Countermeasures
Three lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to the Department of Defense (DOD), requesting climate change report regions and impacts on national security.
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) and Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) have urged... Read More »
Personnel representing several government entities delivered a worldwide threats assessment during recent open and closed Congressional committee sessions.
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Director Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, joined Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, as well as the... Read More »
Calling the United States nuclear strategy outdated, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced Wednesday bicameral legislation that would keep the nation from ever being the first to use nuclear weapons.
The No First Use Act would undo existing policy, which... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced Tuesday the FIRST State and Local Law Enforcement Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security Office for State and Local Law Enforcement (OSLLE) to provide an annual report on its activities for the next five years.
The reports would be... Read More »
The U.S. Justice Department launched a campaign to disrupt the Joanap botnet – a global network of infected computers under the control of North Korean hackers that are used to facilitate cyberattacks.
This effort follows charges in which a North Korean citizen, Park Jin Hyok, backed by the... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) recently conducted an exercise on Plum Island, N.Y. to test grid recovery following a staged cyberattack on a U.S. power grid.
The Liberty Eclipse Phase II exercise is the fourth and largest simulated cyberattack that DARPA has conducted... Read More »
A group of lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday designed to address Chinese technology threats.
Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) said Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined their efforts to create an Office of... Read More »
House legislators recently advanced a measure designed to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) coordinates its counterterrorism efforts to limit duplication, inefficiency, and waste.
Rep. John Katko (R-NY) authored the Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2019, which is the first... Read More »
An international effort has created a new model for the identification and study of hosts critical to the spread of infectious diseases.
Such hosts are known as superspreaders, but their superpower is their role in epidemics. Not every infected person has the same potential to damage. Take the... Read More »
The U.S. Army recently awarded Lockheed Martin an $18 million Prototype Project Agreement to design, develop and test a cyber/electronic warfare podded system for the “Air Large” component of the army’s Multi-Function Electronic Warfare family of systems program.
The agreement is part of... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) reintroduced legislation to prevent the president from launching a nuclear first strike without congressional approval.
Their bill, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2019 (H.R.669/S.200), was also introduced in the 115th... Read More »
Marines Corps personnel are espousing the benefits of an updated helmet-mounted night vision system designed to enhance the infantry’s lethality and situational awareness in reduced visibility.
Marine Corps Systems Command accelerated the acquisition of about 1,300 Squad Binocular Night Vision... Read More »
Boeing has secured a $2.4 billion Navy contract to produce the next 19 P-8A Poseidon aircraft.
The agreement calls for 10 aircraft to be added to the current inventory of P-8As in the Navy’s fleet, in addition to all five jets currently under contract for Norway and the four aircraft remaining... Read More »
Scientists may have a new means of detecting and helping tailor therapies to meet the Zika virus’s onslaught.
The technology in question utilizes optofluidic chips -- a combination of small biological samples used for detection purposes (microfluidics) and integrated optics, which use lasers... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, seized $988,550 in unreported currency Friday.
The funds were discovered during a physical examination of a 2010 Nissan Maxima driven by a 20-year-old female U.S. citizen.... Read More »
The U.S. Senate advanced a bill this week that includes several measures to bolster the U.S.-Israel strategic alliance.
The Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019 (S. 1) would authorize security assistance to Israel over a 10-year period, reauthorize the United... Read More »
FBI agents in Lansing, Mich., arrested and charged three people with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) last week.
A criminal complaint, issued through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan, alleges that one of the... Read More »
National Institutes of Health (NIH) early-stage clinical trial findings maintain the investigational Ebola treatment mAb114 is safe, well-tolerated, and easy to administer.
Trial results published in The Lancet outlined the manner in which 18 healthy adults received mAb114 as part of a May 2018... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester will lead a bipartisan group of lawmakers tasked with crafting border security legislation following the agreement last Friday to end the 35-day government shutdown temporarily.
President Donald Trump agreed to end the shutdown last Friday for three weeks while negotiations... Read More »
U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) introduced legislation last week designed to provide protections for financial institutions and banks against regulatory agency backlash when cooperating with a federal or state law enforcement agency investigation.
Rep. Hill first introduced the bill -- the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be supporting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to enforce temporary flight restrictions around Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during Super Bowl Sunday.
The restrictions will be in effect from 3 p.m.... Read More »
A federal interagency working group convened by the White House National Security Council last week released new resources to help first responders prepare for and respond to an emergency incident involving fourth generation agents — also known as chemical warfare agents.
“These resources... Read More »
Medical breakthroughs and advances in public health systems have enabled countries to contain the effects of infectious diseases, but these gains are tempered by insecurities from forces in economics, globalization, and synthetic biology.
That was the takeaway from The Global Risks Report... Read More »
Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) introduced last week the Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2019 (H.R. 739), which they said seeks to globally ensure the Internet is kept open, reliable and secure.
The legislators introduced H.R. 739 to ensure American leadership on the world stage in... Read More »
A group of Sandia National Laboratories researchers, social-behavioral scientists, and computational modelers recently completed a program designed to assess extremist group interactions and behaviors.
The purpose of “Mustang,” a two-year effort, stemmed from the goal of informing U.S. and... Read More »
An investigational Ebola treatment -- mAb114 -- recently passed an early-stage clinical trial without incident, according to a study published in The Lancet.
MaB114 is a monoclonal antibody developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office recently launched a program that assists the Department of Defense with enhancing and sustaining military readiness both by changing how troops train, perform and recover.
The Measuring Biological Aptitude (MBA)... Read More »
An expert with the Council on Foreign Relations argued that federal government should shut down as much federal IT infrastructure as possible during the shutdown to avoid security risks.
In a recent blog post, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations Robert Knake contended that the... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued four recommendations to the Army as a means of enhancing the branch's modernization goals.
GAO officials said the recommendations stem from the Army's aim to maintain its technological edge over potential adversaries by investing in near and... Read More »
The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is partnering with medical isotope producers to enhance nuclear explosion monitoring initiatives.
The collaboration involves monitor installation to lend greater insight regarding emission levels and timing. The endeavor... Read More »
In recent years, India and the nations of Europe have poured a record amount of funding into research and development surrounding neglected diseases, reaching more than $3.5 billion in 2017, according to the annual G-FINDER report.
The G-FINDER report -- a survey of R&D funding for neglected... Read More »
Raytheon Co. will support onboard sensors and ground-control systems used by the U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft fleet as part of a $65 million subcontract from aircraft manufacturer and business partner Northrop Grumman.
Cybersecurity experts from Raytheon... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) has joined 2018 Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, an organization designed to improve and secure the cyber environment and its critical infrastructure.
The Paris Call -- launched on Nov. 12, 2018, by French President Emmanuel Macron -- is... Read More »
The NATO Support Act, H.R. 676, advanced the House of Representatives Tuesday, which original co-sponsor Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said reaffirms Congressional support in the multinational military alliance.
“America’s alliances are a source of strength and security for our country, and among... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials have unveiled an initiative designed to afford first responders and warfighters an opportunity to test their skill set in subterranean environments.
DARPA officials said in April nine teams will participate in the SubT Integration... Read More »
