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As a founding director of the nation’s first bioterrorism preparedness program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1999, Dr. Scott Lillibridge didn’t realize then what would emerge as the almost surreal scope of biothreats now challenging the United States.
But now he knows,... Read More »
Faced with mounting challenges in protecting its weapon systems from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has stepped up its efforts to address weapon systems cybersecurity.
In a new report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that... Read More »
The Chinese government is investing more than the United States in the use of non-human primates as laboratory models for deadly infectious disease research, according to expert testimony delivered on Tuesday during a meeting of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense.
Jay Rappaport, director... Read More »
Experts in the areas of nuclear and radiological emergencies convened at an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) symposium this week to discuss ways to communicate during such emergencies effectively.
"Communication is a challenge that we all face together," Juan Carlos Lentijo, deputy... Read More »
In a report to Congress, the 911 Implementation Coordination Office addressed the $9.5 billion to $12.7 billion cost necessary to transition the United States into a next generation 911 system (NG911) that increasingly incorporates not just calls, but data as well.
The National Emergency Number... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions completed its acquisition of PaxVax, a company that develops specialty vaccines that protect against infectious diseases typhoid and cholera.
Emergent now has two PaxVax vaccines – Vivotif, which treats typhoid fever, and Vaxchora, which treats cholera. Emergent acquired... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) commended President Donald Trump for signing into law a bill to help Americans who are victimized by acts of terrorism while abroad get justice.
Trump signed into law the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 (S. 2946), which will improve access to justice in... Read More »
Officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) met with the Oil and Natural Gas Sector Coordinating Council this week to discuss how industry and government can work strategically to secure pipelines and other critical infrastructure.
The meeting was led by Transportation Security... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is researching the detection and prevention of homemade explosives at various labs and test facilities across the country.
DHS reports that there are approximately 3,000 improvised explosive device (IED) incidents in... Read More »
Texas A&M University was selected to lead a consortium of U.S. academic institutions, among others, for a new Center of Excellence (COE) for Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS).
The project will be funded by a $3.85 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland... Read More »
The Justice Department’s Criminal Division held a roundtable discussion last week on challenges related to cybersecurity and data breach investigations.
The goal of the roundtable was to work with the private sector on how to improve cooperation with law enforcement and better prosecute and... Read More »
Boeing has secured a $9.2 billion Air Force contract to produce T-X aircraft, which officials said would replace the Air Education and Training Command's 57-year-old fleet of T-38C Talons.
The agreement calls for Boeing to deliver 351 T-X aircraft, 46 simulators and associated ground equipment,... Read More »
In 2015 it was discovered that a U.S. laboratory spent more than a decade inadvertently sending the bacteria that causes anthrax to 194 laboratories worldwide.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has recently released its findings regarding how effective the U.S. Department of Defense has... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced this week legislation to improve safety, scheduling, and compensation for Border Patrol agents.
The Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Amendment Act of 2018, sponsored by Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), addresses pay and scheduling issues that have impeded the... Read More »
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) recently introduced the Law Enforcement Resources and Community Safety Act of 2018, which addresses state and local problems associated with drug trafficking, gangs and organized crime, strengthen witness protection programs, and provide resources to keep first responders safe... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday advanced bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) to bolster America’s preparedness and response to public health emergencies, including biological threats like emerging infectious diseases, as well as chemical, bio or nuclear... Read More »
In a move the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association warn could threaten public health responses, the Trump Administration has transferred funds from infectious disease prevention, care, and biomedical research programs into its unaccompanied alien children... Read More »
An appropriations bill signed into law on Sept. 21 by President Donald Trump will increase funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through 2019 and fund military construction throughout the country.
For the VA, this represents a massive influx of funding at more than $86.5 billion,... Read More »
Fiji is subjected to a smallpox outbreak where social norms breakdown and medical experts scramble to get the outbreak under control.
This wasn’t reality, but it was the simulation exercise for participants of a workshop held last month at the University of New South Wales Sydney. The event... Read More »
President Donald Trump launched the National Cyber Strategy last week, the first “fully articulated” cyber strategy since 2003.
The strategy calls for integrating cyber into the four pillars of the National Security Strategy. Specifically, the strategy is designed to defend the homeland by... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has made a series of recommendations for evolution within the Department of Homeland Security, better defining its roles and responsibilities to make it less of a risk due to lack of cohesiveness.
Efficacy is a huge issue within the department. DHS’... Read More »
The bicameral Hold the Low-Yield Nuclear Explosive Act, or the Hold the LYNE Act, was introduced in Congress on Sept. 18, a measure that would prohibit the research, development, production and deployment of a low-yield nuclear warhead for submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
The legislation,... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has developed an online tool to help security professionals for commercial office buildings perform assessments.
The web-based tool streamlines from the application process for building owners applying for... Read More »
The Sept. 18 release of the 2018 National Biodefense Strategy and a newly signed National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) will bolster the nation’s defenses against man-made, accidental or intentional, and naturally occurring biological threats to Americans’ health and safety, said U.S.... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded contracts to five researchers to develop new methods to identify Network/Internet-scale Disruptive Events (NIDEs).
When internet connectivity is disrupted, it can have a major impact on critical... Read More »
Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) are encouraging the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to assess threats posed by deepfake technology.
The three representatives forwarded correspondence last week to DNI chief Dan Coats requesting the Intelligence... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Mike Bishop (R-MI) and Mike Conaway (R-TX) introduced a bill to require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to submit a report to Congress on Iran’s use of assets received from sanctions relief.
The bill, the Iran Payments Accountability Act of 2018 (H.R. 6774), states that... Read More »
As Hurricane Florence, a category 4 storm, bears down on the Carolinas, the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) is warning about the potential for public health threats in the storm’s aftermath.
IDSA points out that with over 1 million people being evacuated from their homes, shelters... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) introduced the Protecting our Communities and Rights Act of 2018 this week, which would establish a process to allow law enforcement to confiscate guns from individuals who are dangerous or unfit to have them.
It is a federal version of “red flag” laws that have... Read More »
The Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a $2 billion investment in developing artificial intelligence with the launch of a program called AI Next.
“With AI Next, we are making multiple research investments aimed at transforming computers from... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) along with leading mobile providers to guarantee service to first responders during emergencies.
The California senators also asked the mobile service providers – specifically... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced legislation this week that demands a U.S. strategy to bolster Taiwan’s diplomatic standing around the world.
The Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI)... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bill this week to codify the continuous diagnostics and mitigation (CDM) program at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The bill, the Advancing Cybersecurity Diagnostics and Mitigation Act (H.R. 6443), would require the development of... Read More »
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Small Vessel Reporting System (SVRS) is is no longer in service, leaving boaters to turn to the new Reporting Offsite Arrival-Mobile (ROAM) app.
While float plans will no longer be accepted, existing SVRS numbers are still valid. They can be entered... Read More »
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) showed off a host of new technologies deployed to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) this week, from computed tomographic (CT) scanners to photo ID scan verifications.
The technologies are being tested at the airport’s Terminal 1... Read More »
