Threats
Passport backlog at State Department called out by House Foreign Affairs Republicans
Concerned about a growing backlog for passport processing at the U.S. State Department and bad actors smelling opportunity for fraud, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and U.S. Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY) this week urged action. In a letter to the department, they... Read More »
U.S., Puerto Rican authorities seize 860 pounds of cocaine from smugglers near Puerto Rico
Thanks to joint work by Marine Interdiction Agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and Puerto Rico Police Department FURA agents, a boat carrying 860 pounds of cocaine was seized over the weekend. On Saturday, September 2, FURA alerted a patrolling... Read More »
Republican lawmakers oppose SEC cybersecurity rules
A group of Republican lawmakers sent a letter this week to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler criticizing the agency’s new cybersecurity rules for public companies. The rule, which took effect Sept. 5, requires publicly traded companies to notify the SEC of a... Read More »
Federal Operation Without a Trace helped 2023 southbound firearm seizures to date surpass all of 2022
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week that its Operation Without a Trace had helped seize more firearms headed out the U.S. Southwest border by the end of July than were halted throughout all of FY 2022. The operation was a coordinated enforcement effort between DHS... Read More »
Reps. Green, Pfluger seek answers from Biden administration on Iran threats
U.S. Reps. Mark Green, MD (R-TN) and August Pfluger (R-TX) are requesting that the Biden administration provide more information on threats made by Iran against U.S. officials and individuals. Specifically, the lawmakers are requesting a briefing on the ongoing threats against former national... Read More »
U.S Treasury sanctions Russia-based individuals for part in North Korea WMD scheme
The United States is part of a collation that sanctioned two individuals and one entity for their involvement in generating revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea, and its unlawful development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic... Read More »
Marines complete training in Nevada to conduct U.S. Embassy reinforcement, evacuation missions
Marines assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit completed training in Reno, Nevada, Aug. 24 to conduct U.S. Embassy reinforcement and noncombatant evacuation operation missions. The training was supported by the U.S. Department of State advisors at U.S. Army National Guard Base... Read More »
Public Health Emergency declared in Florida in response to Hurricane Idalia
After Hurricane Idalia struck Florida as a Category 3 storm, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE) in the state and authorized deployment of emergency response personnel. Approximately 68 medical and disaster... Read More »
Republicans allege Chinese funding influence in American K-12 schools
A total of 18 Republican senators wrote to United States Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona this week with an unusual demand: an investigation into school funding owing to supposed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence. The letter followed a report from the conservative Parents... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Wenstrup blasts COVID-19 relief while decrying theft by criminals
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland this week, U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, derided COVID-19 programs as rife with waste, fraud, and abuse – and demanded to know how $280 billion of it was taken by... Read More »
Rep. Barr introduces bill to enforce supervision of scientific and technological agreements between U.S. and China
Through introduction of the Science and Technology Agreement Enhanced Congressional Notification Act (H.R. 5245) last week, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) proposed new risk assessments, human rights considerations and enforced monitoring of any scientific and technological partnership agreements... Read More »
Montana lawmakers urge revocation of new TSA employee screening policy
In a letter to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David Pekoske, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, both Montana Republicans, called for the administration to undo a new employee screening policy they said would overly burden Montana airports. Under scrutiny... Read More »
HHS awards more than $1.4B to develop new COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics
Through Project NextGen, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded more than $1.4 billion this week to support development of new tools, technologies and trials of vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19. Of these funds, the bulk – $1 billion – went to vaccine clinical... Read More »
Republicans urge DOD to halt sale of border wall construction materials
Republicans on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee wrote to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) this week demanding that all sales of border wall construction materials be halted, and accused the department of brazenly attempting to circumvent Congressional decisions. At the heart of the... Read More »
DHS distributes more than $77M in funding to communities receiving migrants
Responding to the needs of migrant host communities throughout the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week announced more than $77 million would go to border and interior communities housing those awaiting immigration proceedings. It’s an extension of the Shelter and... Read More »
DARPA seeks non-cold storage preservation techniques for bio samples
While lab-based testing has advanced in many ways over the years, sample preservation still relies on refrigerated transport that can cause challenges in remote environments, and this month Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched a new program to solicit alternatives. At... Read More »
Passport Modernization Act introduced to speed up passport processing
Facing a post-pandemic travel surge, the State Department has struggled to address a nearly 40 percent increase in passport application requests since 2022, and now new legislation seeks to update and make the passport process more efficient to cut down on strain. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Buddy... Read More »
BAE Systems wins $14M contract from DARPA to develop technology for advanced signal processing, computing
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded a $14 million contract to BAE Systems this week for development of its Massive Cross Correlation (MAX) program. That program is developing technology related to next-generation sensing, imaging and communications systems, and DARPA... Read More »
Bipartisan, bicameral effort presses President Biden to hold Iran accountable for threats to American oil
Oil from an Iranian tanker off Texas remains in limbo despite its seizure by American personnel, and United States lawmakers from both parties and both chambers of Congress are growing fed up after the months-long delay in transfer. In a letter to President Joe Biden, led by U.S. Sen. Joni... Read More »
DHS S&T prepares to debut ExPRT database on explosives threats
Building on more than $60 million in basic and applied research and 20 years of work in the field, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is nearing release of a comprehensive database on explosives. ExPRT, as the database is known, will assist... Read More »Senators urge Department of State action on tobacco smuggling over health, security concerns
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a group of five senators raised alarms over illicit trafficking of tobacco products, denouncing them as threats to public health and a significant source of revenue for transnational criminal organizations. U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy, M.D.... Read More »
DoD launches generative AI task force to guide innovation, risk assessment
Reckoning with the growing attention on and potential of artificial intelligence, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) last week created a generative AI task force to analyze, integrate and responsibly utilize large language models, and more. These efforts were gathered under the... Read More »
DHS to conduct cyber safety review of cloud security
Through the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends to review the targeting of cloud computing, providing recommendations for security among government, industry, and Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). “Organizations of all kinds are... Read More »
China, climate change and new technologies top concerns in latest U.S. National Intelligence Strategy
With the release of the 2023 National Intelligence Strategy (NIS) last week, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines laid out the goals of the Intelligence Community (IC) for the next four years. “The National Intelligence Strategy articulates what the Intelligence Community will need... Read More »
Cyber Safety Review Board cites 10 recommendations for government, industry amid report on hacker group Lapsus$
Global hacker group Lapsus$ took top billing in the latest report from the United States Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), and though its techniques were found to be simple, its threat is anything but, prompting a series of recommendations for greater protections. The CSRB operates under the... Read More »
New York launches first-ever statewide cybersecurity strategy
For the first time, New York laid out a range of high-level objectives for its cybersecurity and resilience this week, guided by Gov. Kathy Hochul and backed by $600 million in funding. With the release of an official cybersecurity strategy, the state laid out various agencies’ roles and... Read More »
DHS adds $374.9M in available grant funds for state, local cybersecurity
As the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) enters its second year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week announced a boost to its coffers, amounting to $374.9 million in available funding. Overall, the program will provide $1 billion in funding over four years... Read More »
CREATE AI Act proposes shared national research to maintain safe artificial intelligence
As artificial intelligence (AI) advancements continue to develop, a bipartisan group of senators this week proposed a way to keep it advancing while also maintaining safety standards: the Creating Resources for Every American To Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2023 (CREATE AI... Read More »
DHS to provide $7.5M in security grants for faith-based organizations and nonprofits in Michigan
Some $7.5 million in grant funding will be awarded to nonprofits and faith-based organizations in Michigan from the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) in the days ahead, to help these organizations secure their facilities. In recent years,... Read More »
Justice Department details espionage, bribery charges against Navy personnel
Justice Department officials have detailed two separate cases in which Navy personnel have been charged with espionage and bribery, respectively. According to the Justice Department, Navy sailor Jinchao Wei, aka Patrick Wei, was recently arrested on espionage charges as he arrived for work at... Read More »
Safe to Tell Act reintroduced in House to support creation of school threat reporting programs
At a school safety roundtable last week, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) reintroduced the Safe to Tell Act, proposing support for threat reporting programs nationwide. The bill would provide $25 million in grant funding annually for four years, so the Department of Justice could create... Read More »
Senate advances disaster recovery assistance application measure
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Rand Paul (R-KY), and James Lankford (R-OK) are commending their colleagues for advancing their legislation that would simplify the federal disaster recovery assistance application process. Specifically, the Disaster Assistance Simplification Act would require the... Read More »
Senate SEASONAL Act introduced to allow governors flexibility with H2-B nonimmigrant visas
As the United States reckons with its seasonal labor needs and political infighting over immigration, a new bipartisan effort known as the SEASONAL Act seeks to allow governors the ability to push supplemental H-2B visas beyond the national cap of 66,000. The SEASONAL Act, or the State... Read More »
Outbound Investment Transparency Act attached to Senate’s NDAA, promising additional national security investment screening
A years-running bipartisan effort at national security sector investment scrutiny from U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) gained traction this week, as the Senate voted to attach the Outbound Investment Transparency Act to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). At the... Read More »