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NIST's high-rise fire study highlights deadly wind-driven fires
Fire researchers at NIST have published two reports providing details of how wind affects fires in high-rise buildings
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Virginia medical records hijacking -- update
A hacker claimed to have broken into the Web site of the Virginia Department of Health Professions, encrypted more than 8 million patient records and 35 million prescriptions in the database, and then deleted the original data; the hacker sought a $10 million ransom for the password to decrypt the data; Virginia health agency says all of its files have been backed up and secured
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New Orleans channel may have exacerbated post-Katrina floods
Witness for the prosecution: New Orleans residents sue the U.S. government over a channel dug by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; computer models show that channel may have exacerbated post-Katrina floods
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Mechanical stress leads to self-sensing in solid polymers
Fighting Illini researchers develop force-sensitive polymers; when pushed or pulled with a certain force, specific chemical reactions are triggered in the mechanophores; such polymers may be used in aircraft components or bridges to report damage and warn of potential component failure, slow the spread of damage to extend a material’s lifetime, or even repair damage in early stages to avoid catastrophic failure
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U.S. air traffic vulnerable to "serious harm" from cyber attacks
New FAA report: “{U}nless effective action is taken quickly, it is likely to be a matter of when, not if, ATC [air traffic control] systems encounter attacks that do serious harm to ATC operations”
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Hackers hold medical records hostage
Hackers broke into a Virgina pharmaceutical clearinghouse Web site, deleted records of more than 8 million patients, and replaced the site’s homepage with a ransom note demanding $10 million for the return of the records
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Questions about possible sabotage of a Mozambique dam
Four men were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of trying to pour corrosive chemicals into turbines at the large Cahora Bassa hydroeolectric plant in Mozambique; technicians at the dam say plot would not have succeeded
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NSA boss: U.S. needs unified cyber-command center
Head of the secretive NSA tells Congress that the cyber-threats the United States faces require a centralized digital command center which will operate under the U.S. Strategic Command
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China rising: the increasing threat of Chinese cyber-warfare
The only way to stop the proliferating cyber-attacks against the United States and Western powers is to raise the political and economic cost to China in order to make it in the interests of the government of China to stop such attacks
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Industry group urges creation of cyber czar post
Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), a coalition of defense, intelligence, and IT security companies, urges President Obama to create a cyber czar post with cabinet rank
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U.K. moves forward with comprehensive eavesdropping scheme
The U.K. government announced last week that it was abandoning the plan to create a centralized super-database in which the personal information of Britons will be kept — but a £1 billion intelligence gathering project is moving forward; the scheme will monitor all all e-mails, Web site visits, and social networking sessions in Britain
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Critics: Cybersecurity standards for grid do not go far enough
Legislators introduce the Critical Electric Infrastructure Protection Act, would require FERC to issue updated regulations for the U.S. power grid within 120 days of enactment, but critics say the bill is too limited
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Making quantum cryptography's promise a reality
New research details how quantum communication can be made possible without having to use cryogenic cooling or complicated optical setups, making it much more likely to become commercially viable soon
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KTN launches global information systems initiative
Cyber Security Knowledge Transfer Network unveils roadmap to help achieve a global security network that will ensure that software and systems have security and privacy defined at project initiation and “implemented as a matter of course”
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Experts: U.S. military's cyberwar rules "ill-formed"
Experts panel criticizes U.S. plans for cyberwarfare as “ill-formed,” “undeveloped,” and “highly uncertain”; as a result, many nuances of cyberwar have remained poorly understood, even as the military actively prepares for it
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The long view
Water Wars: A Historic Agreement Between Mexico and US Is Ramping Up Border Tension
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship. Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, deliveries to which it is obligated by a 1944 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.
Trump Is Fast-Tracking New Coal Mines — Even When They Don’t Make Economic Sense
In Appalachian Tennessee, mines shut down and couldn’t pay their debts. Now a new one is opening under the guise of an “energy emergency.”
Smaller Nuclear Reactors Spark Renewed Interest in a Once-Shunned Energy Source
In the past two years, half the states have taken action to promote nuclear power, from creating nuclear task forces to integrating nuclear into long-term energy plans.
Keeping the Lights on with Nuclear Waste: Radiochemistry Transforms Nuclear Waste into Strategic Materials
How UNLV radiochemistry is pioneering the future of energy in the Southwest by salvaging strategic materials from nuclear dumps –and making it safe.
Model Predicts Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Waste on Underground Disposal Systems
The simulations matched results from an underground lab experiment in Switzerland, suggesting modeling could be used to validate the safety of nuclear disposal sites.