Countermeasures
In one of the more unusual discoveries at a United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility last month, agriculture specialists discovered a first-in-nation pest hiding in a shipment of fresh-cut flowers.
The bug, later lab identified as Corimelaena palmeri, was the first intruder of... Read More »
U.S. Secret Service personnel have outlined the opening of a new Baltic Computer Forensics Training Program (CFTP).
The endeavor is in partnership with the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences and Baltic regional law enforcement, linking law enforcement officers from around the Baltic region to... Read More »
U.S. Sens. John Hoeven (R-MT) and Katie Britt (R-AL) recently proposed legislation they maintain would secure the southern border and keep American communities and families safe.
Hoeven and Britt joined 17 colleagues in co-sponsoring a resolution forcing the Biden administration to acknowledge... Read More »
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) officials have selected Vail Colorado Police Chief Dwight Henninger as the first Senior Law Enforcement Partnership Advisor to the Director.
“Everything we do at ATF begins and ends with public safety, and we hold dear our strong local,... Read More »
With any disaster comes a need for cleanup, which generally means contracting work, and last week, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) reintroduced the Disaster Contract Improvement Act to improve the whole process and save taxpayers money.
“Ensuring there is clear guidance on the removal of debris... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA) has joined two colleagues in introducing measures requiring the President of the United States to provide Congress with reports on North Korea’s activity.
The North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act and the Korean Interdiction and Modernization... Read More »
Efforts by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continue to produce state-sponsored ransomware and have successfully attacked healthcare and public health sector organizations and other critical infrastructure, according to a new advisory.
This Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) was the... Read More »
Although crossing into the United States unlawfully is a crime, some argue financially assisting that crime is only vaguely addressed as a crime itself - so this week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and several colleagues set out to change that through the No Coyote Cash Act.
“President... Read More »
The United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) this week welcomed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), its first new member in nearly two decades.
USGCRP members are agencies that conduct global change research and utilize it for their missions while providing a link... Read More »
U.S. Reps. David Kustoff (R-TN) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) recently reintroduced the Stop Corrupt Iranian Oligarchs and Entities Act to address Iranian regime corruption via a compiled list of Iranian oligarchs and entities profiting off the Iranian people.
"Over the years, the world has... Read More »
Justice Department officials have detailed the sentencing of a dual citizen of the United States and Iran for alleged illegal exportation in violation of the International Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Kambiz Attar Kashani, 44, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in federal court in Brooklyn,... Read More »
A coalition of 21 Republican state attorneys general wrote President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week urging them to designate Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and provide additional federal resources for combating fentanyl.
“The national... Read More »
The largest private-public collaboration with the Department of Defense (DoD) to date yielded a new solar facility on the northwest corner of Edwards Air Force Base last week, built in collaboration with Terra-Gen LLC as part of the Edwards Solar Enhance Use Lease Project.
It’s a unique land... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) has introduced the Honoring Our Fallen TSA Officers Act, which extends benefits to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers killed in the line of duty.
“Every day, TSA officers put their lives on the line in order to protect millions of Americans in... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently reintroduced the Keep Americans Safe Act, which seeks to ban the importation, sale, manufacturing, transfer, or possession of gun magazines holding over 10 rounds of ammunition.
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have joined 26 colleagues in... Read More »
With the completion of a Roadmap for Implementation for the Columbus Division of Police (CDP) by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), reformation work has begun in the Ohio city to examine and revise the use of force, problem-solving and more.... Read More »
Despite major economic restrictions placed on Iran, U.S. intelligence has estimated that perhaps 75 percent of the components for Iranian drones recently used by Russia in suicidal bombing raids against Ukraine were U.S.-made, which caused a stir among House members this week.
A bipartisan... Read More »
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has joined international law enforcement partners in issuing a warning regarding global financial sextortion.
"Financial sextortion has a far wider impact than just our country and our kids—it is a global crisis that demands everyone’s attention,"... Read More »
The United States has joined Australia, India, and Japan in initiating the Quad Cyber Challenge, which seeks to improve cybersecurity across the nations.
"We are inviting Internet users across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to join the Challenge and pledge to practice safe and responsible cyber... Read More »
A neo-Nazi leader from Florida and a woman with whom he had a personal relationship were charged by federal prosecutors with plotting to attack electrical substations around Baltimore and cripple the city, according to authorities this week.
In an unsealed federal criminal complaint, Sarah Beth... Read More »
As part of ongoing bi-national efforts, Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents spent Jan. 9-20, 2023, training 13 members of Mexico’s border rescue agency, Grupos Beta, to undertake migrant rescue along the United States-Mexican border.
“It is important that we continue... Read More »
Aerospace and defense firm Curtiss-Wright Corporation has secured a 10-year, $287 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract from Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) – Air Force Test Center (AFTC).
The contract maintains a base period of five years, valued at $123 million,... Read More »
Successful commercialization greeted the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) last week, as U2opia Technology purchased exclusive licensing to two of its technologies for advanced cybersecurity monitoring in real-time.
U2opia is a consortium of technology and... Read More »
In use on macaques, at least, an experimental Sudan virus (SUDV) vaccine created by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research group recently provided complete protection against a lethal case of SUDV.
According to findings published in The Lancet Microbe, the vaccine candidate – VSV-SUDV... Read More »
The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center (USASMDC-TC) has reached a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with CACI International.
The five-year pact targets further development of advanced payload technologies, space sensor applications, and Positioning,... Read More »
Looking to put the Biden administration’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan under greater scrutiny, several Republican senators led by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) recently introduced legislation that would create a bicameral Joint Select Committee on Afghanistan.
The bill, known only... Read More »
In a bicameral move, U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and David Trone (D-MD) introduced the Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act last week to create a federal program providing local governments with resources to purchase containment devices for narcotics and offer training to first... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a proposal to enhance international air travel security for commercial flight travelers to and from the United States.
The published Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) addresses the expansion of existing advance data requirements via... Read More »
U.S. Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Frank Lucas (R-OK) recently forwarded correspondence to the Department of Energy (DOE) requesting documents and communications regarding three DOE National Laboratories targeted by a Russian hacking team last year.
Comer, chairman of the House Committee on... Read More »
The U.S. Army has awarded engineering solutions firm Curtiss-Wright Corporation a contract supporting the new Enduring Shield platform to meet the Army’s cruise missile defense needs.
The contract scope calls for Curtiss-Wright to design and build electromechanical actuators for the first 16... Read More »
Although the majority – nearly 79 percent – of recommendations related to federal cybersecurity called for by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2010 have been implemented, major room for improvement remains, and this week, U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) added her voice to the... Read More »
The United States Department of the Air Force will conduct a BRAVO hackathon from March 20-24, 2023, as a way for American citizens to help it innovate using open-source software and data otherwise unapproved for production with classified or protected data.
This event will take place at... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) recently introduced the Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act, which would enable the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to electronically search gun sale records following a crime committed with a... Read More »
According to the second annual report from the Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT), a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 2022 brought implementation plans for a new victim-centered approach at the agency, along with hundreds of victims aided and thousands of... Read More »
Seeking to increase preparedness for wildfires and reduce the risks they pose, a bipartisan group of senators this week introduced the Wildfire Emergency Act, using it to push for funding, new programs, and greater firefighter training efforts.
“Wildfires throughout Western states,... Read More »
