Government
Homeland security stakeholders will gather on March 5-6 in Virginia at the 6th Annual Joint Civil and Department of Defense (DoD) Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Symposium, where participants will have the opportunity to discuss challenges and improvements to the nation’s... Read More »
A federal judge sentenced a New Jersey man to life in prison on Tuesday for detonating and attempting to detonate a series of bombs in New York City and New Jersey in September 2016.
Ahmad Khan Rahimi, 30, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, planted improvised explosives devices (IEDs) in Chelsea, one... Read More »
Whether an infectious disease ever reaches U.S. shores or not, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are now warning of the damage they could still do to U.S. interests--notably, its export economy.
In articles published in Health Security, the agency noted that there are 49... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Indiana suggested that an independent cybersecurity agency board should be established to investigate cyber attacks and data breaches after conducting a comprehensive academic review.
The board’s structure would resemble the National Transportation Safety... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Delaware have been awarded a five-year grant by the Army Research Office to develop technology that will enable soldiers to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from a distance.
The $1 million grant will help researchers develop an augmented reality system... Read More »
The shift in Project BioShield Act of 2004 funding from its original 10-year appropriations cycle to year-by-year funding has posed challenges for the program by creating an uncertain climate for private-sector firms investing in developing medical countermeasures (MCM) against chemical,... Read More »
Following President Donald Trump’s release of his Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal last week, U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) applauded the inclusion of a control shift of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Department of Health... Read More »
In the lead up to Valentine's Day last year, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers inspected more than 1 billion cut flower stems and intercepted 823 dangerous pests, making January and February one of the busiest times for the agency’s agriculture specialists.
About 89 percent of... Read More »
President Donald Trump delivered on Monday his Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Budget to Congress, which requests $47.5 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a 7.8 percent increase from the FY 2018 President’s Budget.
“The budget demonstrates the... Read More »
James Madison University students will explore new approaches that the Transportation Administration (TSA) can use to better connect passengers to personal belongings in the spring semester of the Hacking 4 Defense (HD4) class.
Administered through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)... Read More »
Indictments have been issued against 36 defendants by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), targeting them for potential roles in the Infraud Organization--an Internet-based operation which has defrauded victims throughout the world of more than $530 million.
Of those charged, 13... Read More »
The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) pushed back on a recent report about Russian hackers penetrating state-based voter systems on Thursday, reiterating that just one state voter system was breached and that efforts to shore up cybersecurity have been ongoing.
NASS responded... Read More »
Police in Buenos Aires recently arrested an internationally wanted murder suspect after the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) facial recognition unit identified his image as a likely match.
During an investigation by police in Argentina, INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau... Read More »
Republican senators announced plans on Friday to introduce legislation that would create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, allocate $25 billion for border security, and make reforms the nation’s immigration system.
The Secure and Succeed Act... Read More »
Bills that would mandate that all multi-line telephone systems connect directly to 9-1-1 systems and would require the FCC to establish minimum call completion standards for intermediary phone providers in rural areas cleared the House of Representatives on Friday.
The Kari’s Law Act was... Read More »
The 2018 Joint Civil & DoD CBRN Symposium presented by the Defense Strategies Institute will take place on March 5-6 at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, Virginia. The event will provide a forum for members of the Department of Defense, federal government, private industry, academia,... Read More »
Leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee pressed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for answers on Thursday amid reports that citizenship applications were approved without background checks and green cards were erroneously issued.
U.S. Sens. Ron... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently awarded a total of $5,643,466 across seven organizations to develop new tools for cybersecurity researchers.
“Cybersecurity research and development, and the ability to develop new solutions will be... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DoJ) are striving to improve incident response involving individuals with mental illness, but challenges remain, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review released on Thursday.
Under the 21st Century Cures... Read More »
Recognizing the threat that unpredictable biohazards could pose, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has proposed development of a new biosurveillance technology that would rapidly screen unfamiliar bacteria to establish their capacity to harm.
The program, “Friend or Foe,”... Read More »
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appointed four members to the Board of the First Responder Network Authority on Thursday who have backgrounds in public safety, wireless broadband, and network engineering.
Richard Ross, police commissioner of Philadelphia; David Zolet, CEO of the Logistics... Read More »
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar held a briefing this week on preparedness and response efforts for seasonal and pandemic influenza.
Secretary Azar discussed his experience overseeing HHS ongoing flu activities and his time working with other public health leaders during his... Read More »
Reps. Filemon Vela (D-TX) and Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) recently introduced a bill designed to enhance U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) support, staffing, and resources.
The lawmakers said the Border and Ports Security Act would increase the CBP’s capacity to screen passengers and... Read More »
Revelations that mobile devices can reveal the identities, activities and locations of U.S. service members stationed abroad prompted members of the Senate Armed Services Committee to call for a Department of Defense (DoD) review on Wednesday.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, U.S.... Read More »
Amid concerns about potential espionage, the federal government would be prohibited from procuring telecommunications equipment or services from China-based Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.
In 2012, the Permanent Select Committee on... Read More »
Threats posed by ISIS fighters returning home as the terrorist organization loses territory were a focus of recent discussions between the heads the United Nations (UN) and Interpol about global security issues and priorities.
UN Secretary General António Guterres and Interpol Secretary... Read More »
An Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) fact-finding mission (FFM) is currently investigating recent allegations about the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic.
The FFM’s mandate is “to establish facts surrounding allegations of the use of toxic... Read More »
Federal agencies would be given new tools to track white supremacist and other extremist groups and to coordinate multi-agency efforts under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Under the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, H.R. 4918, the Department of Homeland Security,... Read More »
The Chemical Biological Test Division of the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center Engineering Directorate earned the Director of Army Safety Risk Management Award for establishing new approaches to laboratory safety practices.
Brig. Gen. David Francis, commanding general of the Combat... Read More »
A New York man who pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS and conspiring to attack federal agents was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Tuesday in federal court.
Munther Omar Saleh, 22, was arrested in 2015 after he allegedly attacked an FBI agent who was... Read More »
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) plans to modernize the nation’s nuclear weapons is not supported by the administration’s budget, and Department of Energy (DoE) environmental cleanup could cost billions more than projected, according to a recent Government Accountability... Read More »
Top officials at the Department of Homeland Security conceded Wednesday to a weariness and anxiety about the repeated congressional efforts to agree to a longtime spending plan, resulting in recurring threats of a government shutdown until a budget is voted.
Elaine Duke, deputy secretary of DHS,... Read More »
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) recently joined 10 congressional colleagues in demonstrating support for funding of three Homeland Security labs.
Officials said correspondence to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees backs full funding of the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate recently issued a press release highlighting its Coast Guard Search and Rescue Visual Analytics (cgSARVA) system.
cgSARVA, a visual, user-centered platform, helps USCG decision-makers identify boat stations most... Read More »
Following Super Bowl LII on Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) outlined two years of planning and coordination among local officials and 27 DHS entities that contributed to a successful event.
The DHS National Protection Programs Directorate (NPPD) conducted more than 200... Read More »
