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U.K. pauses before implementing sweeping surveillance scheme
The U.K. government said it wanted to give law enforcement sweeping power to collect electronic data as a measure to prevent terrorism; the government now says it will engage in consultations to make sure citizens’ privacy is not violated
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Boeing unveils robo-copter program
With the U.S. forces increasing their activity in northwest Pakistan, Boeing announces a development program of a weapon system suitable for this and similar missions
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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
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U.S. government to take counterterrorism local
The federal government says local police efforts to record and share activities that could be related to terrorism are critical to the government’s counterterrorism effort; the creation and coordination of a uniform system of reporting among thousands of jurisdictions is a problem, though
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U.K. security services push for expanded surveillance power
U.K. security services are pushing for a massive expansion of electronic surveillance in the United Kingdom, in the face of opposition from the Treasury and the Cabinet Office
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New nuclear watchdog created
Anti-proliferation activists create the World Institute for Nuclear Security; funded with private and government funds, it will be headquartered in Vienna — next to the IAEA; it aims to facilitate sharing information to improve security at the world’s nuclear sites
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GPS vulnerable to spoofing
GPS technology is ubiquitous in civilian and military applications; Cornell University researchers raise uncomfortable questions by demonstrating how GPS navigation devices can be readliy duped by transmission of fake GPS signals that receivers accept as authentic ones
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Studying Osama bin Laden's audio tapes
University of California, Davis researcher is studying more than 1,500 audiotapes seized in Afghanistan in 2001; the tapes are recording of conversations from the late 1960s through 2000 among bin Laden and more than 200 of his associates
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France delays Big Brother database
The French government, in an effort to fight crime and juvenile delinquency, launched a police database aimed at gathering information on suspects as young as thirteen; civil libertarian groups protested the scope of the information to be gathered, and the government, for now, has relented
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Rethinking strategy for finding bin Laden
The effort to bring Osama bin Laden to justice has so far failed; there are many reasons for that: Half-hearted efforts by the Pakistani authorities; failure to win the hearts and minds of tribal leaders in Pakistan’s Northwest Territories; limits Pakistan imposed on direct U.S. action inside Pakistan; the invasion of Iraq, which consumed vast resources which otherwise would have been invested in the effort against al-Qaeda; and more; U.S., Pakistan, are now rethinking the strategy
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U.S. gets a C grade in WMD report
A blue ribbon panel of former high security official says terrorism threat remains real, and that the U.S. government’s efforts to counter WMD threats leave much to be desired
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Protecting wireless sensor networks
Detecting compromised sensors in a wireless sensor network is of vital importance to homeland security as well as for successfully tracking natural events with the potential to devastate cities; by countering sabotage, false alarms that waste response efforts could be minimized in times of impending crisis
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U.K. Grand Challenge mini-vehicle competition held this weekend
Eleven teams made it to the final of the U.K. Ministry of Defense mini-vehicle competition, aiming to promote devising highly autonomous vehicles capable of identifying threats that are being encountered by U.K. troops on overseas operations
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Military contractors move aggressively into civil security
BAE’s acquisition of Detica, a company with a large portfolio of British civil IT contracts, exemplifies the EU policy of encouraging military firms to use their knowledge of homeland security; civil libertarians are worried
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U.S.-EU private data sharing agreement near
The United States and the EU are near an agreement to share private data of their citizens, including credit card information, travel history, and internet browsing information; one issue yet to be resolved: the right of EU citizens to sue the U.S. government for mishandling the information
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