Policy
Nine Iranian nationals charged with taking part in four-year cyberattack campaign
Nine Iranian hackers have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) with leading a four-year campaign of cyberattacks on universities and professors, private businesses, and the U.S. government on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to an indictment unsealed on... Read More »
House committee approves eight homeland security bills
The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee approved eight bills last week that seek to enhance the nation’s cybersecurity, surface transportation security, and air travel and cargo security. U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the committee’s chairman, said America must “continue to evolve... Read More »
Omnibus spending bill delivers increased homeland security funding
The U.S. House of Representatives recently advanced an omnibus spending bill, which includes the largest increase in defense funding in 15 years. The bill, advanced with a vote of 256 to 167, includes funding to fight terrorism, secure borders, enhance first responder capabilities, improve... Read More »
Senate bill would enhance penalties for fentanyl distribution
Penalties for distributing the synthetic opioid fentanyl would be enhanced under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) would be given new tools to intercept drug shipments from overseas. The bill would lower the amount of fentanyl or fentanyl... Read More »
Federal spending bill includes increased support for border security, firefighters
The omnibus federal spending bill that gained approval in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday contains provisions that would increase support for border security, local police departments, and firefighters. U.S. Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and John Boozman (R-AK) secured $85 million in... Read More »
Program credited with expediting Ugandan virus detection
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report is touting the benefits of a program credited with expediting Ugandan virus detection. The CDC-UVRI Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Surveillance and Laboratory Program was lauded in a CDC report published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The... Read More »
Senate approves bill cracking down on online sex trafficking
With U.S. Senate approval of a bill that would end civil and criminal protections under current law for websites that take part in online sex trafficking on Wednesday, the measure will advance to the president’s desk. The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA), S. 1693, would amend the... Read More »
Senate bill aims to curb foreign influence in U.S. colleges
More individuals working for organizations that promote foreign interests in the United States would have to register as foreign agents under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938, individuals working for foreign-supported... Read More »
Effort seeks to minimize dam failure, improve response capability in affected areas
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has been researching ways to minimize risk from a dam failure while improving response capability of stakeholders. Officials said the Kentucky Division of Water and S&T’s Flood Apex program are working together... Read More »
Rep. McSally laments closure of National Guard Apache battalions
Army Secretary Mark Esper’s decision to dismantle the 1-285th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB) in Marana, Arizona, met resistance from U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) on Tuesday. McSally, the former commander of the 354th Fighter Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, voiced her... Read More »
Senate Intel Committee releases recommendations to shore up election security
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has concluded that the country’s election infrastructure remains resilient despite Russian attempts to hack state voting systems, but the committee released recommendations on Tuesday to better defend against future attempts to undermine... Read More »
U.S. at critical juncture with Global Health Security Agenda
The United States is part of the international plan to prevent the naturally occurring, accidental or deliberate spread of infectious diseases, but remains among many countries hampered by the inadequate or underprepared systems around the world that can’t effectively deal with rapidly emerging... Read More »
Washington State lawmakers call for temporary canine teams at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
As the spring tourism season looms, members of Washington State’s congressional delegation called on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Monday to deploy five temporary passenger screening canine teams to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). In a letter to TSA... Read More »
Sen. Feinstein calls for investigation of Cambridge Analytica’s use of a private voter information
In response to reports that Cambridge Analytica exploited the private information of more than 50 million Facebook users during the 2016 presidential campaign, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) called for an official investigation by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. Feinstein,... Read More »
Lawmakers support cybersecurity funding initiative
A trio of lawmakers recently requested funds for the Department of Homeland Security’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program, which provides cybersecurity network enhancement. Reps. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), Jim Langevin (D-RI), and Will Hurd (R-TX) recently forwarded correspondence... Read More »
International effort takes down secure criminal communications network
Cooperation between international law enforcement agencies has led to the downfall of an encrypted network the FBI says was used by drug traffickers and criminal organization leaders for secure communications. Phantom Secure was, until recently, a Canada-based service that bought and stripped... Read More »
OPCW, Qatar committee hosts chemical safety and security management seminar Asian Region member states
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW) of Qatar recently held a chemical safety and security seminar in Doha, Qatar, for OPCW Member States in the Asian Region. Fifty-three participants from government, the... Read More »Senators lead efforts to crack down on fentanyl distribution
Federal penalties for distributing fentanyl would be stepped up to curb the nationwide opioid epidemic under a forthcoming bill that was previewed on Friday by U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AK) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Under the bill, lower amounts of fentanyl would be required to trigger... Read More »
Bipartisan senators call for government to increase counter-propaganda efforts
Amid reports that the U.S. State Department has not designated $120 million in funds appropriated by Congress to counter disinformation and propaganda from foreign governments, a group of six bipartisan senators pushed for an explanation on Friday. The lawmakers also wrote they are “gravely... Read More »
DARPA announces program to improve understanding of gray zone activities
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently announced a new program that seeks to develop software that would help decision-makers better understand gray-zone action, subtle conflicts that fall somewhere between peace and conventional warfare. This gray zone conflict is not... Read More »
GAO statement describes progress, challenges in securing Southwest border
A recent statement from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) describes the progress the U.S. Border Patrol has made and the challenges it has faced in securing the Southwest Border. The statement addresses DHS efforts to deploy and measure the effectiveness of surveillance technologies.... Read More »
House panel considers Trump’s $33.25 billion border security funding request
During a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on the president’s $33.25 billion funding request for border security on Thursday, U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) warned about consequences of a “piecemeal” approach to border security and blasted “partisan politics.” President Donald... Read More »
Bipartisan resolution condemns Russian chemical weapons attack in United Kingdom
A resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday condemns Russia’s recent chemical weapons attacks in the United Kingdom and calls for the United States to take “additional measures” to ensure that there are consequences for the use of chemical weapons. U.K.... Read More »
South Asian first responders undergo chemical emergency training
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) first responders recently expanded their chemical incidents training acumen in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The training was jointly run by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Bangladesh National Authority for... Read More »
GAO recommends that CBP finalize a plan to improve, maintain Automated Commercial Environment
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report recommended the creation of a finalized interagency approach to the post-core management of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the information system used for import processing. The study recommended that the Secretary of Homeland... Read More »
Sen. Markey introduces legislation to make Massachusetts firearm licensing standards a national model
Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced on Wednesday legislation that would incentivize states to adopt gun licensing standards similar to those in Massachusetts, which has the lowest gun death rate in the nation. Markey’s legislation, the Making America Safe and Secure (MASS) Act, would... Read More »
Military leaders highlight progress in cyber domain during U.S. Senate hearing
As cyber threats to military networks become more persistent and sophisticated, military leaders provided an update to a U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday about recent efforts to bolster the military’s cybersecurity capabilities. In testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee,... Read More »
House panel considers bills addressing energy supply emergencies, cyber threats to energy sector
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy considered four bills on Wednesday that address energy supply emergencies and cybersecurity threats to the electric grid, pipelines, and other areas of the energy sector. During its third hearing on efforts to modernize the U.S.... Read More »
Florida border patrol agents apprehend gang member
Florida Border Patrol agents recently arrested a gang member with an extensive criminal history during an immigration inspection at a Fort Lauderdale bus station. Officials said agents identified a suspicious passenger while conducting inspections and learned the man was from Honduras and not in... Read More »
DHS Science and Technology Directorate developing air surveillance standards
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced this week that it is working to create standards for air surveillance, known as DHS (Interim) Strategic Air Surveillance Requirements, or (I)SASR. DHS S&T is working with the Federal Aviation... Read More »
Indictment returned for alleged Chicago-area fentanyl importers
Two Chicago men were indicted on federal drug charges on March 7 for allegedly conspiring with others to ship a fentanyl derivative from China to 19 addresses in the Chicago area. Sanchez Lackland, 35, of Hazel Crest, Illinois, and Jermol Mixon, 35, of Orland Park, Illinois, were both charged... Read More »
Homeland security officials call for immigration reform to address border security
Homeland Security Director Kirstjen Nielsen noted that a border wall is only “one of the tools” required to secure the border following an operational briefing on border wall prototypes with President Donald Trump in San Diego on Tuesday. Nielsen and Trump were joined by acting Border... Read More »
House Speaker favors rebuilding military
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) maintains the nation’s military needs to be rebuilt. “Almost a decade under the Obama administration, during which the military was simply not a top priority, left major gaps in the readiness of our Armed Forces,” Ryan said. “Funding for modernizing the... Read More »
Four individuals arrested, charged with trafficking counterfeit FDA-regulated goods
Four individuals were arrested recently and charged with the alleged sale of counterfeit male enhancement pills, weight loss pills, condoms, and cosmetics. Carlos Enrique Velázquez-Gines, Mayra Evelise Gines-Otero, Noriam Ivette Flores-Deleon, and Vanessa Marrero-Hernández were charged with... Read More »