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New cottage industry: Helping shippers qualify for C-TPAT
Securing cargo containers is a massive — and lucrative — undertaking, and more and more companies want to participate, but you should see the paper work involved; there is thus a new industry emerging, one aiming to help large and small companies apply for DHS C-TPAT
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Border-security-only bill falls victim to collapse of comprehensive immigration bill
Last Friday the compromise immigration bill was pulled because Republicans and Democrats could not agree over how many amendments would be allowed to come to the floor for a vote; some senators tried to salvage from the impasse a border-security-only bill, but it failed to garner many votes
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Security agencies oppose congressional move to ease banking reporting requirements
Some federal agencies are in opposition to possible new bank reporting requirements because they feel relaxing regulations may compromise homeland security
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U.K. creates SOCA -- an FBI-like organization
SOCA (Serious Organized Crime Agency) has been created to tackle organized crime in the U.K. at the tune of 400million
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SecureInfo, Telos to collaborate after ending legal skirmishes
What do you know: These two companies were battling in court only days ago, accusing each other of intellectual property infringement; they have settled, and now are strategic partners
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Lords accept U.K. national ID compromise: No compulsory biometric ID before 2010
A compromise is reached in the U.K. over a mandatory biometric national ID; for a while the stalemate between the House of Commons and the House of Lords threatened a constitutional crisis, but now all agree for 2010 as target date for the new ID
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Some chemical plants get it, many others do not; plant safety legislation will change that
Ronald Reagan used to say: “If you cannot make them see the light, make them feel the heat”; some chemical plants have taken plant security seriously, and Geismar, Louisiana-based Honeywell is one of them; trouble is, most of the 15,000 U.S. plants have not followed Honeywell’s example; the threat of federal legislation may concentrate their minds
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Trend: U.S. domestic spying offers opportunities for niche players
While the debate over the NSA domestic spying rages on, niche companies emerge to offer compliance services to small telecoms and ISPs
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The long view
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
“The Federal Government Is Gone”: Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States
As President Donald Trump guts the main federal office dedicated to preventing terrorism, states say they’re left to take the lead in spotlighting threats. Some state efforts are robust, others are fledgling, and yet other states are still formalizing strategies for addressing extremism. With the federal government largely retreating from focusing on extremist dangers, prevention advocates say the threat of violent extremism is likely to increase.
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a ‘Terrorist’
Discretion is crucial to the American tradition of criminal law, Jacob Ware and Ania Zolyniak write, noting that “lawmakers enact broader statutes to empower prosecutors to pursue justice while entrusting that they will stay within the confines of their authority and screen out the inevitable “absurd” cases that may arise.” Discretion is also vital to maintaining the legitimacy of the legal system. In the prosecution’s case against Luigi Mangione, they charge, “That discretion was abused.”
How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse
I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.