attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure – 100 percent protection is not attainable – experts said the industries involved would have to boost spending to a group total of $46.6 billion from the current $5.3 billion
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