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U.S. slow to pinpoint source of cyber attacks
U.S. director of national intelligence tells lawmakers that “It often takes weeks and sometimes months of subsequent investigation [to identify the source of a cyber attack]… And even at the end of very long investigations you’re not quite sure who carried out the offensive”
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France, Ireland to launch e-crime police training programs
With the problem of cyber crime looming ever larger, European universities want the EC to back a plan to create an academically accredited cybercrime training program for law enforcement
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BNS wins £13 million Dounreay decommissioning contract
Dounreay was the site of a brave, new idea — a fast breeder nuclear reactor which would convert an unusable form of uranium to plutonium which could be recycled and turned into new reactor fuel; it would, that is, breed its own fuel, offering the prospect of electricity in abundance; it has not worked out that way; now it is the site of a big decommissioning effort
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New design allows for using less steel in concrete beams
NC State researchers discover how to use 30 percent less reinforcing steel in the manufacture of the concrete beams; the success of the project is already drawing interest from the concrete industry
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Beads behavior may help in avalanche prediction
Scientists blame the seeming impossibility of predicting the next big avalanche or earthquake on the inherent unpredictability of complex systems; a unique experiment, however, suggests that this idea may be wrong
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Obama's budget cuts off most funds for Yucca Mountain repository
The future of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository appears grim; Obama campaigned against the project, which is already more the 10 years behind schdule; new scientific evidence showing that water flows through Yucca Mountain much faster than initially believed raises the prospect that the nuclear waste would leach over time
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New reactor design solves waste, weapon proliferation problems
A new nuclear reactor design — called Traveling-Wave reactor — is noteworthy for three things: it comes from a privately funded research company, not the government; it would run on what is now waste, thus reducing dramatically the nuclear waste and weapon proliferation problems; and it could theoretically run for a couple of hundred years without refueling
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U.K. government shelves multi-million intelligence net project
The project, dubbed Scope, was designed to move security intelligence into the twenty-first century with the replacement of a systems for distributing reports by paper with an electronic system; government abandons project for unspecified technical problems
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Personal information of 80,000 NYPD officers stolen
A NYPD pension telecommunications director swiped backup tapes that contained addresses, Social Security numbers, medical records, and direct-deposit information on nearly 80,000 current and retired police officers
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New cybersecurity guidelines simplify, prioritize protections
NIST issues guidelines which aim to simplify the thousands of pages of cybersecurity guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology; managers say the NIST guidance is hard to implement and harder to audit
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Debunking IT myths
As IT spreads, so do IT myths and legends; two experts debunk some of the more popular myths
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New building design withstands earthquake simulation
Wolverines researchers used steel fiber-reinforced concrete to develop a better kind of coupling beam that requires less reinforcement and is easier to construct
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U.K. pushes data infrastructure protection
U.K. government announces £6 million of research funding in the field of data infrastructure protection; application deadline is 23 April
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New software allows laptops to talk back boldly to laptop thieves
Your laptop has been stolen? New software allows you to tell those thieves exactly — and when we say exactly, we mean exactly — what you think of them; software also helps police locate the stolen computer
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Intelligence, law enforcement face another hurdle: encrypted VoIP
The intelligence community and law enforcement already are concerned about the difficult they have eavesdropping in Skype communications; a U.K. start-up is going to make life more difficult for them by encryption VoIP communications and concealing more conversations
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The long view
Helping Strengthen America’s Critical Infrastructure
Everyday life depends on a robust infrastructure network that provides access to running water, communications technology and electricity, among other basic necessities. The experts who keep our national infrastructure secure and resilient also need a strong network to share their knowledge and train the next generation of professionals capable of solving complex infrastructure challenges.
AI and the Future of the U.S. Electric Grid
Despite its age, the U.S. electric grid remains one of the great workhorses of modern life. Whether it can maintain that performance over the next few years may determine how well the U.S. competes in an AI-driven world.
Using Liquid Air for Grid-Scale Energy Storage
New research finds liquid air energy storage could be the lowest-cost option for ensuring a continuous power supply on a future grid dominated by carbon-free but intermittent sources of electricity.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems: A Promising Source of Round-the-Clock Energy
With its capacity to provide 24/7 power, many are warming up to the prospect of geothermal energy. Scientists are currently working to advance human-made reservoirs in Earth’s deep subsurface to stimulate the activity that exists within natural geothermal systems.
Experts Discuss Geothermal Potential
Geothermal energy harnesses the heat from within Earth—the term comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). It is an energy source that has the potential to power all our energy needs for billions of years.