News
Vermont electric company flags potential cyber threat, shares information with federal authorities
Vermont’s Burlington Electric Department recently took action to isolate a single laptop that federal officials have said has been linked to a potential Russian-related hacking campaign. The laptop was flagged on Dec. 29 due to the detection of suspicious traffic. Vermont officials were quick... Read More »
DHS fiscal year report statistics show improvement in immigration enforcement efforts
With the recent release of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) FY 2016 statistics report, DHS immigration enforcement efforts showed an increase in prioritizing apprehension of convicted criminals and threats to public safety. DHS saw a 19 percent increase in arrests compared to the... Read More »
More than 1,000 pounds of narcotics seized by Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents
U.S. Border Patrol agents stationed in the Del Rio Sector recently seized more than 1,000 pounds of illicit narcotics over a series of eight separate incidents. The total street value of the confiscated drugs was approximately $990,000. The first incident occurred on Nov. 18, when agents with... Read More »
DHS releases executive summary of government findings in Russian hacking during U.S. election
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Todd Breasseale recently issued an executive summary on malicious cyberattacks conducted by the Russian government, known as Grizzly Steppe, during the U.S. election cycle. The report stated that Russia’s... Read More »
Obama Administration issues series of sanctions on Russian Federation in response to reports of cyber interference in U.S. election
In response to multiple reports of Russian cyber interference in the recent U.S. election cycle, the Obama Administration issued a series of sanctions against the Russian Federation in violation of established international norms of behavior. Among the actions issued by the President, 35... Read More »
American Journal for Public Health, CDC seeking public health emergency preparedness manuscripts for supplemental publishing
The American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will soon be releasing a supplement issue on the Evolution of Public Health Emergency Management from Preparedness to Response and Recovery and is seeking authors to submit their... Read More »
Border Patrol, Mexican authorities combine effort to prosecute human trafficker
The U.S. Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector Foreign Operations Branch (FOB), along with binational partners from the Mexican Attorney General Attaché’s Office (PGR) in El Paso, recently announced the conviction of Santos Villalva Celedonio for human trafficking of migrants. The case was carried... Read More »European Commission adopts series of measures to combat financing for terrorist organizations, organized crime
The European Commission recently adopted a series of measures to strengthen the European Union’s (EU) ability to combat the financing of terrorist organizations and organized crime, which were included in the Feb. 2016 Action Plan Against Terrorist Financing. The initiatives presented by the... Read More »
Raytheon awarded more than $600 mln to upgrade Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense System
An undisclosed party of the 13-nation ownership group which operates the Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense System recently awarded Raytheon Company a direct commercial sales contract worth more than $600 million to bring its system configuration up to date. The contract was awarded on... Read More »
Border Patrol Agents rescue undocumented migrants in freezing weather conditions
El Paso Border Sector Patrol Agents assigned to the Forward Operating Base Bounds in Lordsburg, New Mexico rescued a group of undocumented migrants last week after they were abandoned during freezing weather conditions. The migrants, consisting of six adults and twelve children, told the... Read More »CDC grants $10 million to four Florida-based universities for Zika-related research initiatives
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded a $10 million grant to four Florida-based universities to collaborate on a newly-formed research center that will focus on combating diseases such as the Zika virus. The facility, called the Southeast Regional Center of... Read More »WHO releases final trial results for promising Ebola vaccine
According to a recently published study, an experimental Ebola virus vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial that took place in Guinea. The study was conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with Guinea’s Ministry of Health,... Read More »FBI, DHS launch campaign to raise public awareness of border corruption
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), recently launched a campaign to raise awareness about the problems with border corruption so that citizens and government employees who see misconduct or suspicious activity can report... Read More »
Researchers identify three-dimensional shapes of two enzymes needed for Zika virus replication
A research team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently published two studies that identify the three-dimensional shapes of two enzymes critical to replication and survival of the Zika virus. The first study, published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, examined... Read More »
CBP awards technology innovation contracts to address various border security challenges
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate, recently awarded a series of contracts for various technology initiatives related to border security. DHS first awarded $162,302 to Tamr, a Cambridge,... Read More »
Navy awards Raytheon $32 million contract for next-generation encryption systems
The U.S. Navy recently awarded a $32 million production contract to Raytheon Company for next-generation encryption systems to safeguard tactical military data transmissions across air, surface, subsurface and group assets. Raytheon’s Link Level Communication Security 7M encryptor (LLC 7M)... Read More »
CDC awards $184 million to combat spread of Zika virus
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded $184 million in funding to states, territories, local jurisdictions and universities to support initiatives to protect Americans from the spread of Zika virus. The awards are part of the $350 million in funding provided... Read More »Bosnian national arrested for fraudulently obtaining citizenship
Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit apprehended this week a resident of Crown Point, Indiana after being indicted on a felony charge of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship after emigrating from Bosnia and Herzegovina.... Read More »
Report: Encryption for public safety must be a joint effort between law enforcement, intelligence communities
A bipartisan coalition of House members of the encryption working group recently released a year-end report, which details observations from the current state of encryption services and what the next steps should be to improve them for public security. For the past year, the group has worked... Read More »
Man sentenced to more than 7 years in prison for providing material support for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs announced this week that Irfan Demirtas, a Dutch-Turkish dual citizen, was sentenced to 88 months in prison after providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization called the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).... Read More »
Soligenix partners with IDT Biologika to manufacture ricin toxin vaccine
Soligenix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat rare diseases, recently extended its collaboration with IDT Biologika for the manufacture of RiVax, Soligenix’s proprietary heat-stable ricin toxin vaccine. Ricin toxin is a by-product of castor oil... Read More »Terrorism Financing Task Force Releases Investigation Findings
The United States House Financial Services Committee’s Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing released the results this week of a two-year investigation into terror financing and the threat it poses to the U.S. financial system. “Combating terror financing is a significant and often... Read More »
More than 13 pounds of narcotics seized by CBP in separate incidents
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seized more than 13 pounds of narcotics concealed within everyday objects in unrelated incidents earlier this week. The first event began as agents with CBP’s Office of Field Operations working at the Columbus port of entry recommended a 2000... Read More »
LANL researchers use biomarkers to distinguish between deadly bacteria and harmless counterparts
The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) recently released a study using DNA markers to discern coccobacillus Francisella bacteria to provide a means to distinguish them from the harmful F. tularensis, a virulent pathogen that causes the disease tularemia. “This large study is particularly... Read More »Researchers develop chikungunya fever vaccine from virus that does not affect people
A research team at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston recently developed the first vaccine for chikungunya fever, which was made in part from an insect-specific virus that does not have any effect on people. The new vaccine quickly produces a strong immune defense and... Read More »International Association of Fire Chiefs praises new anthrax vaccine law
A new law that would protect first responders in the event of a terrorist attack using anthrax drew strong support from the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). The First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act requires the Department of Homeland Security to carry out a five-year pilot... Read More »
Senate committee releases report recommending the DHS headquarters consolidation of St. Elizabeths West campus
The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee recently released a report, titled “DHS Headquarters Consolidation at St. Elizabeths: Better Results for Less Money”, which confirms that taxpayers would save approximately $1.2 billion over the span of 30 years by... Read More »
Bill to strengthen collaborative cybersecurity initiatives between U.S. and Israel signed into law
A bill, authored by U.S. Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and John Ratcliffe (R-TX), to strengthen collaborative cybersecurity research initiatives between the United States and Israel was signed into law last week. The bill, titled the United States-Israel Advanced Research Partnership Act of 2016,... Read More »Langevin calls for creation of Select Committee on Cybersecurity
U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), co-founder of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, recently sent a letter to Speaker of the House U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) calling for the creation of a Select Committee on Cybersecurity. Approximately 80 committees and subcommittees currently claim some... Read More »Wyden calls for transparency on intelligence regarding potential Russian interference in U.S election
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) publicly called last week for the immediate declassification and public release of any intelligence related to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, stating that Americans cannot wait much longer to get the facts. “This is a national crisis... Read More »
Battelle’s Winkel recognized with award for dedication to nuclear, biological and chemical defense
Battelle, Inc.’s David Winkel was recently recognized by the Nuclear Biological and Chemical (NBC) Industry Group with the Dr. Billy Richardson Award, which recognizes young leaders who are committed to NBC-related defense initiatives. Winkel is the third Battelle researcher overall to win... Read More »
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol launches new information-seeking initiative on smugglers in area
The U.S. Border Patrol recently launched a new initiative called Se Busca Información, which will seek to expand on consequences against dangerous smugglers operating in the Del Rio Border Sector. The initiative will focus on obtaining information from the public in order to locate smugglers.... Read More »Utilities focus on negating cybersecurity risks tied to smart meters and grids
As the prevalence of smart meters has grown in recent years, utilities are now grappling with cybersecurity challenges presented by the need to protect large volumes of data. The potential for security breaches can rise exponentially as more smart meters are implemented into utilities systems.... Read More »
CBP Agriculture Specialists intercept shipment of beans from India containing destructive khapra beetle remnants
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agriculture Specialists at Port Huron recently discovered remnants of a khapra beetle, an insect designated for a high-risk of pest infection, in a cargo shipment of split and washed beans from India at the Blue Water Bridge. After a brief examination,... Read More »