A survey released on Wednesday by the Alliance for Biosecurity, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense and the Trust for America’s Health found that the American public is concerned about biosecurity threats and believes that the government should invest … Read More
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard M. Mills, Jr., and Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia Dr. Armen Muradyan recently attended the opening ceremony for the Ministry of Health’s new Tavush regional laboratory for the Center for Disease Control … Read More
Top members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) met with multiple members of Congress at their congressional offices in Washington D.C. last week to discuss the critical role fire departments play in local response across the country. A … Read More
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Wednesday released a report entitled “Emergency Management: Improved Federal Coordination Could Better Assist K-12 Schools Prepare for Emergencies.” The report was jointly requested by U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Martha McSally (R-AZ), Dan Donovan … Read More
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Thursday released the results of a critical study of the country’s biodefense enterprise and their ability to defend the county in the case of crisis. “The biodefense enterprise is fragmented and does not have … Read More
Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday for the approval of the manufacture of BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) in the company’s large scale Building 55 manufacturing facility. … Read More
The Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, chaired by U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), held a hearing entitled “Blackout! Are We Prepared to Manage the Aftermath of a Cyber-Attack or Other Failure of the Electrical Grid?” on … Read More
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its medical countermeasures initiative (MCMi) fiscal year 2015 update on Thursday as required by the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013. The FDA laughed the MCMi in 2010, building on … Read More
The House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday to authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the State Department to develop open-source software designed to screen travelers by cross referencing law enforcement databases and terrorist watch lists. The … Read More
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) released a European terror threat snapshot on Tuesday. The snapshot represents a periodic committee assessment of potential Islamist terror threat environments across Europe. “The United States and our allies face an increasingly … Read More
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Laredo Field Office underwent a change in leadership Tuesday, with a change of command ceremony taking place to formally instate Gregory Alvarez as port director for the Laredo Port of Entry. Alvarez previously served … Read More
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) chaired a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday to address the federal perspective on the state of U.S. biodefense preparedness. “Today, we look forward to learning the perspective of federal agencies … Read More
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) announced on Monday that it has extended the deadline for proposals for the deployment of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network from May 13 to May 31. “Our decision to extend the deadline for … Read More
Raytheon announced on Tuesday that it had successfully passed the first qualification milestone for testing the U.S. Air Force’s new Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX), an enhanced version of the GPS that millions rely on … Read More
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Tuesday to add the Zika virus to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Priority Review Voucher Program. The legislation, the Adding Zika Virus to the FDA Priority Review Voucher Program Act, … Read More
The United States Army announced a collaboration on Monday between two agencies to combine their efforts to develop new vector surveillance methodologies to detect emerging infections in local mosquito populations and to develop a near real-time recording system to combat … Read More
As part of the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) plans to protect the nation against threats to the public health, the organization recently released a Community Planning Framework that addresses major areas that are crucial in any community’s response to … Read More
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on Thursday that they will host a Homeland Security Day in Silicon Valley on April 29. The goal of the technology … Read More
U.S. Reps. Michael Burgess (R-TX) and John Ratcliffe (R-TX) held a joint hearing in Sherman, Texas, on Wednesday entitled “Cyber Preparedness and Response at the Local Level.” Burgess is the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, … Read More
Sam Greif, fire chief of the Plano (Texas) Fire Department, told a Congressional panel on Wednesday that it is vital that fire and EMA departments stay aware of emerging cybersecurity threats and develop close working relationships with local law enforcement … Read More
Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) posted at Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Pharr International Bridge announced on Thursday that they had managed to apprehend approximately $3.8 million worth of alleged methamphetamine found in a vehicle … Read More
Founded in 2001 to train professionals in biosecurity and disaster preparedness, the Institute for Biosecurity at Saint Louis University’s College for Public Health and Social Justice recently told Homeland Preparedness News that the United States needs to continuously improve on … Read More
The United States Army Cyber Command announced last week that soldiers and operators at the corps level or below will be shifting towards cyber electromagnetic activities (CEMA). Officials emphasized that CEMA capabilities are both for protection of the homeland as … Read More
Qatar and INTERPOL’s Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes Sub-Directorate recently joined together to host a four-day conference in Doha where more than 500 participants from law enforcement and the private sector drawn from 71 countries gathered to discuss common issues. “Through … Read More
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on Tuesday regarding various elements of the Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) and their responsibilities during cyber incidents. According to the Department of Defense’s (DoD) 2013 Strategy for Homeland Defense and … Read More
The KEYW Corporation received a prime contract this week to provide advanced cyber training content development, delivery and training infrastructure to a U.S.-based customer. The infrastructure will be based on KEYW’s Ginkgo Cyber Learning Management Environment (C-LME). “We are honored … Read More
At an industry day hosted by U.S. Army Cyber Command as part of the Army’s Cyber Innovation Challenge last week, officials engaged tech industry vendors and assessed technology solutions and prototypes that could potentially increase the Army’s ability to combat … Read More
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and the University of California Los Angeles recently released information on a collaborative project regarding the viral mechanisms of infection by creating screening libraries based on CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) genome-editing technology. … Read More
FLIR Systems, Inc., announced the launch of the FLIR TrafiOne traffic sensor on Monday, developed for accurate traffic detection using thermal imaging technology. The TrafiOne system uses thermal imaging and WiFi-tracking technology to provide engineers with data on vehicles, bicycles … Read More
Speaking at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock emphasized that international law enforcement is the most important line of defense in the struggle against nuclear terrorism. The 2016 NSS took place from last week in … Read More
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations (CFB OFO) at the Rio Grande City Port of Entry announced on Monday that it had arrested a man from Sullivan City, Texas, after finding $865,000 worth of methamphetamine and … Read More
The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) held a three-day meeting last week discussing how to better coordinate various agencies in combating worldwide cybercrime. The meetings included 67 participants from 30 different countries, including 10 private sector companies. A main point … Read More
Speaking at a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services expert consultation on Zika Virus in the Americas in Washington on Thursday, Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) addressed the current state of Zika surveillance in … Read More
The United States is increasingly turning to biodefense as threats against the homeland continue to grow, but the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey’s Dr. Raymond Zilinskas recently warned that the larger problem remains that no one knows the … Read More
The Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday detailed the valuable work its crisis communicators do during disease outbreaks, natural disasters, biological threats and other disaster-related incidents. Crisis communicators work primarily through detailed plans and outlined goals, all of which are … Read More
