Countermeasures
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) forwarded correspondence last week urging the Trump Administration to hold Russia accountable for its likely use of chemical weapons in recent attacks on civilians in the United Kingdom.
In his letter, Royce noted the Administration missed... Read More »
The U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) recently established an Incident Management Team, which will work with the Emergency Operation Center during natural disasters or wide-scale emergencies.
The team, comprised of Border Patrol personnel from across the RGV, met last week to... Read More »
The spread of tickborne infections has risen significantly in the past decade, with the upward trend likely to continue, according to a recent report by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Lyme disease represents the majority of tickborne infections in the United... Read More »
The United States remains critically vulnerable to cyber attack, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which also found 10 crucial steps agencies need to take and four major cybersecurity challenges circling the nation’s information security.
Security... Read More »
KBRwyle, a subsidiary of professional services and technology provider KBR, Inc., has been awarded a $36.5 million Air Force Installation Contracting Agency (AFICA) missiles system contract.
Officials said KBRwyle would provide sustainment engineering support to the 414th Supply Chain Management... Read More »
An updated database released this week has identified more than 170 incidents of nuclear and radioactive material trafficking across 14 countries in 2017.
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) officials said the Global Incidents and Trafficking Database, produced for NTI by the Center for... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently installed a new Federal Inspection Station at Puerto Rico’s Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport.
The $6 million station uses advanced technology and allows passengers to move through a single point of control, speeding up entry to the... Read More »
In a massive study that examined data from 76 countries collected from 1959 to 2009, analysts from the University of Illinois have found that outbreaks of chikungunya and dengue fever -- both linked to mosquitoes -- are most affected by population density and proximity to a country already... Read More »
Officers with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 132 individuals on criminal and civil violations at the conclusion of Operation Eagle’s Shield last week.
Eagle’s Shield, which ran from July 9 to July 20, was an... Read More »
The House Homeland Security Committee has advanced the Biometric Identification Migration Alert Program (BITMAP) Authorization Act of 2018 to help better identify national security threats.
The legislation was introduced by Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and was co-sponsored by Rep.... Read More »
A bill introduced by Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) designed to enhance efforts to protect the nation from evolving threats has unanimously advanced the House Homeland Security Committee.
Donovan said the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act strengthens national security by ensuring the... Read More »
The American Airlines Terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport recently installed a computed tomography (CT) checkpoint scanner that provides 3-D imaging for detecting explosives.
The scanner is similar to those used to scan checked baggage. It provides clear, 3-D images that can be... Read More »
Following President Donald Trump’s assertions of doubt on the accuracy of the American intelligence community’s findings on Russian election interference, a bipartisan effort in the House of Representatives introduced a resolution this week reaffirming support for those findings.
At a joint... Read More »
A Senate effort that has garnered support from both sides of the aisle looks to bolster the security of U.S. elections in the wake of the intelligence community’s conclusions of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections.
The Secure Elections Act seeks to fund the creation and... Read More »
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) officials will be participating in several discussion panels presented at the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management’s (INMM) 59th annual meeting this week in Baltimore, Md.
NTI Vice President Corey Hinderstein provided opening remarks at the first plenary... Read More »
The House and Senate Armed Services Committees released details of the conference report authorizing funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy.
Lawmakers said the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year... Read More »
Plurilock Security Solutions recently received a $200,000 contract award from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T).
The funds will develop an identity management platform to improve the security of smart devices, sensors and other devices, such as... Read More »
As Ukraine continues to battle with Russian-backed rebels in its eastern expanse, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced last week that it would provide $200 million for training, equipment, and advisory efforts.
The new funds continue a long-standing defense relationship between the... Read More »
For nine nations adjoining the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) has assessed that the threat of a dangerous Ebola spread is high at the regional level.
An outbreak of the disease has stricken the Congo since May, and though the WHO has resisted calling for... Read More »
The U.S. government recently awarded Lockheed Martin a $450 million contract to design and plan construction of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatants (MMSC) for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The awarded Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) agreement will be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) recently announced its Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIE) program, which is designed to ensure the nation maintains an advantage within the realm of artificial intelligence (AI).
DARPA officials said the initiative serves as a critical... Read More »
Air and Marine Operations agents recently flew over the Rio Grande Sector as part of the Border Patrol Missing Migrant Program. The agents, from the McAllen Air Brach, conducted a familiarization flight for Central America’s Northern Triangle and Mexico (TRICAMEX).
TRICAMEX, comprised of the... Read More »
It would cost the U.S. government only half a day’s worth of federal spending — anywhere between $5 billion and $6 billion — to create the infrastructure needed to counteract the threat of chemical or biological attacks, according to findings described in “Invisible Scourge: The Danger of... Read More »
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday the publication of a comprehensive assessment of cyber threats to the United States along with the ways in which the U.S. Department of Justice combats those threats.
“The Internet has given us amazing new tools that help us work, communicate,... Read More »
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) recently launched new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-certified courses focused on educating community members about violent extremism and how to respond to it effectively.
The multidisciplinary... Read More »
The U.S. Secret Service released last week a new operational guide meant to help schools better prepare for dangerous situations and act as a tool to help end the current widespread nature of targeted violence in U.S. schools.
The guide, Enhancing School Safety Using A Threat Assessment Model,... Read More »
Lockheed Martin recently announced that it would invest $5 million in vocational and trade programs and create 8,000 new apprenticeship opportunities over the next five years.
Programs will give new employees experience and help mid-career employees keep their skills current.
The investment... Read More »
New York City will host to a National Security Summit at the end of this month, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which will sponsor the event.
The meeting will gather federal employees of numerous agencies together with academics and private sector CEOs through a... Read More »
House members advanced this week legislation designed to aid in preventing acts of genocide and mass atrocity crimes.
The Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, enhances commitment to and... Read More »
The fiscal year 2019 homeland security funding bill released by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee on Thursday outlines $51.4 billion in discretionary funding, $6.7 billion in major disaster relief and $5 billion for physical barriers and technology along the border.
The bill prioritizes... Read More »
Federal agencies would be given new authorities to protect communities and buildings from threats posed by unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones, under a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.
U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Steve Chabot (R-OH) introduced the... Read More »
Citing the practice of countries illegally importing goods by transhipping them through other countries, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) called on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Wednesday to use existing tools to crack down on illegal trade.
Portman urged CBP Administrator Kevin... Read More »
Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) introduced legislation in the House this week to modernize the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Continuous Diagnostics Mitigation (CDM) program.
Specifically, the Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act will codify CDM at the DHS.
“CDM is... Read More »
Following identification of the need to quickly share information across jurisdictions, the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) of the Department of Homeland Security has been working with the RadResponder network on several national, radiation-focused tools.
This partnership has been in... Read More »
An FBI probe of a Maryland man uncovered a conspiracy for obtaining material support and resources from ISIS and planning to engage in terrorist activity.
Officials said the case of Mohamed Elshinawy, who plead guilty in March of this year and was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, began... Read More »
