Infrastructure protection

Cities worry about toxic substances in freight cars
Water treatment facilities in Baltimore no longer use chlorine, but city residents are still exposed to risk because trains carrying the toxic substance to facilities elsewhere go through the city; city officials want to change this situation
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Europeans install radiation detectors as U.S. question detectors' efficacy
U.S. legislators raise questions about DHS’s $1.4 billion program which aims to deploy nuclear radiation detectors in U.S. ports; GAO raises questions about test methodology of latest technology; Europeans, though forge ahead with port deployment
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How real is the nuclear threat for the United States?
Graham Allison: “Based on current trends, a nuclear terrorist attack on the United States is more likely than not in the decade ahead”
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Acoustic sensors to protect borders, critical infrastructure
Two British companies offer an intriguing border, perimeter, and critical infrastructure protection solution: Sensors, using optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR), continuously monitor the length of existing or installed cable to detect, locate, and categorize security breaches every 10 meters over a 40 km length of optical fiber
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How to pay for greater chemical plant safety
Critics point to the price tag of the chemical plant safety measure as a reason why it should not be imposed on the chemical industry; they are wrong: Meaningful safety standards should be imposed on chemical plants, but since it is a public good, the taxpayers — not the industry alone — should shoulder the cost
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Uncertainties about nuclear waste storage
The waste created in the production of U.S. nuclear weapons is buried in Hanford, Washington; there is a growing uncertainty about the subsurface paths nuclear contaminants take, where they travel, and how fast
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Top Internet security risks of 2007 revealed today
This year’s SANS Top 20 illuminates two new attack targets that criminals have chosen to exploit and the older targets where attackers have significantly raised the stakes
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Organizational security: Alion takes stock and offer remedies
Organizations which take their security seriously want to evaluate continuously their security situation and security policies; often they also must see that they are in compliance with government security mandates; serious organizations should take a look at Alion’s CounterMeasures
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2007 Maritime Security Expo: Security challenges, business opportunities
The U.S. maritime transportation system — ports, ships, warehouses, access roads — is vast and sprawling; securing this system offers many opportunities for security-related businesses for two reasons: It is essential to the welfare and national security of the United States, and many of its nodes are vulnerable to attack and disruption
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Penn State researchers increase data transmission rate of copper cables
Nittany Lions electrical engineers show it is possible to increase the data transmission of Category-7 copper cables used to connect computers to each other and the Internet
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Chinese espionage "single greatest risk" to U.S. technology sector
China’s disregard of intellectual property law is a matter of record; European governments are increasingly alarmed by Chinese intelligence engaging in massive industrial espionage campaign on behalf of Chinese companies; now, congressional panel warns of dire consequences to U.S. technology sector from sustained, sophisticated Chinese espionage campaign
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U.K. uses new law to force hand-over of encryption keys
In October 2007 Parliament passed a law allowing authorities to force people to hand over encryption keys to data stored on their private computers; an animal rights activist is among first to be ordered to hand over encryption keys for her computer, which was seized in May
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U.S. power grid remains vulnerable
As was the case with the chemical industry, the lobbyists for the utilities have blocked meaningful reform and left the North American power grid exceedingly vulnerable
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More questions than answers in South Africa's nuclear facility attack
What was the purpose of the two coordinated, “military-style” attacks on South Africa’s Pelindaba nuclear facility last week? The answer may lie in the facility’s history: Two decades ago the apartheid regime used it to produce six operational nuclear bombs; were the intruders after bomb-making records, blueprints, and computer files?
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Britain launches broad homeland defense plan
Gordon Brown offers details of new homeland defense initiative, increasing the security budget from £2.5 billion to £3.5 billion by 2011, placing emphasis on protecting venues where crowds gather; budget includes £400 million for fighting radicalization abroad
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