Countermeasures
An international law enforcement operation has dismantled a complex transnational organized cybercrime network that attempted to steal an estimated $100 million from victims in the United States and around the world.
The crime syndicate used malware called GozNym to try and infect tens of... Read More »
The full U.S. Senate on Thursday approved bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize the nation’s all-hazards preparedness and response law.
“I am pleased my Senate colleagues joined me in supporting this legislation that ensures America’s biodefenses are ready for the public health... Read More »
Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-TX) recently expressed gratitude to the Homeland Security Committee for its consideration of the DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act of 2019.
“I’m proud to introduce legislation that ensures DHS can foster collaboration between the private and public sectors,”... Read More »
Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, recently praised the progression of a measure designed to authorizes funding and enables comprehensive, congressional oversight for the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC).
The Committee... Read More »
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced this week a bill intended to bolster counterterrorism efforts under an updated Counterterrorism Advisory Board (CTAB).
The Counter Threats Advisory Board Act seeks to authorize and rename CTAB, would codify the board for... Read More »
Thirteen U.S. senators introduced legislation Wednesday that aims to protect American elections from foreign interference.
“The Russian government interfered in American elections in 2016, and if we don't stop them, they and other governments are going to do it again,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)... Read More »
Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Susie Lee (D-NV) introduced a bill in the House this week that would direct the Department of Labor to award grants to businesses and organizations to develop apprenticeship programs in cybersecurity.
Through the Cyber Ready Workforce Act (H.R. 6791), the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will begin procuring Emergent BioSolutions’ anthrax vaccine into the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to strengthen U.S. preparedness in the event of a public health threat, the company said on Wednesday.
Emergent... Read More »
A group of Democratic senators recently announced the reintroduction of legislation seeking to address the root causes of the Central American migrant crisis, outlining the coordinated regional response needed to manage violence and humanitarian concerns effectively.
Senate Democratic Leader... Read More »
Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently introduced a measure designed to ban those employed or sponsored by Chinese military institutions from receiving American student or research visas.
The... Read More »
Board members of America’s first responder network, FirstNet, recently toured the Georgia Cyber Center, learning more about evolving cyber threats and the technological investments and innovation being developed there.
Board Chair Edward Horowitz, fellow board member and retired Army Brigadier... Read More »
The Marine Corps plans to upgrade to a multichannel radio system that enables soldiers to monitor two radio networks simultaneously.
Replacing older systems makes the Marines compliant with a National Security Agency mandate requiring all radios not up to cryptographic modernization standards be... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced two bills this week that support homeland security efforts.
The first bill is the Transit Security Grant Program Flexibility Act (H.R. 1313), sponsored by Rep. Peter King (R-NY). It seeks to standardize performance periods for the Transit Security Grant... Read More »
Rhode Island recently launched the nation’s first statewide cybercrime support and recovery hotline, enabling residents to address identity theft, financial fraud, cyberstalking, cyberbullying and other cybercrimes.
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), who helped secure $282,600 in federal funding for... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a series of recommendations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to address the agency's nuclear terrorism deterrence limitations.
GAO officials said the recommendations stem from an examination of the extent to which DHS tracks... Read More »
Though efforts by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have helped many countries hit by the Zika virus since its emergence in 2015, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that its efforts could do with improvement, particularly when tracking funds and planning... Read More »
Bomb squad teams are participating in the 13th annual Robot Rodeo and Capability Exercise at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico starting today.
During the five-day event, 10 military and civilian teams will compete in 12 challenges to test emergency preparedness skills and... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are urging Senate committee leaders to hold a markup session on a bill that would discourage Russia and any other foreign actors from disrupting U.S. elections.
The bill, the Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines... Read More »
The U.S. Senate is fast tracking bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the nation’s all-hazards preparedness and response law, according to the Alliance for Biosecurity.
U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Bob Casey (D-PA) on May 8 sponsored S. 1379, which has been referred to the U.S. Senate... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel from across the nation gathered in Miami recently for the agency's 2019 Region IV All Hazards Preparedness workshop.
The two-day effort, which was slated ahead of this year’s hurricane season, involved dozens of law enforcement personnel, emergency... Read More »
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently instituted a Mission Critical Voice Test Equipment funding opportunity as a means of testing public safety devices.
The effort, which includes an amount of up to $12 million, was launched through the Public Safety Innovation... Read More »
A new study led by Georgia State University states that the timing of hurricanes is a primary force in the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
Such infectious diseases, like West Nile Virus or Zika, bloom with an increased mosquito population. Stagnant water helps drive those populations upward... Read More »
Legislation introduced in the House last week aims to protect U.S. elections against foreign interference and malicious attacks.
The Election Security Act, introduced by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD) and Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), includes seven provisions.
The bill... Read More »
Senate Democrats blasted the U.S. Department of Defense for its transfer of $1.5 billion to build part of a wall on the southwest border.
“Once again, the Department of Defense has ignored decades of precedent and cooperation with the Congress in carrying out a transfer of funds without... Read More »
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently made final guidance available to government stakeholders on testing to extend the expiration date of stockpiled medical countermeasures (MCMs) used during public health emergency preparedness and response for anthrax exposure.
Stockpiles of... Read More »
A group of House Energy and Commerce Committee members are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to examine fifth-generation (5G) infrastructure and technology security.
Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications and Technology Subcommittee... Read More »
Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Eliot L. Engel (D-NY) introduced last week a measure designed to retain Russian nuclear forces limits.
The Richard G. Lugar and Ellen O. Tauscher Act to Maintain Limits on Russian Nuclear Forces calls for an extension of New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New... Read More »
The TB Alliance was awarded a grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) last week to aid in the development of two new clinical stage tuberculosis drug candidates.
Development is being undertaken by partners at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Harvard... Read More »
Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico recently signed an umbrella agreement to explore multiple research and technology collaborations among scientists, faculty, and students.
Under the agreement, the organizations will collaborate in areas, including advance materials... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) is seeking additional federal funds to fight a superbug called Candida Auris that is spreading throughout New York.
Schumer is urging the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to designate the spreading and multidrug-resistant fungus an official emergency, which... Read More »
An amendment increasing federal funds by $300 million for the Strategic National Stockpile received U.S. House Appropriations Committee approval on Wednesday as part of an almost $190 billion fiscal year 2020 spending bill covering the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and... Read More »
Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently joined 17 colleagues in expressing concerns over the expanding mission of active duty service members deployed to the southern border.
The group of legislators forwarded correspondence to Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan... Read More »
A new RAND Corporation report maintains a significant gap exists between the nation's strategic and defense policies and funding and personnel resources required to implement those policies successfully.
“Modernizing its nuclear deterrent over the next several decades is likely to consume most... Read More »
In a 14-year study focused on outbreak investigations in Bangladesh, an international team of scientists has gained new insights into the deadly Nipah virus -- in particular, that age and respiratory troubles are substantial factors in its transmission.
The bat-borne paramyxovirus is a staple... Read More »
A bipartisan coalition of 33 senators sent a letter this week urging that $75 million be provided in the 2020 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
The letter was sent to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations... Read More »
