Government
A Russian botnet that has infected about a half million routers used in homes and business around the world with malware was disrupted on Thursday by the FBI’s seizure of a key server.
Referred to by federal officials and cybersecurity experts as “VPNFilter,” the botnet has attacked... Read More »
In response to reports that President Donald Trump had canceled the planned June 12 summit with North Korea, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) called on Thursday to maintain pressure by continuing talks, engaging the international community and upholding tougher sanctions.
Portman, a member of the... Read More »
A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) review has found that most states meet performance standards for infectious disease threats related to safety and coordination of first responders, but states reported mixed results regarding electronic lab reporting, epidemiology capacity, and... Read More »
A growing number of local law enforcement, private security, and public safety organizations are using new technology from BAE Systems to enhance public safety incident response.
BAE Systems’ Geospatial eXploitation Products OpsView product increases the safety of infrastructure by offering... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) praised on Wednesday the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions’ (HELP) advancement of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAIA).
The bill, S. 2852, would reauthorize various Pandemic... Read More »
The European Union (EU)-U.S. Joint Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs held in Bulgaria on Tuesday and Wednesday allowed leaders to discuss joint efforts to combat terrorism, information sharing, efforts to prevent radicalization, aviation security, and chemical, biological,... Read More »
In the first joint U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. National Guard mission near the southern border, three Missouri Guard aviators and a CBP agent provided aerial reconnaissance support for CBP agents on the ground in the Tucson area on May 17.
The first aviation mission of... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced the launch of new technology, the Autonomic Intelligent Cyber Sensor (AICS), through its Transition to Practice (TTP) Program.
This is the 20th technology that has been developed and commercialized... Read More »
Amid a deadly outbreak of the bat-borne Nipah virus in India that has already killed 10 people, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) said on Thursday it will provide up to $25 million to Profectus BioSciences Inc. and Emergent BioSolutions Inc. for the development and... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently awarded the City of San Antonio, Texas $1.5 million in grants to help prevent, protect against, mitigate, and respond to acts of terrorism.
“San Antonio is one of the fastest-growing cities... Read More »
U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 49 foreign nationals in Philadelphia during an operation that extended from May 14 to May 20 that targeted aliens with criminal records, fugitives, re-entrants and other violators of federal immigration laws.
Of the 49 individuals... Read More »
An active shooter response training simulation recently organized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) from the Laredo Port of Entry enabled supervisors to focus on bolstering active shooter preparedness and prevention efforts.
Hosted by the Use of Force... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that New York was awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to enhance security preparedness and anti-terror activities through grant programming in fiscal year 2018.
New York City will receive $178 million under the... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced this week that it is working with the Government of Puerto Rico to train emergency and healthcare workers to respond to mass casualty incidents.
FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness is running a four-day training course from May 29 to... Read More »
The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on May 23 approved 22-1 the pending Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018, S.2852.
S. 2852, introduced on May 15 by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), would reauthorize certain programs under... Read More »
Marines and first responders with Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF), the Provost Marshal’s Office, and MCAS Miramar Fire Department recently conducted an exercise that simulated a bioterrorism attack at MCAS Miramar, California.
Marines with... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that $1.6 billion in funding would be made available to state and local governments, nonprofits, transportation authorities and the private sector to bolster terrorism prevention, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts in fiscal year... Read More »
Las Vegas will receive $5 million to help prevent terrorist attacks under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant program, reflecting an increase of $2.13 million from the previous year.
U.S. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) has been leading a push... Read More »
The Laredo Sector Border Patrol Foreign Operations Branch (FOB), working with the Government of Mexico (GoM), prevented a large shipment of narcotics from entering the United States last week.
Border Patrol agents with the Foreign Operations Branch, along with officials from the Mexican... Read More »
In anticipation of what is projected to be the busiest summer travel season ever nationwide, the Oakland International Airport will be using highly visible canines specially trained to detect explosives and explosive components.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Alameda County... Read More »
U.S. Reps. James Langevin (D-RI) and Peter King (R-NY) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) recently introduced the Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking Act.
The bill would enable Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create a Joint Task Force to improve coordination of the interdiction... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) would have a greater capacity to track and prevent exposure to blasts that can leave service members with traumatic brain injury (TBI) under a bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Friday.
Introduced by U.S. Reps. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Elizabeth... Read More »
The director of national intelligence would be required to report on efforts by foreign governments, individuals or entities to bribe President Trump, the Trump family or Trump Administration officials under an amendment to the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) introduced... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Treasury would be authorized to create a “Border Wall Trust Fund” to accept public donations for the planning, design, construction or maintenance of a southern border wall under legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.
Introduced by U.S.... Read More »
The lack of both a protective vaccine and a proactive worldwide plan for tackling the spread of a catastrophic global pandemic resulted in the death of 150 million people across Earth during the recent Clade X simulation exercise hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
And minus... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) recently launched its Reporting Offsite Arrival – Mobile (ROAM) app, which operators of small vessels can use to report their entry into Florida.
To use the app, travelers input their biographic, conveyance and trip details and submit their trip for... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives approved four bills last week that would take steps to enhance protections for law enforcement officers through stricter penalties, additional resources and improved collaboration with local communities.
The Protect and Serve Act, H.R. 5698, aims to prevent... Read More »
In the wake of being recently tapped Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Port Director at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Raymond S. Polley is embracing his new post.
“Houston is a great place to be,” Polley said. “I am very happy to be here and look forward to working with the... Read More »
An Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) reported Wednesday that it determined chlorine was likely used as a chemical weapon in Saraqib, Idlib Governorate, Syrian Arab Republic, on Feb. 4.
The FFM concluded that chlorine was released from... Read More »
During a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) advocated for support of a bipartisan resolution that would update the current Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed in 2001 and 2002 to include al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS.... Read More »
With the current Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to combat terrorist groups dating back to 2001 and 2002, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) advocated for a new AUMF that would preserve the president’s authority while adding congressional oversight and input.
Portman said during a... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), who crafted and sponsored the nation’s original law protecting public health during man-made and natural disasters, and then took the lead on the law’s subsequent restructuring, again has commanded the next phase of reauthorizing the Pandemic and All-Hazards... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled on Tuesday its strategy for identifying and managing national cybersecurity risk.
The strategy outlines the department’s operational goals and priorities as related to its cybersecurity responsibilities. It aims to harmonize and... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), David Perdue (R-GA) and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) is urging the U.S. Army to station the new 16th Armored Brigade Combat Team at Fort Stewart in Georgia’s Liberty and Bryan counties.
In a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of the Army Mark Esper on Tuesday, the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice would be given new authorities to protect critical facilities from threats posed by unmanned aerial systems (UAS) under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate this week.
The Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018 would... Read More »
