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DHS moves on chemical plant safety regulations
In a one-punch, DHS moves on rules governing chemical plants safety two weeks after formulaitng rules to governs the rail transportation of hazardous chemicals; Democrats will controll both houses of Congress next year, and they say both sets of rules are too weak, and will be strengthened
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NY/NJ Port Authority offers national port security recommendations
Suggestions include minimum mandatory cargo inspection standards, a federal port and cargo policy director, and a port security user fee to offset security costs
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Buffalo physicist announces new blast protection technology
New computer simulations that test blast-proof infrastructure without the expense of physical modelling and test explosions; interstitial grains control energy propagation through a tapered chain; buildings, tanks, and bulletproof vests could benefit from discovery
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U.S. water utility buys Magal's DreamBox solution
Security company Magal is gaining traction in the U.S. market; after a year-long marketing efforts, order begin to come in
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Dayton positions itself as a sensor center
Ohio’s Third Frontier Commission awards $28 million for the development of a sensor technology research center; business partners include Woolpert, General Dynamics, UES, YSI, and L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics
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RemoteReality receives $7.3 million in VC funding
Battelle Ventures and Chart Venture partners pick up the tab; company a DoD favorite for its 360-degree video analytics technology; USS Cole and USS Greenville incidents drive demand for on-board surveillance and monitoring
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Otto Hoernig launches new sensor networking firm
Hoernig previously sold SpaceLink International for $150 million; Trace Systems, based in Virginai, will pursue business with DHS and DoD; market for wireless sensors to reach $1 billion by 2009
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EU launches infrastructure protection package
An EU commission fashions what it calls “horizontal framework” which will offer better and more effective campaign to protect of EU critical infrastructures such as transport and communications
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AIG buys DPW’s port management contracts
Earlier in the year a firestorm broke out when it was disclosed that the Bush administration had approved a deal in which a UAE-based company would acquire the management of major U.S. seaports from a U.K-based company; after a month of heated debate, major portions of the deal were restructured to minimize DPW’s access to more sensitive areas at the ports; now, AIG has acquired DPW contracts, and critics of the original deal are happy; DPW is also happy: It was hoping to realize about $700 million on the deal, but sources close to the negotiations say that the final price tag would be “comfortably” above the $1 billion mark
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Trace Systems eyes growing wireless sensor network market
The wireless sensor network market is growing by leaps and bounds, and this Virginia-based company wants to be a major player in it
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Sandia develops an imporved sensor network
The future — well, a part of it at least — belongs to sensor networks; rsearchers at Sandia Natioal Lab have developed the unattended ground sensor (UGS), and system whcih combines off-the-shelf components with in-house developed elements to create a better andre useful network; investors and manufacturers may want to make the lab an offer for the technology
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DHS inspector general turns up the heat
Arrest and conviction rates for post-Katrina contracting fraud are skryrocketing, even as total complaints decrease; impressive new zealousness strikes fear into the unethical, but the lawyers are happy; DHS has more than 2,500 open cases pending
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IBM gives Cook County a boost with cruiser-linked infrastructure surveillance
Cameras from Panasonic and Pelco are wirelessly connected to in-car screens and DVRs; Project Shield aims to protect 126 sites at a cost of only $900,000
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Research shows early detection of earthquake magnitude possible
Italian researchers find string correlation between strength of primary wave and the damage resulting from the secondary wave; basic math now permits 10-15 seconds warning time for those near the epicenter; early warning could trigger emergency response mechanisms
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Los Alamos looks to create self-disabling nuclear warheads
Under a secret three year program, scientists have been working on methods to automatically destroy a warhead if it is stolen or tampered with; though details are secret, method might involve an acid that destroys the mechanisms and contaminates the radiactive core
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More headlines
The long view
Emerging Threats to the U.S. Financial System
In early 2021, a freewheeling, freethinking group of investors on Reddit plowed their money into GameStop, a video game retailer that several big hedge funds had bet against. The stock price shot up, some people made millions—and, to the delight of those on Reddit, the hedge funds had some very bad days. Researchers saw the GameStop story as a cautionary tale. If investors on Reddit could work together to move the markets like that, what could an adversary like China do?