Policy
Raytheon ranks fourth on Cybersecurity 500
In a worldwide ranking of the most innovative cybersecurity companies, Raytheon, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, ranked fourth. The rankings, called the Cybersecurity 500, is conducted by Cybersecurity Ventures, a cybersecurity research and publishing company. Raytheon's high ranking was... Read More »
Haspel highlights her priorities as CIA director during swearing-in ceremony
At her swearing-in ceremony last week, CIA Director Gina Haspel highlighted the need for the agency to bolster its foreign language proficiency, build stronger partnerships and deploy more field officers. Haspel, the first woman to lead the CIA in the agency’s 70-year history, was joined by... Read More »
FLIR Systems offering three new radar, thermal products for use by military, border patrol
FLIR Systems, Inc. introduced last week three new radar and thermal imaging systems that can be used by militaries and government border patrol agencies to detect objects on land and in the air, including microdrones. The FLIR Ranger R8SS-3D and R8SS radars can provide mid-range detection... Read More »
Senate bill would give police fast access to cell phone location data in missing persons cases
Cellular service providers would be required to provide limited cell phone data to police departments in emergency situations like missing persons cases under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on May 24. The Kelsey Smith Act is named for an 18-year-old woman who was abducted and murdered in... Read More »
Agency seeks national security solutions
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is requesting input on concepts for advanced research, development, and demonstration of systems for military missions regarding national security. The agency’s Tactical Technology Office will host a Virtual Proposers Day June 6-7 to... Read More »Senate committee approves NDAA with more than 30 amendments from Sen. Cruz
Highlighting the importance of “peace through strength,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced more than 30 amendments to the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2019 during U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee markup, which concluded on May 24. In total,... Read More »
Operation yields human trafficking arrests
A three-week Border Patrol operation west of Yuma, Arizona, between April and May yielded the arrests of 170 human trafficking suspects. Special Operations Detachment (SOD) and Intelligence Border Patrol agents detected the suspects near the Imperial Sand Dunes. Operation Sandman apprehended a... Read More »
Homeland Security Department awards $3 million to small businesses for research projects
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program recently announced that it awarded $2.94 million across 20 competitive research contracts to 19 small businesses in 10 states. Each of the Phase I awardees will... Read More »
FBI seizes control of key server used in massive Russian botnet cyberattacks
A Russian botnet that has infected about a half million routers used in homes and business around the world with malware was disrupted on Thursday by the FBI’s seizure of a key server. Referred to by federal officials and cybersecurity experts as “VPNFilter,” the botnet has attacked... Read More »
Sen. Portman calls for continued “maximum pressure campaign” against North Korea
In response to reports that President Donald Trump had canceled the planned June 12 summit with North Korea, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) called on Thursday to maintain pressure by continuing talks, engaging the international community and upholding tougher sanctions. Portman, a member of the... Read More »
Sens. Rubio, Nelson applaud committee advancement of emergency preparedness bill
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) praised on Wednesday the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions’ (HELP) advancement of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAIA). The bill, S. 2852, would reauthorize various Pandemic... Read More »
EU-U.S. Joint Ministerial Meeting highlights counterrorism, information sharing, security among
The European Union (EU)-U.S. Joint Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs held in Bulgaria on Tuesday and Wednesday allowed leaders to discuss joint efforts to combat terrorism, information sharing, efforts to prevent radicalization, aviation security, and chemical, biological,... Read More »
FEMA awards San Antonio $1.5 million for terrorism preparedness operations
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently awarded the City of San Antonio, Texas $1.5 million in grants to help prevent, protect against, mitigate, and respond to acts of terrorism. “San Antonio is one of the fastest-growing cities... Read More »
ICE arrests 49 foreign nationals in Philadelphia in less than a week
U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 49 foreign nationals in Philadelphia during an operation that extended from May 14 to May 20 that targeted aliens with criminal records, fugitives, re-entrants and other violators of federal immigration laws. Of the 49 individuals... Read More »
Laredo Port of Entry holds three-day active shooter training session
An active shooter response training simulation recently organized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) from the Laredo Port of Entry enabled supervisors to focus on bolstering active shooter preparedness and prevention efforts. Hosted by the Use of Force... Read More »
DHS announces funding for NYC anti-terrorism activities, programs, equipment
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that New York was awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to enhance security preparedness and anti-terror activities through grant programming in fiscal year 2018. New York City will receive $178 million under the... Read More »
FEMA to assist Puerto Rico with mass casualty training exercise
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced this week that it is working with the Government of Puerto Rico to train emergency and healthcare workers to respond to mass casualty incidents. FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness is running a four-day training course from May 29 to... Read More »
Senate HELP Committee advances Burr’s bipartisan bill to reauthorize PAHPA
The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on May 23 approved 22-1 the pending Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018, S.2852. S. 2852, introduced on May 15 by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), would reauthorize certain programs under... Read More »
Survey examines infectious, emerging disease feedback
Results of a recent survey examined the thoughts of Americans concerning the potential impact infectious and emerging diseases facing other countries will have in the United States. The effort, commissioned by Research!America and the American Society for Microbiology, showed 95 percent of... Read More »
IDSA calls on UN Ambassador Haley to secure ‘concrete commitments’ to end tuberculosis
With tuberculosis killing 1.7 million people in 2016, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) led more than 900 doctors, scientists, and researchers in calling United Nations (UN) Ambassador Nikki Haley to secure “concrete commitments” in this fall’s UN General Assembly High Level... Read More »
DHS announces $1.6 billion to protect against terror threats in fiscal year 2018
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that $1.6 billion in funding would be made available to state and local governments, nonprofits, transportation authorities and the private sector to bolster terrorism prevention, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts in fiscal year... Read More »Las Vegas to receive $5 million in counterterrorism funds under revamped DHS funding formula
Las Vegas will receive $5 million to help prevent terrorist attacks under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant program, reflecting an increase of $2.13 million from the previous year. U.S. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) has been leading a push... Read More »
Border patrol agents in Laredo help seize drug shipment from Mexico
The Laredo Sector Border Patrol Foreign Operations Branch (FOB), working with the Government of Mexico (GoM), prevented a large shipment of narcotics from entering the United States last week. Border Patrol agents with the Foreign Operations Branch, along with officials from the Mexican... Read More »
Oakland airport to utilize passenger screening dogs
In anticipation of what is projected to be the busiest summer travel season ever nationwide, the Oakland International Airport will be using highly visible canines specially trained to detect explosives and explosive components. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Alameda County... Read More »
Reps. Langevin, King, McCaskill introduce legislation to fight opioid trafficking
U.S. Reps. James Langevin (D-RI) and Peter King (R-NY) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) recently introduced the Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking Act. The bill would enable Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create a Joint Task Force to improve coordination of the interdiction... Read More »
Senate bill aims to advance DoD research into brain injury treatment, prevention
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) would have a greater capacity to track and prevent exposure to blasts that can leave service members with traumatic brain injury (TBI) under a bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Friday. Introduced by U.S. Reps. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Elizabeth... Read More »
Amendment to NDAA would require reports on foreign influence over Trump, associates
The director of national intelligence would be required to report on efforts by foreign governments, individuals or entities to bribe President Trump, the Trump family or Trump Administration officials under an amendment to the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) introduced... Read More »
House bill would establish “Border Wall Trust Fund” to accept public donations
The U.S. Department of Treasury would be authorized to create a “Border Wall Trust Fund” to accept public donations for the planning, design, construction or maintenance of a southern border wall under legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday. Introduced by U.S.... Read More »
Mock Clade X pandemic decimates human population; denotes global pre-planning needs
The lack of both a protective vaccine and a proactive worldwide plan for tackling the spread of a catastrophic global pandemic resulted in the death of 150 million people across Earth during the recent Clade X simulation exercise hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. And minus... Read More »
Growing resistance to antifungal drugs threatens health, food security worldwide
People around the world are becoming more resistant to antifungal treatments, and according to researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Exeter, the end result could be increased outbreaks of disease and food shortages. Improvements must be made to how existing drugs are... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection introduces app for reporting small vessel entry in Florida
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) recently launched its Reporting Offsite Arrival – Mobile (ROAM) app, which operators of small vessels can use to report their entry into Florida. To use the app, travelers input their biographic, conveyance and trip details and submit their trip for... Read More »
House approves four bills stepping up protections, support for law enforcers
The U.S. House of Representatives approved four bills last week that would take steps to enhance protections for law enforcement officers through stricter penalties, additional resources and improved collaboration with local communities. The Protect and Serve Act, H.R. 5698, aims to prevent... Read More »
NTI experts to focus on Global Health Security Index at 71st World Health Assembly
Government officials and health experts from around the world will attend the 71st World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva this week, where the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) will give presentations on the importance of health and security and the Global Health Security (GHS) Index. NTI experts... Read More »
INTERPOL information database inquiries jump 200 percent
Use of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) global databases has been on the rise in recent years amid growing threats of terrorist attacks in Europe, with inquiries to stolen and lost travel documents data increasing by more than 200 percent since 2014. Delegates recently... Read More »