Countermeasures
The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee released last week a comprehensive review of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) use of intelligence to counter terrorist threats and activities.
The report, “Reviewing the Department of Homeland Security’s Intelligence Enterprise... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) released this week a minority staff memorandum detailing federal support for public health research on gun violence and revealing a setback in federal efforts due to a lack of funding
The memo was released on the four-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) released this week an outline for a public-private partnership to deploy the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (Network), with provisions to ensure progress on key network components within the first 100 days of the new partnership.
The... Read More »
The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently took action to disrupt the financial infrastructure of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) by designating the Iraq-based Selselat al Thahab Money Exchange as well as ISIL financier Fawaz Muhammad Jubayr al-Rawi and his company, the Hanifa... Read More »
The U.S. House passed this week a bipartisan bill authored by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) aimed at strengthening the response to acts of terrorism perpetrated by the militant group Boko Haram.
The bill requires a new five-year U.S. government strategy to counter the threats posed by Boko... Read More »
The U.S. Senate passed the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) earlier this week to bipartisan approval and applause from the bill’s co-sponsors, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE).
The bill, which authorizes funding for the U.S. Department of Defense, passed the... Read More »
Emergent Biosolutions said on Thursday it signed a $911 million contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to supply vaccines to the Strategic National Stockpile to bolster U.S. national preparedness efforts in the event of a biological attack.
The global biopharmaceutical... Read More »
A coalition of Democratic Congress members recently urged the Obama Administration via letter to provide them with briefings on potential Russian interference during the recent U.S. presidential election.
In the wake of reports speculating that Russia may have interfered in the election,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action earlier this week to impede financial support networks of the terrorist group al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The department designated AQAP leaders Al-Hasan Ali Ali Abkar and Abdallah Faysal... Read More »
The Alliance for Biosecurity commended the U.S. Senate’s passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, which contains provisions to promote innovation and efficiency in the development of new medical countermeasures.
A key issue the organization cited in the bill was a provision for the development... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently awarded Raytheon BBN Technologies multiple contracts to research and develop technologies to detect and respond to cyber attacks on U.S. power grid infrastructure.
The company will be developing... Read More »
The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) recently indicated the agency plans to implement new technology into its training courses, including the latest evolution of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) and Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
IMS technology revolves around a... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) recently publicly requested that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) improve and expand its oversight into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s use of private, for-profit detention facilities.
Thompson’s request comes in the wake of a Homeland... Read More »
A coalition of law enforcement authorities including German police, U.S. authorities, the FBI, Europol, Eurojust and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) recently dismantled an international criminal infrastructure platform known as Avalanche.
The Avalanche network was used... Read More »
FLIR Systems Inc. recently acquired Prox Dynamics AS, a company that develops and manufactures nano-class unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for military and para-military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications, for $134 million.
Norway-based Prox Dynamics develops, manufactures... Read More »
Legislation to protect first responders from anthrax exposure in the event of a biological attack passed the House on Tuesday and will now go to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.
The First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act would authorize a pilot program for the Department of... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic A/S recently completed its enrollment of a Phase 3 clinical study designed to demonstrate non-inferiority between the company’s investigational, non-replicating smallpox vaccine called Imvamune and ACAM2000, the current U.S.-licensed and replicating smallpox vaccine.
The U.S.... Read More »
The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) is collaborating with renowned researcher Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, on a project to help combat the effects of chemical and biological agents.
The project, called Ex Vivo Console of... Read More »
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in a recently passed resolution have called for greater cooperation between countries in Europe to strengthen security and defense to combat an increase in terrorism, cyber threats and energy insecurity.
“Our union is not equipped to face overwhelming... Read More »
The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), in conjunction with the Southwest University in Chongqing, China and the University of Lueven in Belgium, recently developed a way to replicate the basic structure of the Zika virus without the genes that make the virus infectious.
The research... Read More »
The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) recently held a two-day workshop in Manila, Philippines on simplifying visa procedures for both Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and non-ASEAN nationals.
The workshop featured presentations from government, law enforcement,... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently opened a new temporary holding facility in Tornillo-Guadalupe, Texas in response to a recent surge in illegal border crossings by migrants along the southwest border of the United States.
The facility, housed at the CBP Tornillo-Guadalupe Port... Read More »
United Nations (UN) member states recently adopted a resolution by consensus to further strengthen collaboration between the UN and Interpol against transnational crime and terrorism.
Member states discussed issues related to counterterrorism during the 71st session of the UN General Assembly,... Read More »
The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) recently conducted a demonstration for U.S. senators on the latest defense technology: a state-of-the art head-mounted, augmented reality (AR) display.
ECBC initially developed the AR headset to be used for military training, however, the center... Read More »
According to a recent study by the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, a particular malaria parasite affecting children in Africa is evading rapid diagnostic tests (RDT), threatening malaria eradication efforts.
Most RDTs rely on the detection of histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2),... Read More »
A coalition of local and national agencies recently took part in a four-day, full-scale exercise in Omaha, Nebraska to evaluate and test the ability to provide international medical transport for multiple patients with a highly infectious disease.
The drill was developed by the National... Read More »
According to a new study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine, approximately 25 percent of individuals in a Sierra Leone village were infected with Ebola virus disease but showed no symptoms, which suggests a broader transmission of the virus than originally thought.
The... Read More »
As advancements are made in biotechnology and the treatment of diseases, the U.S. government must strengthen its security to combat the threat of states or individuals potentially launching a biological attack, argues the president’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
In a... Read More »
The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chris Coons (D-DE) that makes anthrax vaccines available to first responders.
The First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act has been endorsed by the International Association of Fire... Read More »
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü recently met with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica H.E. Alejandro Solano Ortiz to discuss a range of issues related to chemical weapons disarmament and the Chemical Weapons... Read More »
The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade held a joint hearing on Wednesday that examined the recent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) on Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices.
On Oct. 21, hackers infiltrated... Read More »
According to a recent clinical trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the experimental Ebola virus disease (EVD) treatment ZMapp was found to be safe and well-tolerated amongst participants.
NIH said that while the treatment appeared to be effective for participants, the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a guide for Internet of Things (IoT) cybersecurity to equip stakeholders with the knowledge to make risk-based decisions as they design, manufacture and use internet-connected devices and systems.
DHS issued the set of strategic... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) is hosting an event this week in Virginia to bring together international government officials and nuclear industry experts to discuss radiological, nuclear and cyber security priorities.
The project was initially launched to define the Nuclear Security Summit... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) recently released new guidelines for preventing and combating an emerging parasitic infection called leishmaniasis.
The leishmania parasite is found in approximately 90 percent of... Read More »
