Countermeasures
More work needs to be done to strengthen the alliance between the private sector and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in combating cyber attacks, private stakeholders testified at a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
“In the cyber domain, we are constantly learning... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed near the Laredo Port of Entry recently seized a shipment of alleged cocaine worth approximately $365,000.
The incident occurred on Mar. 2, as agents stationed at the World Trade International Bridge in Texas referred a 2006 Wentworth... Read More »
Researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) recently captured 3D images of operating high explosive detonators for the first time.
For the study, the research teams utilized state-of-the-art imaging systems with computed... Read More »
According to a recent study conducted by the University of Toronto and Public Health Ontario, Canadians who reported travel-related illnesses after returning from the Americas were commonly diagnosed with dengue, but actually were infected with cases of Zika virus that were more severe than... Read More »
Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit recently arrested a former Colombian National Army battalion commander who was wanted for charges of forced disappearance, homicide of a protected person, and weapons and ammunition... Read More »
Kansas State University (KSU) recently launched a new research fellowship aimed at studying highly-contagious epidemic animal diseases and the threats they pose to national security.
The fellowship is supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is administered through... Read More »
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), in conjunction with the Council of Europe, recently launched a new initiative aimed at building capacity and enhancing cooperation amongst cybersecurity investigators around the world.
The Global action on Cybercrime extended (GLACY+)... Read More »
FLIR Systems, Inc. recently received a delivery order valued at $54.2 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for 50 U.S. Army chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear dismounted reconnaissance sets, kits and outfit (CBRN DR-SKO) systems.
The order is part of a five-year... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) recently introduced a bill that aims to strengthen immigration enforcement by targeting undocumented migrants who have a criminal record and bringing them into law enforcement custody.
The bill, titled the Assuring Law Enforcement Requests are Timely... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), David Young (R-IA) and Dan Donovan (R-NY) recently introduced a bill to ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply by combating the threat of potential agro-terrorism.
The Securing our Agriculture and Food Act would require the Secretary of Homeland... Read More »
In the years since the United States ceased developing new nuclear weapons systems, Sandia National Laboratories have been conducting and developing a series of assessments for each nuclear weapons system to detect or anticipate potential functionality issues as the weapons themselves continue to... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) SIGMA program, a project aimed at preventing attacks from radiological or “dirty” bombs, recently completed its biggest test deployment of vehicle-mounted radiation detectors in Washington, D.C.
The test, which began last July and... Read More »
A research team at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (PennVet) recently identified new therapeutic targets for the tropical disease leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease that can cause painful skin ulcers that can become metastatic after a period of time.
The... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, along with U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-LA), recently introduced a bill to examine the cybersecurity capabilities of various federal agencies and require regular audits of their progress as more... Read More »
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) recently selected Kacey Ernst, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, as a 2017-2018 public engagement fellow.
As part of her fellowship, Ernst will... Read More »
Since its creation in 2006, the Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority (BARDA) has taken a lead role in helping to procure an arsenal of medical countermeasures that the agency says should serve as a deterrent to anthrax, smallpox and botulism being weaponized in a future biological... Read More »
Two members of the House Republican Caucus recently sent a public letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an effort to examine the agency’s Laboratory Response Network (LRN), a system established to boost the government’s preparedness for bioterrorism.
U.S. Rep.... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) introduced legislation last week to require a “stress test” of U.S. government programs against potential terrorist travel.
The Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel, on which McSally served, made the stress test recommendation to help... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced legislation last week to help protect against a terror-style attack on the nation’s agriculture industry and ensure food safety for American consumers.
The Securing our Agriculture and Food Act would require the Secretary of... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced a bill last week to help state, local, and tribal governments to identify, detect, protect, respond and recover from various cyber threats.
The State Cyber Resiliency Act establishes a cybersecurity grant program to provide the... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently sent a public letter to the Senate Homeland Security Committee, urging the committee to conduct hearings on the growing number of threats and attacks against faith-based community centers in the United States.
U.S. Sens. Dean Heller (R-NV) and Martin... Read More »
Meenakshi Malik, associate professor at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, was recently awarded a $480,000 grant to expand her study into Francisella tularensis, the bacteria that causes the potentially fatal disease tularemia.
The three-year grant was funded by the National... Read More »
According to a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made progress in planning for a biometric air exit system and reporting traveler overstays, but certain challenges have persisted in its efforts.
GAO conducted the... Read More »
Fifteen member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) took part in a training course last month aimed at preparing each member in handling emergency response to chemical incidents.
The course was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from Feb. 6-10 and was the fifth... Read More »
Utah’s Davis Chamber of Commerce recently named BAE Systems Air Force Strategic Programs at the Hill Air Force Base as its Innovation Business of the Year at its annual awards banquet.
The award is given to businesses that “demonstrate the ability to drive innovation in their business... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework, Assessment, and Auditing Act of 2017 (H.R. 1224) this week, which examines the cybersecurity capabilities of various federal agencies and requires regular audits of their... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) published a list of 12 anti-biotic resistant priority pathogens this week, which represent the 12 families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health.
WHO said the list was made to promote research and development of new antibiotics and is part... Read More »
A team of scientists at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health recently discovered a new method to accurately predict the timing and intensity of West Nile virus outbreaks.
The method uses a computer model to forecast multiple situations that imitate potential behaviors of an... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) recently re-introduced legislation that urges the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member nations either meet or exceed a two percent gross domestic product (GDP) commitment to defense spending.
The resolution was introduced with bipartisan support in the... Read More »
A team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside, recently explored ways small regulatory RNA molecules, called microRNAs, play in the mosquito egg maturation process.
The team hopes that by studying microRNAs of Aedes aegypti species mosquitos, they might be able to find ways to... Read More »
A panel of counterterrorism experts told lawmakers on Tuesday of a growing threat of domestic terrorism that appears to be coming over the Internet from overseas affiliates of ISIS, al-Qaida and other jihadist groups.
Thomas Joscelyn, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies,... Read More »
Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced the launch of a Phase 1 study to examine the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of the company’s treatment for the lung and delayed effects of acute radiation exposure, called AEOL 10150.
The treatment is being developed under a $118.4... Read More »
According to a recent study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an investigational malaria vaccine protected a small number of healthy adults from infection with a malaria strain different from that contained in the vaccine.
Results of the Phase 1... Read More »
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing, set for Mar. 1, to examine Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a provision that allows government entities to collect the communications of foreign terrorist seeking to harm the United States.
The committee said the... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently began a Phase 1 clinical trial to examine an investigational vaccine that provides protection against a range of common mosquito-transmitted diseases, such as Zika virus, malaria, West Nile, and dengue fever.
The... Read More »
