News
CBP uncovers methamphetamine concealed within hollowed-out candle
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) field operations officers stationed at the Ontario air cargo facility at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) uncovered 1.6 pounds of crystal methamphetamine concealed within a hollowed-out candle last Wednesday. The express parcel originated from... Read More »
Carper urges action on cybersecurity vulnerabilities across U.S. election system
U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) called for action on Monday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities in voting machines and other information technology used in election systems across the U.S. “Election security is critical and a cyberattack... Read More »Lockheed Martin, U.S. Air Force deliver third SBIRS satellite to Cape Canaveral
Lockheed Martin, along with the U.S. Air Force, delivered the third Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) satellite to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday, ahead of its intended October launch date. “SBIRS GEO satellites are our nation’s missile... Read More »Rubio renews push to protect military members from Zika virus
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) renewed his push on Thursday to reintroduce legislation that would provide additional protections from the Zika virus to U.S. military men and women, including those serving in high-risk areas. “At the start of June, I introduced an amendment to the 2017 National... Read More »
Study finds huge gap in international biosafety regulations threatens security
A major gap in international standards for biosafety in laboratories handling contagious pathogens potentially increases the risk that an accident could result in a disease outbreak that threatens global security, according to a recent study by the UPMC Center for Health Security. The year-long... Read More »
Battelle, Ohio State make joint hire to enhance collaboration for defense commercialization
Research teams from Battelle and the Ohio State University jointly hired Zachary Mears on Wednesday to enhance collaboration and position institutions for defense technology commercialization. Mears will be on staff as an assistant vice president for national security and research programs at... Read More »LLNL researchers develop material to protect soldiers from biological and chemical agents in the field
A team of researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently developed a flexible material that is both highly breathable and protective from various biological agents that soldiers may come into contact with. The material is the first key component of a new type of... Read More »
FireChat’s off-the-grid messaging app fosters communication during emergencies
A disaster strikes a congested city, cell phone networks are overwhelmed and internet access is spotty. Nearly everyone has a mobile device in their pocket, but few can use them to communicate. San Francisco-based start-up OpenGarden, Inc., has a solution to this type of crisis with its FireChat... Read More »
Raytheon’s team of cyber experts face off against other top teams in DEF CON finals
Deep Red, Raytheon Company’s team of cyber experts, is one of the featured teams competing in the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Cyber Grand Challenge finals during the DEF CON conference this week. DARPA began the Cyber Grand Challenge as a computer security tournament... Read More »Homeland Security Committee releases report on DHS overhead waste
The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee released a report on Tuesday titled “Streamlining the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Overhead Will Make the Homeland Safer” that shows department-wide waste across DHS’s 22 offices and agencies. “Despite existing for over 13 years,... Read More »
Altimmune, BARDA set for clinical trial of single-dose anthrax vaccine
Altimmune, Inc., and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) are set to advance the first clinical trial later this month of an anthrax vaccine that could be administered in a single dose. The trial was initiated from a two-year, $14 million contract between BARDA and... Read More »
Battelle wins two major contracts from U.S. Army
Battelle, Inc.’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Defense Group was awarded two contracts on Monday to provide vital mission support service for the U.S. Army. “These important contract wins demonstrate that Battelle can win competitively bid contracts in our area... Read More »CBP officers discover man concealed within truck’s gas tank compartment
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at the Calexico East port of entry stopped a human smuggling attempt on Friday after discovering a man concealed in a compartment in a Ford F-150 pickup. The incident began when a 41-year-old Mexican citizen entered the East port driving a 1998... Read More »HHS awards $5.1 million to InBios for new Zika virus diagnostic test
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) awarded a $5.1 million, two-year contract to InBios International, Inc., on Monday for a newer, faster Zika virus diagnostic blood test. InBios’ test may have the... Read More »
McCaul releases monthly terror threat snapshot for August
U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) on Monday released the committee’s terror threat snapshot for the month of August, which serves as a monthly assessment of the growing threat America and its allies face from Islamist terrorist organizations. “The recent... Read More »NIH begins Zika virus vaccine clinical trial in humans
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched a clinical trial this week for an experimental vaccine to prevent Zika virus infections, an effort that comes after local transmission of the virus hit a neighborhood in Florida. “Given the Zika situation internationally and in the United... Read More »
DARPA hosts Cyber Grand Challenge for nation’s best computer hacking teams
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will host the world’s first all-machine hacking tournament this week. The Cyber Grand Challenge marks the culmination of an ambitious three-year effort to develop advanced, autonomous systems that can detect, evaluate and patch software... Read More »
OPCW holds international training course for chemical weapons convention implementation
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held a course last week with representatives of 42 national authorities from across the globe focused on enhancing their capacity for implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The course focused on the vital tasks nations... Read More »Raytheon opens new cyber facility in Augusta, Georgia
Raytheon Company officially opened its newest cyber campus facility on Monday in Augusta, Georgia to deliver a wide range of cybersecurity capabilities to the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Cyber Command as it continues its transition to Fort Gordon. "Our DoD customers have come to... Read More »GAO: DOT needs better guidance in handling explosives classification oversight
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on Thursday that found that better guidance and planning could enhance the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) explosives classification oversight. The GAO report found that the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials... Read More »
International partnership to combat antimicrobial resistance launches
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Wellcome Trust of London, the AMR Centre of Alderley Park and Boston University released plans on Thursday to create one of the world’s largest public-private partnerships centered on the preclinical discovery and development of new... Read More »
Carper, Johnson highlight critical update for key cybersecurity guidance
U.S. Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) highlighted a critical update on Thursday from the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) release of updated revisions to Circular A-130, which sets the official policy for OMB and guides information technology management and cybersecurity for... Read More »INTERPOL rescues more than 2,700 human trafficking victims in coordinated operation
INTERPOL recently released the results of a months-long operation targeting human trafficking in South and Central America that resulted in the rescue of more than 2,700 victims, 134 arrests and the destruction of at least seven organized criminal networks. Operation Intercops - Spartacus III,... Read More »NSA certifies Raytheon’s KG-350 encryption system
The National Security Agency (NSA) certified Raytheon Company’s KG-350 Ethernet encryption system on Tuesday to protect network communications for sensitive information up to top secret/SCI classification. Type 1 certification gives Raytheon the authorization to immediately sell the KG-350... Read More »Rubio urges president’s action on critical Zika funding
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Wednesday urged President Obama to use unspent funds from other programs to combat the emerging threat of Zika virus in the United States. Rubio sent a letter to the president, citing specific examples of unused funds that could be reallocated in an expedited... Read More »
Stolen portable nuclear gauge recovered in Connecticut
HAKS Material Testing Group, a Connecticut-based company, notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Wednesday that a portable nuclear gauge reported to be stolen has been recovered. The gauge, typically used for industrial purposes like measuring the density of soil at... Read More »
NIAID researchers discover six Zika-related antibodies
Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), released a study on Wednesday that found six Zika virus antibodies, including four that neutralize African, Asian and American strains of the virus. Dr. Michael S.... Read More »BARDA, NIAID provide additional funding for Soligenix’s acute radiation syndrome medical countermeasure
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) provided additional funding to Soligenix, Inc., this week to advance preclinical development of OrbeShield (oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate or oral BDP) as... Read More »Langevin commends signing of cyber incident coordination directive
U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) applauded President Barack Obama this week for signing Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 41, entitled “United States Cyber Incident Coordination.” The directive complements the Cybersecurity National Action Plan, which was introduced earlier this year to build... Read More »
CBP opening London Global Entry enrollment center
A Global Entry enrollment center will be opened for 60 days in London at the U.S. Embassy by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) beginning on Sept. 26. The CBP Trust Traveler’s Program’s Global Entry Applicants program allows for expedited clearance of preapproved, low-risk travelers.... Read More »
Global Hawk UAS surpasses 200,000 flight hours
The autonomous Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) from Northrop Grumman Corp. surpassed 200,000 flight hours this week, with the U.S Air Force’s Global Hawks logging 88 percent of the hours. The remaining hours were flown by NASA Global Hawks, Germany’s Full Scale Demonstrator and... Read More »First evidence that Zika transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito discovered by UTMB researchers
University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston researchers, working in collaboration with colleagues from Mexico, recently discovered a direct connection between the Aedes aegypti mosquito and Zika transmission in the Americas during an outbreak in southern Mexico. The findings,... Read More »
OPCW, UN endorse urgent action to destroy Libya’s remaining chemical weapons
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently adopted a decision that calls for the necessary international assistance in response to a request from the Libyan Government of National Accord to destroy its remaining Category 2 chemical weapons on an expedited basis outside... Read More »