Government
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report this week detailing four recommendations to improve the nation’s Air Force, which they noted has declined in readiness for nearly 20 years.
A lack of modernization is a critical part of this problematic scenario.
The Air... Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced this week that a strategic partnership between the department and Johnson & Johnson will seek to advance efforts against chemical, biological, radiation, nuclear, disease, and antimicrobial threats in the United States.
The two... Read More »
Yanjun Xu, a deputy division director of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), was extradited to the United States this week and was charged with conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage and stealing trade secrets from multiple U.S. aerospace and aviation companies.
The... Read More »
A range of global security issues, including terrorism, were discussed during a recent meeting between U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.
Sessions and Stock touched on several joint initiatives, including a project to strengthen the capacity of law... Read More »
A large-scale biological event shouldn’t mean that the nation’s thousands of state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments fend for themselves waiting for federal assets to arrive, a new bipartisan report of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense says.
“We can take steps now... Read More »
As a founding director of the nation’s first bioterrorism preparedness program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1999, Dr. Scott Lillibridge didn’t realize then what would emerge as the almost surreal scope of biothreats now challenging the United States.
But now he knows,... Read More »
Charles P. Verdon is the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) new Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs.
Verdon, who was recently sworn to duty by Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, will lead NNSA’s mission to maintain a nuclear deterrent that is modern, robust,... Read More »
A new Strategy for Protecting and Preparing the Homeland against Threats from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and Geomagnetic Disturbance (GMD) was released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week.
The strategy focuses on DHS efforts to counteract threats to critical... Read More »
Raytheon Co.’s long-range DeepStrike missile recently met the U.S. Army's Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) requirement.
In July in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Raytheon integrated its new launch pod missile container into the Army's M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS launchers. Marines and soldiers assisted... Read More »
Faced with mounting challenges in protecting its weapon systems from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has stepped up its efforts to address weapon systems cybersecurity.
In a new report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that... Read More »
Leaders of the U.S. intelligence community focused on security threats posed by China, with little attention paid to Russia, during an annual oversight hearing by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security... Read More »
Private contractor Lockheed Martin is actively upgrading the U.S. Army’s operational capability through enhanced energy storage developments.
Some of the upgrades have included a Lithium-based energy storage system, intelligent microgrids and supporting infrastructure to help them function.... Read More »
A recently published House Homeland Security Committee report highlighted the scope of ISIS external operations against Western countries, as well as other terrorist incidents inspired by the group.
The Committee has been tracking terrorist activity linked to ISIS since the group’s formation,... Read More »
In a report to Congress, the 911 Implementation Coordination Office addressed the $9.5 billion to $12.7 billion cost necessary to transition the United States into a next generation 911 system (NG911) that increasingly incorporates not just calls, but data as well.
The National Emergency Number... Read More »
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed into law H.R. 302, which includes the Disaster Recovery Reform Act, the largest reform of the U.S. disaster preparedness and recovery system since Hurricane Katrina.
The act reforms the Federal Emergency Management Agency to include predisaster mitigation... Read More »
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, released the October Terror Threat Snapshot last week, highlighting that 159 homegrown Jihadist cases in 30 states have been uncovered since 2013.
The cases included plots to attack the country, overseas travel,... Read More »
Defense contractors Raytheon and Northrop Grumman/Ball Aerospace will compete for the right to be mission payload providers on the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared missile warning satellite system.
The next-gen system replaced the traditional Space Based Infrared... Read More »
Connecticut recently launched three school safety programs -- Start With Hello, Say Something, and SOS Signs of Suicide -- designed to increase school safety.
The programs will help train students, educators, and school administrators identify, assess, intervene, and get help for those... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) commended President Donald Trump for signing into law a bill to help Americans who are victimized by acts of terrorism while abroad get justice.
Trump signed into law the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 (S. 2946), which will improve access to justice in... Read More »
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is seeking information regarding how the nation’s military plans to counter Syria’s future use of chemical weapons.
Ernst, who chairs the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities for the Senate Armed Services Committee, recently forwarded correspondence to... Read More »
The U.S. Justice Department awarded this week $28 million in grants to Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) to support violent crime reduction efforts.
An additional $3 million was awarded to PSN for training and victim services as well as the development and implementation of crime reduction... Read More »
The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently advanced the Wildfire Management Technology Advancement Act, which would better reduce the risks from wildfires, increase the effectiveness of wildfire response and increase the use of technology to keep firefighters and communities... Read More »
Officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) met with the Oil and Natural Gas Sector Coordinating Council this week to discuss how industry and government can work strategically to secure pipelines and other critical infrastructure.
The meeting was led by Transportation Security... Read More »
Israel-based Morphisec has received $200,000 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to develop technology solutions to prevent financial institution cyberattacks.
Morphisec will work to extend, deploy, test, and evaluate a Moving Target Defense... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) facial recognition technology identified its third impostor at Washington Dulles International Airport in 40 days Monday.
The technology reported a mismatch between the photo embedded in a passport chip and a woman who presented a U.S. passport of a... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is researching the detection and prevention of homemade explosives at various labs and test facilities across the country.
DHS reports that there are approximately 3,000 improvised explosive device (IED) incidents in... Read More »
Texas A&M University was selected to lead a consortium of U.S. academic institutions, among others, for a new Center of Excellence (COE) for Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS).
The project will be funded by a $3.85 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Human and Human Services (DHHS) has contracted with the company Genentech in managing and sharing the cost to develop a portfolio of medical treatments designed to counter the spread of influenza and other health security threats.
DHHS, operating through its Biomedical... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) selected BAE Systems this week for a new research and development contract to address current and future technology needs among the military.
In so doing, DOD has also put Bae Systems in the running for future contract task orders -- one of 15 companies to... Read More »
Earthquake preparedness in the United States stands to benefit from the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act, a bill recently advanced by the Senate that would aid preparation and protection efforts through infrastructure improvements and risk assessments.
The... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is sponsoring Siga Technologies on its development of an intravenous formulation of TPOXX -- a smallpox antiviral medication of which DHHS is currently purchasing additional doses.
“We want to save as many lives as possible after a... Read More »
The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act and Continuing Appropriations Act will provide funding for the Department of Defense (DOD) for fiscal year 2019.
The act, which became law Friday, provides $686 billion for the DOD and $30 billion for the Department of... Read More »
The Justice Department’s Criminal Division held a roundtable discussion last week on challenges related to cybersecurity and data breach investigations.
The goal of the roundtable was to work with the private sector on how to improve cooperation with law enforcement and better prosecute and... Read More »
Boeing has secured a $9.2 billion Air Force contract to produce T-X aircraft, which officials said would replace the Air Education and Training Command's 57-year-old fleet of T-38C Talons.
The agreement calls for Boeing to deliver 351 T-X aircraft, 46 simulators and associated ground equipment,... Read More »
Whether for search and rescue or warfare operations, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced last week their efforts to advance current understanding of underground environments, and the formation of a competition of nine teams to do so.
The recently selected teams... Read More »
