• EU moves on data breach notification law

    Security professionals debate the recommendations of independent research to introduce tough European data breach and security regulations

  • Briefly noted

    U.S. Army signs $75 million contract for passive RFID… U.S. government to take over screening from airlines… IT security sector faces major changes… Senators propose changes at DHS

  • Portable imaging system helps response to natural disasters

    Yellow Jackets researchers develop an imaging system which can be affixed to a helicopter to create a detailed picture of an area devastated by a hurricane or other natural disaster

  • A first: quantum cryptography used within a commercial network

    European consortium demonstrates transmission of quantum-encrypted data within commercial telecommunications network

  • IT security hinders innovation

    New IDC reports says businesses are struggling to find the right balance between security and innovation; information security concerns have caused 80 percent of companies surveyed to back away from new innovation opportunities

  • Setback: Laser breaks "unbreakable" quantum communications

    Quantum encryption was supposed to make communication completely secure — because quantum mechanics makes it impossible for an eavesdropper to emulate the receiver’s photon detection methods; researchers find flaw in commonly used encryption devices which does allow an eavesdropper to fool the receiver

  • Better coastal defenses against large waves

    Coastal defenses have to withstand great forces and there is always a risk of water overtopping or penetrating these structures; Liverpool University’s mathematician says we need new concepts for coastal defenses

  • Schwarzenegger terminates RFID skimming

    As RFID technology becomes more pervasive — people now use it to gain access to offices, properties, children’s nurseries, parking lots, and others areas — concerns have been growing about wireless “skimming” of the information on the RFID tags; California now bans the practice

  • China spying on Skype users

    Canadian researchers find that China engages in a massive surveillance campaign of users of Tom-Skype, a joint venture between Chinese mobile firm TOM Online and U.S.owened Skype; sensitive words such as “Tibet,” “Taiwan independence,” the Falun Gong, and political opposition to the Communist Party of China are censored and logged

  • More on the danger of GPS spoofing

    The military version of GPS includes security features such as encryption, but civilian signals are transmitted in the clear, unencrypted; a suitcase-size transmitting device can easily fool a GPS receiver; the power grid may be disrupted, and ankle-bracelet-wearing criminals walk about freely

  • Breakthrough: Radioactive waste may no longer be dangerous to store

    Aussie researchers have created a material which has the potential to filter and safely lock away radioactive ions from waste water; nanofibers which are millionths of a millimeter in size could permanently lock away radioactive cations by displacing the existing sodium ions in the fiber

  • DSRL in £13 million Dounreay decommissioning contract

    Britain’s Dounreay fast reactor was proclaimed as “the system of the next century”; this was in the 1960s; the last 15 years have seen the site develop into a nuclear reactor decommissioning project

  • DHS, industry promote security awareness month

    Companies offer tips on avoiding and dealing with attacks; October will also see major cybersecurity initiatives in Europe, Asia

  • Russia to build IAEA-supervised nuclear fuel bank

    The nuclear fueled bank would allow countries, including Iran, to develop civilian nuclear power without having to enrich their own uranium, thus allaying fears over nuclear weapons proliferation

  • Briefly noted

    DoE’s networks open to cyberattacks… WiMax emulator debuts… DHS’s radiation program to exceed initial cost estimates…