• The next version of FISMA

    The first version of the Federal Information Security Act (FISMA) of 2002 placed much emphasis on auditing and reporting; it is time to move on beyond checking compliance boxes and concentrate on making sure that the security of government departments is not compromised

  • Devolution of risk management

    In response to the savings and loan scandal of two decades ago, the United States has enhanced the regulatory and compliance regime (FDICIA, SOX); problem is, compliance or regulation is necessarily historically based — it addresses the sins of the past and is not designed to anticipate the future

  • Defining on line attacks and cyberwar

    The growing number of cyberattacks — for political reasons (Estonia, Georgia) and for profit — prompts calls to define the threat more clearly

  • Here they go again: China demands access to Western computer security

    Another crisis in U.S.-China trade relations looms, as China, again, is about to introduce rules which would allow Chinese companies to steal Western industrial secrets, and would allow the Chinese government more tightly to monitor what the Chinese people say and read

  • New CFIUS regulations

    CFIUS issues final regulations governing national security reviews of foreign investment in the United States

  • Immigration Alert: Employing immigrants during economic slowdown

    There are important employer obligations to consider when employing immigrants during an economic downturn

  • FDA opens offices in China

    As food — and food ingredients — imports from China grow, and as China’s lax health and safety standards become more apparent, the FDA is trying to spot problems at the source by opening three offices in China

  • France drops security database over privacy fears

    Criticized for ignoring serious privacy concerns, the French government scraps — for now — the implementation of massive data base; data base was to include information about French men and women as young as 13 years of age and include information on people’s health and sexual orientation

  • DHS to regulate ammonium nitrate

    Ammonium nitrate mixed with fuel oil commonly is used as an explosive in mining and has been used by terrorists — such as Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma; DHS proposes to regulate its use

  • Briefly noted

    Decision in Defense procurement case could set precedent… Elbit completes acquisition of Innovative Concepts for $15 million… Huntsville grows into major explosives hub

  • Some federal agencies fail to meet secure ID October deadline

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had set 27 October as the deadline for agencies to issue the cards to all federal employees and contractors; 28 percent of the federal employee workforce and 30 percent of contractors who require the cards have received credentials

  • U.S. debates creating domestic intelligence agency

    A new RAND study examines the benefits of creating a domestic intelligence agency; research group offers a break-even analysis of the various counterterrorism organizational options

  • HHS offers legal shield to anthrax manufacturers, distributors

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers legal shield to manufacturers and distributors of anthrax vaccines and treatments under a “public health emergency” to be in effect until the end of 2015

  • Interpol plans facial recognition database to catch suspects

    Every year more than 800 million international travelers fail to undergo the most basic scrutiny to check whether their identity documents have been stolen, Interpol has warned; the organization plans a massive face-recognition database

  • Unsettling lack of security at Level 4 Biosafety Labs

    Biosafety labs (BSLs) handle the world’s most dangerous agents and diseases; only BSL-4 labs can work with agents for which no cure or treatment exists; there are five BSL-4 labs in the United States, and GAO conducted a study of these labs’ perimeter security; you are not going to like what the GAO found