Countermeasures
In response to the rapid increase in attacks on the nation’s cyber infrastructure, the Senate Armed Services Committee recently formed a new subcommittee on cybersecurity for the 115h Congress.
U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) was named as the subcommittee’s chair, while U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson... Read More »
Research teams at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center recently developed a new detection test for Zika virus that is faster and more accurate than contemporary tests.
“The new diagnostic test was designed to more... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic A/S announced the appointment of Henrik Birk this week as the company’s new chief operating officer (COO).
Bavarian Nordic is a fully integrated biotechnology company that focuses on the manufacturing and commercialization of cancer immunotherapies and vaccines for infectious... Read More »
A team of scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently studied a new mouse model that shows how early responses of the immune system can affect the development of the Ebola virus disease (EVD).
Researchers said the model could help identify protective... Read More »
Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), along with colleague Catharine I. Paules, recently published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association calling for continued research into the Zika virus even as individual diagnoses... Read More »
The U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation recently issued a call for proposals of next-generation first responder technologies to promote joint development ventures for first responder training and development.
"The BIRD Foundation is happy to accelerate... Read More »
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) recently announced that the Denver Police Department will receive a $240,000 Countering Violent Extremism Grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the exclusive use of training and engagement.
The grant is part of an effort by DHS for activities that... Read More »
Rep. Dennis A. Ross (R-FL) recently reintroduced the Finish the Fence Act, which would amend the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to complete a 700-mile border fence between the United States and Mexico by Dec. 31, 2017.... Read More »
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), along with the World Customs Organization (WCO), recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that enhances cooperation to tighten national and international controls on the trade of toxic chemicals.
The MOU was signed by... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the Port of Nogales in Arizona arrested a 21-year-old man from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico on Jan. 9 for attempting to smuggle a large weapons cache into Mexico through the port.
During routine outbound operations, officers selected the... Read More »
In order to stay one step ahead of potential emergencies, the Houston Airport System has begun utilizing a new 40-foot mobile incident command vehicle equipped with cutting-edge technology to improve public safety.
The three airports in the Houston area form one of the largest airport systems in... Read More »
According to a recently report by the Latin American and Caribbean Leadership Network (LALN), with support of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), detonation of a “small and primitive” nuclear bomb may result in tens of thousands of people dead, a years-long decline in international trade and... Read More »
Federal advisory committees to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) voted on Monday to approve plans aimed at developing young people into the next generation of leaders that will support national preparedness and health emergency response efforts.
The Office of the Assistant... Read More »
In response to a series of reports that the Russian government interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson publicly released last week plans to designate election systems as a critical infrastructure subsector.
“By... Read More »
Leidos, a Reston, Virginia-based technology company, was recently awarded a subcontract worth approximately $202 million to support the Joint Improvised Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO) for analytical operations, intelligence, and various training services under prime contractor CACI.
JIDO has... Read More »
Szuhsiung Ho, a naturalized U.S. citizen and nuclear engineer, recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully engage in the production or development of special nuclear materials outside of the United States, without the required authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which... Read More »
The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Cyber Policy Task Force released this week its final report titled From Awareness to Action - A Cybersecurity Agenda for the 45th President, which offered a series of recommendations on policy and resources for the President-elect.... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stationed at the Port of Nogales apprehended two individuals over separate incidents attempting to smuggle a combined 32 pounds of methamphetamine and heroin, worth approximately $224,000, through the port on Dec. 23.
While conducting routine sweeps... Read More »
Safariland, a company specializing in body armor, recently selected Honeywell’s Spectra Shield and Gold Shield ballistic composite materials to produce a thin, lightweight vest specifically designed for female law enforcement officers.
Safariland selected Honeywell’s Spectra Shield 5000... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released its Morbidity and Mortality Report, which highlights 10 critical contributions the agency has made in the fight against the spread of Zika virus in 2016.
CDC highlighted new public health surveillance and infection... Read More »
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently named Marlon Miller as the new special agent in charge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office for three states.
Miller’s office will be based in Philadelphia and will have jurisdiction over operations in the states of... Read More »
Soligenix Inc. recently extended its development agreement with Emergent Biosolutions to implement a commercially viable production technology for a vaccine candidate being developed to protect against ricin exposure called RiVax.
Soligenix is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on... Read More »
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in conjunction with the Deputy Under Secretary for Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation Jay Tilden, recently conducted a scheduled aerial measuring system (AMS) proficiency flight in order to evaluate the roles and responsibilities for... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded a grant worth $10 million to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) to establish a new center to help combat the spread of diseases carried by mosquitos and ticks.
“With UTMB’s unparalleled... Read More »
Vermont’s Burlington Electric Department recently took action to isolate a single laptop that federal officials have said has been linked to a potential Russian-related hacking campaign.
The laptop was flagged on Dec. 29 due to the detection of suspicious traffic. Vermont officials were quick... Read More »
With the recent release of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) FY 2016 statistics report, DHS immigration enforcement efforts showed an increase in prioritizing apprehension of convicted criminals and threats to public safety.
DHS saw a 19 percent increase in arrests compared to the... Read More »
U.S. Border Patrol agents stationed in the Del Rio Sector recently seized more than 1,000 pounds of illicit narcotics over a series of eight separate incidents.
The total street value of the confiscated drugs was approximately $990,000.
The first incident occurred on Nov. 18, when agents with... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Todd Breasseale recently issued an executive summary on malicious cyberattacks conducted by the Russian government, known as Grizzly Steppe, during the U.S. election cycle.
The report stated that Russia’s... Read More »
In response to multiple reports of Russian cyber interference in the recent U.S. election cycle, the Obama Administration issued a series of sanctions against the Russian Federation in violation of established international norms of behavior.
Among the actions issued by the President, 35... Read More »
The American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will soon be releasing a supplement issue on the Evolution of Public Health Emergency Management from Preparedness to Response and Recovery and is seeking authors to submit their... Read More »
The U.S. Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector Foreign Operations Branch (FOB), along with binational partners from the Mexican Attorney General Attaché’s Office (PGR) in El Paso, recently announced the conviction of Santos Villalva Celedonio for human trafficking of migrants.
The case was carried... Read More »
The European Commission recently adopted a series of measures to strengthen the European Union’s (EU) ability to combat the financing of terrorist organizations and organized crime, which were included in the Feb. 2016 Action Plan Against Terrorist Financing.
The initiatives presented by the... Read More »
An undisclosed party of the 13-nation ownership group which operates the Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense System recently awarded Raytheon Company a direct commercial sales contract worth more than $600 million to bring its system configuration up to date.
The contract was awarded on... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded a $10 million grant to four Florida-based universities to collaborate on a newly-formed research center that will focus on combating diseases such as the Zika virus.
The facility, called the Southeast Regional Center of... Read More »
According to a recently published study, an experimental Ebola virus vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial that took place in Guinea.
The study was conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with Guinea’s Ministry of Health,... Read More »
