News
AeroVironment receives $186M Army order
The U.S. Army recently submitted a $186 million delivery order with Virginia-based AeroVironment, an autonomous systems and precision strike solutions provider, for the Switchblade 600 Block 2 and Switchblade 300 Block 20 explosively formed penetrator (EFP) loitering munition systems. The... 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 »
Aerospace, defense company launches medium-range missile with hypersonic capability
Aerospace and defense company Ursa Major announced the launch of its new HAVOC Missile System – a medium-range missile with hypersonic capabilities designed for rapid production and scalability. The HAVOC system has complete hypersonic capabilities, officials with the company said, which will... Read More »
BAE Systems receives $500M howitzer order
The U.S. Army awarded Virginia-based BAE Systems, a defense and space manufacturing company, a more than $500 million contract in December to produce additional M109A7 Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzers and M992A3 Ammunition Carriers. The order will boost the Army's ability to meet critical... 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 »
House unanimously passes bipartisan wildfire response bill
The U.S. House of Representatives passed on Monday legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA) to develop advanced technology to improve wildfire response. The bipartisan legislation, the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operation (ACERO) Act, would help to develop the use of... 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 »
Astelia raises $35M to invest in AI-powered exposure management
Cybersecurity platform Astelia announced it has raised $35 million in funding to use artificial intelligence to expose real risks to organizations. Company officials said Astelia uses a deep analysis of clients’ real environments via AI to map its network topology, segmentation and security... Read More »
Proposed rule would strengthen screening for those seeking asylum
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register regarding a proposed rule that would reduce the incentive for aliens to file fraudulent asylum claims to obtain work authorizations. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)... 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 »
DARPA hosting drone challenge in August
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will host the DARPA Lift Challenge from Aug. 2-9 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. The public can attend for free. The challenge is a prize competition to incentivize the... Read More »
CrowdStrike, Qualtrics announce new security layers in latest integration
The integration of CrowdStrike Falcon Shield with the Qualtrics Platform will bring greater visibility and automated protections to customers, the companies stated. The new integration connects the two products to provide organizations with real-time visibility and automated protections for... Read More »
U.S. Navy approves smart weapon for use on Super Hornet fighter
The U.S. Navy announced it had approved Raytheon’s StormBreaker smart weapon for use on its F/A-18-E/F Super Hornet strike fighter fleet. Officials said the StormBreaker is the only operational smart weapon that can engage both moving and stationary targets in fair and adverse weather... Read More »
Coast Guard seizes 2,083 pounds of cocaine off Puerto Rico
The U.S. Coast Guard, and its Homeland Security Task Force - San Juan Region partners, recently disrupted a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean north of Puerto Rico and seized 29 bales of cocaine weighing 2,083 pounds and worth an estimated $13.3 million. “This successful interdiction and seizure are... Read More »
Report: 70 percent of ransomware activity focused on English-speaking countries
A new Nozomi Networks Labs OT & IoT Security Report finds that 70 percent of global ransomware activity is targeted against English-speaking countries. The company annually leverages their network of wireless monitoring sensors, inbound telemetry, partnerships, threat intelligence and other... 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 »
Raytheon awarded Air Force contract to develop domestic production capability for photonics component
The Air Force Research Laboratory recently awarded Raytheon, a Virginia-based defense solutions company, a contract to develop a domestic production capability for thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) wafers. TFLN is a material used in artificial intelligence and computing technologies, data... Read More »
Nuclear modernization efforts at Minot Air Force base add $1B in economic impact
In an update on the nuclear modernization efforts at Minto Air Force Base in Minot, ND., officials said upgrades at the base will build upon the nearly $1 billion in annual economic benefit the base brings to the region. U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) joined Major Gen. Colin Connor, director of... Read More »
Coast Guard cutter offloads seized cocaine valued at nearly $134M
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca recently offloaded in Port Everglades approximately 17,750 pounds of cocaine worth more than $133.5 million that had been seized during four interdictions in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. “I am extremely proud of the crew’s incredible... Read More »
CISA to hold town halls on cyber incident reporting for critical infrastructure
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will hold a series of virtual town hall meetings to gather stakeholder input on the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (CIRCIA( of 2022 rulemaking. The meeting, scheduled to begin March 9, are in response to... 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 »
Air Force commanders visit Texas cybersecurity forces
Gen. Adrian Spain, Air Combat Command commander, and Jeremy Unterseher, ACC command chief, conducted a three-day tour of cybersecurity forces in Texas earlier this month. “It is reassuring knowing that as cyber threats evolve our Airmen are at the forefront of safeguarding military assets and... Read More »
American Systems wins $172M contract to support Navy in evaluating emerging warfare tech
American Systems, the McLean, Va.-based information engineering company, announced recently it had been awarded a $172 million contract to continue its support to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division’s Demonstration and Assessment Team (DAT). The company said the contract... Read More »
CISA releases secure communications guidelines for critical infrastructure users
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released new guidelines this week to help operational technology users implement secure communications. In the guide, Barriers to Secure OT Communications: Why Johnny Can’t Authenticate, CISA provides insight from control system... Read More »
Coast Guard awards contract for five Arctic Security Cutters
The U.S. Coast Guard recently awarded a contract to Davie Defense to build two Arctic Security Cutters at its Helsinki Shipyard in Finland and three domestically. Previous contracts were awarded in December, bringing the total number of Arctic Security Cutters ordered to 11. The orders are part... Read More »
Army completes demonstration of Next Generation Command and Control program
The U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo., completed Ivy Sting 4, a demonstration of the Army's Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) program on Feb. 6. The exercise focused on command and control and addressed critical areas such as airspace management and medical... Read More »
Legislation to strengthen DEA hiring introduced in Congress
A new bill that would combat drug trafficking through streamlined hiring at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was introduced this week in Congress. U.S. Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA) introduced the “Hiring Improvement and Recruitment Empowerment (HIRE) for Drug Enforcement... Read More »
Legislation expanding DHS law enforcement vehicle security introduced
Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) would expand existing resources for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to upgrade law enforcement vehicle protection. The legislation, the Bulletproof Law Enforcement Vehicles Act, would allow law enforcement organizations to make... Read More »
GenAI.mil surpasses 1 million users
GenAI.mil, the U.S. Department of Defense's enterprise AI platform, recently surpassed 1 million unique users with adoption spanning every military service. The platform launched two months ago, and its popularity can be attributed to a decisive cultural and technological shift, the department... Read More »
DHS data dragnet under scrutiny as watchdog opens audit
The watchdog office for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched an audit Feb. 4 into the department’s data practices, including those used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in response to serious concerns about potential data privacy abuses and the misuse of sensitive... Read More »
Legislation would improve criminal money laundering statutes
Legislation recently re-introduced in the U.S. Senate would enhance criminal money laundering statutes. The Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Finance and Counterfeiting Act would update counterfeiting laws to prohibit state-of-the-art counterfeiting methods and the Federal Deposit Insurance... Read More »
CISA orders federal agencies to strengthen device security
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a new directive to federal agencies to take action against rising cyber security threats. The Binding Operational Directive 26-02, Mitigating Risk from End-of-Support Edge Devices, requires Federal Civilian Executive Branch... Read More »
Coast Guard seizes 200,000 pounds of cocaine under Operation Pacific Viper
The U.S. Coast Guard’s Operation Pacific Viper has seized more than 200,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since it launched in August. A potentially lethal dose of cocaine is 1.2 grams, meaning the seizures are the equivalent of more than 75 million potentially deadly doses.... Read More »