Countermeasures
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 »
In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, which hit Florida’s panhandle this week, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) said residents of the area need to know the public health risks and how to mitigate them.
The category 4 hurricane – which the U.S. Department of Health and... 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 »
One of the critical problems for getting pandemic vaccines out there is a bottleneck formed by the necessity of tests to determine their potency, but a new type of test -- VaxArray -- may bring immediacy to the system.
"With the 100th year anniversary since the 1918 influenza pandemic, there has... 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 »
The Chinese government is investing more than the United States in the use of non-human primates as laboratory models for deadly infectious disease research, according to expert testimony delivered on Tuesday during a meeting of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense.
Jay Rappaport, director... Read More »
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is working to determine the best method of crafting a 10-year global health security vision to protect national interests, according to a recent CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security meeting.
CSIS’s health... 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 »
With the danger of African swine fever growing each year -- and now poised to spread into Asia -- experts at Kansas State University and the Biosecurity Research Institute are taking notice and taking action to keep it from infecting the United States as well.
African swine fever is a... Read More »
BAE Systems, a British multinational defense, security, and aerospace company, recently revealed its Smart D2 system, next-generation threat management technology that can defend military aircraft and dispense countermeasures.
The system protects aircraft and aircrews from existing and emerging... Read More »
Experts in the areas of nuclear and radiological emergencies convened at an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) symposium this week to discuss ways to communicate during such emergencies effectively.
"Communication is a challenge that we all face together," Juan Carlos Lentijo, deputy... 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 »
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston recently developed a cheaper way to create vaccines without sacrificing their safety or effectiveness.
The way forward focuses on cost-cutting in both storage and production. Traditionally, many vaccines are... 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 »
Emergent BioSolutions completed its acquisition of PaxVax, a company that develops specialty vaccines that protect against infectious diseases typhoid and cholera.
Emergent now has two PaxVax vaccines – Vivotif, which treats typhoid fever, and Vaxchora, which treats cholera. Emergent acquired... 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 »
The University of Montana is responsible for the creation of a new universal flu vaccine, under a five-year, $10 million contract awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The award was granted to Jay Evans, director of UM’s Center for Translational Medicine, who will be joined by... 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 »
Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands and Keio University in Japan are currently exploring infectious disease test alternatives through the use of a special glowing paper strip, a drop of blood, and a digital camera.
The study, published in the journal... 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 »
