Countermeasures
A team of researchers from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the University of Georgia, and North Carolina A&T State University have attained a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation for computer-driven methods of disease forecasting.
The institutions hope to develop tools,... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recovered 424 pounds of cocaine inside a tractor-trailer hauling paper towels across World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas, on Nov. 6.
The cocaine, which has an estimated street value of $3.2 million, was discovered after a CBP officer referred the... Read More »
Following a job fair called “Continue Your Service to America” held in August, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Thursday that job offers had been extended to 207 veterans.
Approximately 2,500 veterans attended the two-day job fair. Onsite job interviews were given to... Read More »
Progress in eliminating chemical weapons stockpiles and the appointment of a new director general will highlight the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) upcoming 22nd Conference of the States Parties (CSP-22) scheduled from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1.
Hamid Ali Rao, the deputy... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently announced that it would hold a series of Biometric Technology Rallies to support technological advancement relevant to DHS and Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE) operations.
The first rally will... Read More »
New legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) this week is seeking to update voter system protections and out-of-date infrastructure.
U.S. intelligence community assessments have found that at least 21 state election systems were attacked by Russian-affiliated hackers in the 2016... Read More »
Following the recent church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, that left 26 people dead, Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday that would make it illegal to sell, transfer, manufacture or import military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
The bill, titled the... Read More »
Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested a review on Thursday to gauge how federal agencies are using predictive modeling and simulations to prepare for and respond to Zika, Ebola and other infectious disease outbreaks.
A recent Government Accountability (GAO) report found... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last week examining the deployment strategy of U.S. Border Patrol agents and activities at immigration checkpoints in the Southwest region of the United States.
U.S. Border Patrol deploys agents along the southwest border in areas both... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD) seeking answers and reforms related to the reporting system failure that enabled the gunman in Sunday’s mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, to obtain firearms.
Under the National Instant Criminal... Read More »
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded research grants totaling $27.5 million to researchers at Cornell University and the University of Notre Dame, NNSA announced this week.
The researchers will receive the funds the Stewardship Science... Read More »
A new bill from the Democrat side of the aisle in Washington, D.C. seeks to ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
The push is coming from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and ranking member of the Senate... Read More »
Researchers from the Baylor School of Medicine released a report Tuesday that documents a link between West Nile virus and brain damage years after the original infection, even among those who did not experience any symptoms at the time of infection.
Baylor researchers released a report on... Read More »
Contrary to early theories, high rates of microcephaly and other neurological deficits recorded during a 2015 Zika outbreak in Brazil were not the result of modern mutations of the virus, scientists from the Columbia University Medical Center concluded in a report released this week.
Zika virus... Read More »
A testbed will be established in the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City for chemical detection sensors under an agreement announced between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Tuesday.
The agreement outlines the... Read More »
Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Progreso/Donna Port of Entry recently confiscated over 69 pounds of alleged heroin valued at over $1.5 million.
“This weekend’s seizure is a vast illustration of the dedication and commitment... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported recently that the three previously reported cases of Marburg virus disease in the Kween District of Eastern Uganda had died as of November 3, resulting in an overall case-fatality rate of 100 percent for the outbreak.
The Ugandan Ministry of Health... Read More »
The global security and risk management advisory firm known as The Chertoff Group has become one of a select few companies to be granted a SAFETY Act “qualified anti-terrorism technology” designation for its methodology by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The company uses what they... Read More »
America's long-range ballistic missile defense system recently added a 44th interceptor as Boeing and the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) team announced that a missile had been loaded into a silo.
The GMD system consists of command and control facilities, communications terminals, and a... Read More »
The invasive Asian tiger mosquito that is proliferating across the United States and Europe can spread Zika and dengue virus infections three times more effective than previously believed, according to a study presented on Tuesday.
After noting that earlier risk assessments of the Asian tiger... Read More »
Although terrorist groups like ISIS have al-Qaeda have recently been plotting small-scale attacks, intelligence indicates that terrorists want to bring down an aircraft and create a “big explosion” on the scale of 9/11, according to a threat assessment released on Tuesday.
The House... Read More »
Members of the House Homeland Security Committee pressed David Pekoske, the newly confirmed administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), on how quickly the country could integrate computed tomography (CT) scanners into every airport in the country to thwart threats at a... Read More »
The House Homeland Security Committee majority staff released a new report reviewing the nation’s network of fusion centers, hubs for sharing information related to security between federal, state and local government entities.
The new report, Advancing the Homeland Security Information... Read More »
A report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) this week analyzed a dengue fever epidemic that caused them to declare an outbreak in Burkina Faso in September and urged countries to consider dengue vaccines.
Notably, this case has differed from past outbreaks in that several serotypes... Read More »
As Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands continue to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, a group of Democratic U.S. Senators recently sent a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Brenda Fitzgerald requesting information on the... Read More »
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) recently announced its Digital and Cyberspace Policy program is launching a Cyber Operations Tracker, a database of all publicly-known state-sponsored incidents that have occurred since 2005, in order to gain a better understanding of the current cyber threat... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at various ports of entry in California recently intercepted 314 pounds of illicit narcotics and arrested 14 fugitives over multiple incidents.
From Friday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 5, California CBP officers seized more than 181... Read More »
Under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate is assisting the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and National Basketball League (NBA) in updating sports... Read More »
After serving as the acting director of the Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) since May, Eric Moore was named the permanent director of ECBC by Maj. Gen. Cedric Williams effective Oct. 29.
ECBC is tasked with research and development efforts related to non-medical components of... Read More »
The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force will continue its efforts help state and local police departments and prosecutors prevent, investigate and respond to technology-enabled crimes against children under a bill signed into law on Friday.
Established in 2008, the ICAC Task... Read More »
The labs working to protect the United States from hazardous pathogens are themselves in need of oversight updates, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), owing to several lapses in safety.
The labs in question--overseen by the Federal Select Agent Program--amount to more... Read More »
A vulnerability recently identified in the Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) protocol that secures most wireless network traffic highlights the critical nature of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) information sharing, according to a recent DHS release.
Jeanette Manfra, the assistant... Read More »
State and local law enforcers will continue to receive specialized training to incorporate cyber and digital tools into criminal investigations following the President’s signed a bill last week that formally authorizes the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI).
The NCFI has trained... Read More »
Under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday, 3D imaging technology and stronger public-private partnerships would be leveraged to enhance Transportation Security Administration (TSA) air cargo security protocols.
The Air Cargo Security Improvement Act of 2017,
H.R.... Read More »
A federal fund that helps state and local efforts to detect and respond to disease outbreaks, supports immunization and critical health responses is at risk of legislative elimination, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).
The bill that would do so--the CHAMPION Act--is... Read More »
