• 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

  • 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

  • New surveillance program will use military satellites to cover U.S.

    President Bush signed bill which allows the National Applications Office (NAO) to begin operating a stringently limited version of a program which would turn military spy satellites on the United States, sharing imagery with other federal, state, and local government agencies

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • SA police to buy mini-UAVs

    South Africa is host to the 2010 Soccer World Cup; in preparation, the SA police is buying mini-UAVs and integrating them into the force; the UAV — Kiwit — is carried in a suitcase, weighs 3.5 kg, and can be assembled by a single person in five minutes

  • 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

  • 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

  • Group tells FTC more RFID security guidance is needed

    As RFID technology proliferates, so do worries about its potential for violating people’s privacy. the Federal Trade Commission is charged with protecting consumers, and privacy advocates urge it to take a close look at RFID

  • U.S. military faces UAV shortage

    UAVs perform more and more intelligence and operation missions for the U.S. military — most recently over the northwest territory of Pakistan; one result of the growing demand for the drones is a drone bottleneck: General Atomics cannot keep up with demand

  • Age-guessing software has security, commercial applications

    Fighting Illini researchers develop an age-guessing software which can perform tasks such as security control and surveillance monitoring, and may also be used for electronic customer relationship management

  • 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

  • Briefly noted

    Aussie cyber security needs work… D.C. policy carry iPhones… Surveillance radar in Indonesian straits… HUD awards Iowa critical infrastructure funds…