Policy
DNI announces cybersecurity investment, modernization effort
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence recently announced that the year-long intelligence community-wide technology and cybersecurity modernization effort was beginning to fulfill its mission. On March 26, director Tulsi Gabbard announced the effort, spearheaded by the ODNI, was... Read More »
Defense Department, Lockheed Martin accelerate missile production to ‘wartime’ pace
The U.S. Department of Defense announced it had reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin to accelerate production of Precision Strike Missiles to a faster pace that would put the defense industrial base on a wartime footing. Calling for the building of an “Arsenal of Freedom,” the... Read More »
FEMA opens application period for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) opened the application period for $1 billion in Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program funding. The application deadline to submit is July 23. The program provides states, local governments, territories and tribal nations... Read More »
Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin as head of U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The U.S. Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin to head up the U.S. Department of Homeland Security following the exit of former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Mullin, who previously served as both a U.S. senator and U.S. representative for Oklahoma, was approved in a partisan vote of 54-45 on Tuesday,... Read More »
Legislation would strip citizenship of naturalized citizens who commit or support terrorism
Bicameral legislation would strip the citizenship of naturalized U.S. citizens who commit or support terrorism and remove them from the United States. Under current law, it is difficult to strip citizenship once citizenship has been granted. The Expatriate Terrorists Act amends current law to... Read More »
FCC updates list of foreign-made routers that threaten national security
On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission updated a list of foreign-made routers that post a threat to national security. The list includes all consumer-grade routers that were determined by the White House-convened Executive Branch interagency body that “pose unacceptable risks to the... Read More »
Southern District of New York settles Iranian state-sponsored terrorism case
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has settled a 17-year forfeiture litigation that will result in the payment of approximately $318 million to hundreds of victims of Iranian state-sponsored terrorism. The forfeiture action exposed an Iranian government-owned bank’s secret... Read More »
Congressman requests GAO review of threats posed by AI-enabled terrorism
U.S. Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) has requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to perform a comprehensive review of how foreign terrorists use emerging technologies against the United States. In a letter to the GAO, Pfluger, the chair of the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and... Read More »
Congressional subcommittee hearing focuses on risks posed by Chinese AI, robotics and other technologies
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection held a hearing on March 17 to examine the national security risks stemming from artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous sensing technologies developed by companies affiliated with the People’s Republic of China... Read More »
FEMA awards FIFA host cities $625M
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently awarded the 11 cities hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 matches $625 million to boost security preparations. “The 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to be the largest sporting event in history, so it must also be the most secure,” Karen Evans,... Read More »
Justice Department unseals case regarding more than $14.9M in money laundering
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a civil case filed in 2024 on Friday that details the seizure of more than $14.9 million seized from an international drug money laundering scheme and alleges a complex pattern of trade-based drug-money laundering. Trade-based money laundering is defined... Read More »
Report: U.S. space supply chain approaching inflection point
A new analysis of the U.S. space sector finds that the U.S. space industrial base has not kept pace with industry growth, and that the space supply chain is approaching an inflection point, risking national security, civil and commercial space programs. The report, Strengthening America’s... Read More »
International law enforcement moves to disrupt crypto fraud
American law enforcement agencies joined those from the United Kingdom and Canada to conduct a joint international law enforcement initiative focusing on crypto assets. The initiative, Operation Atlantic, worked to identify victims who may have lost, or are at risk of losing, crypto assets... Read More »
Joint Task Force Southern Border commemorates one year in operation
The Joint Task Force Southern Border (JTF-SB), which was created to safeguard U.S. territorial integrity, commemorated its one-year anniversary on Saturday. "During this first year, Joint Task Force-Southern Border and partners have proven what a whole-of-government approach to our nation's... Read More »
Legislation would help fight drug-resistant pathogens
Bipartisan legislation recently re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would prepare the United States for future pandemics. The Saving Us from Pandemic Era Resistance by Building a Unified Global Strategy (SUPER BUGS) Act would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to... Read More »
Defense Department secretary directs military branches to assess legal functions, operations
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he wants a “ruthless, no-excuses review” of the assorted legal support functions and operations of the U.S. Department of Defense, referred to as the U.S. Department of War by the Trump administration. In a video on social media, Hegseth said... Read More »
U.S. Eighth Army participating in 10-day exercise with South Korea
The U.S. Eighth Army, the ground component for U.S. Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command, is participating in Freedom Shield 26, a 10-day defensive exercise conducted by the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) that began on Monday. The purpose of the exercise is to modernize the... Read More »
Reps. Landsman, Pfluger introduce bill seeking to reimburse local law enforcement for Secret Service support
Legislation introduced by U.S. Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH) and August Pfluger (R-TX) would reimburse local law enforcement agencies $61 million per year for three years for any services, personnel and equipment required to support the Secret Service’s mission. The Secret Service-Local Law... Read More »
Defense Department names chief data officer
The U.S. Department of Defense, referred to by the Trump administration as the Department of War, announced Gavin Kliger would assume the position of the chief data officer for the department. Kliger, previously a senior member of the technical staff at DataBricks, will serve as a key leader in... Read More »
Federal jury convicts Iranian terrorist
A federal jury convicted on March 6 Asif Merchant, a trained operative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian government’s global terrorist force, and was a murder-for-hire who attempted to commit an act of terrorism. Merchant faces a sentence of life in... Read More »
Trump signs executive order combating cybercrime, fraud
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 6 that would require his administration to address cybercrime, fraud and predatory schemes targeting Americans as a way to protect U.S. interests. “Cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes are draining American families of their life... Read More »
Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response releases cybersecurity module
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services division, recently launched a cybersecurity module within its Risk Identification and Site Criticality (RISC) 2.0 Toolkit. RISC 2.0 is a free, web-based platform that health systems,... Read More »
Military officials testify to Senate committee on joint force readiness
Five vice chiefs of staff for the armed services told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the country’s fighting forces are ready for combat. In a hearing in Washington, D.C., the vice chiefs testified on the readiness of the joint force. Representatives of the U.S. Army, Marine Corps,... Read More »
Committee passes legislation aiming to modernize weather forecasting, research
Legislation that would authorize programs strengthening weather research and forecasting at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has passed out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation reauthorization... Read More »
DOJ, law enforcement partners seize one of world’s largest online forums used by cybercriminals
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its law enforcement partners recently seized the database of one of the world’s largest online forums for cybercriminals to buy and sell stolen data and cybercrime tools. Law enforcement agents and officers in 14 countries conducted synchronized actions... Read More »
U.S. House passes bill requiring Labor Dept to train employees on detecting human trafficking
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on March 3 that would require the Department of Labor to train its employees on identifying and assisting law enforcement in preventing human trafficking. The Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act, H.R. 4307, directs the Secretary of... Read More »
Legislation to review mental health programs for service members, veterans introduced
Legislation to improve the mental health of service members and veterans was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week. The Improving Mental Health Support for Servicemembers and Veterans Act, introduced by U.S. Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Jared Golden (D-ME), Jack Bergman (R-MI)... Read More »
Treasury sanctions dozens associated with Iran
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently sanctioned more than 30 individuals, entities and vessels for enabling illicit Iranian petroleum sales and Iran’s ballistic missile and advanced conventional weapons (ACW) production. “Iran exploits... Read More »
Former general manager for defense contractor sentenced for selling trade secrets to Russia
The U.S. Department of Justice said a former general manager for a U.S. defense contractor has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for selling his employer’s trade secrets to a Russian cyber-tools broker. Peter Williams, 39, an Australian national, was sentenced in the U.S.... Read More »
Firearm seizures increase in Pennsylvania’s Region 5
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General narcotics agents seized 41 firearms in southwestern Pennsylvania in January. The total seized in the region for the year is 48. The majority of the seizures happened outside of Pittsburgh. The two largest seizures were in Fayette and Somerset counties,... Read More »
California tech engineers charged with theft of trade secrets, and transferring data to Iran
Three Silicon Valley engineers have been indicted for conspiring to commit trade secret theft from Google and other technology companies, the U.S. Department of Justice said Feb. 19. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, in the Northern District of California, Samaneh Ghandali, 41,... Read More »
Defense Department breaks ground on Indiana munitions campus
The U.S. Department of Defense, referred to as the Department of War by the Trump administration, recently broke ground on a new munitions campus in Bloomfield, Ind. The facility had previously been announced in Sept. 2023, and was then awarded $75 million in Defense Production Act Title II... Read More »
DHS announces next steps in Trump’s border wall
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced recently that Parsons Government Services, Inc., will oversee and manage the completion of President Donald Trump’s border wall. DHS said the partnership will build upon the existing border wall started under Trump’s first term, and that... Read More »
CENTCOM confirms continued strikes on ISIS in Syria
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Thursday it continues to strike ISIS targets in Syria. In a press release, CENTCOM said its forces had conducted 10 strikes on more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria between Feb. 3 and Feb. 12. The purpose, CENTCOM said, was to “sustain relentless... Read More »