Threats
DoD awards $13M in grants for Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program
On August 7, the U.S. Department of Defense announced it had awarded seven more Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program awards to seven more firms. The awards brings the number of awards to date up to 13 for a total of $23 million. Awardees included Modular Genetics, Battelle and... Read More »
Senator requests information from TSA on surveillance
On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) requested information from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) asking for information on whether or not security systems have been improperly surveilling American citizens. Paul, the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and... Read More »
Committee passes Healthcare Cybersecurity Act
On August 12, U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) applauded the passage of legislation to protect health care and the public health sectors’ cybersecurity through the U.S. Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee earlier this month. Young and U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the... Read More »
DoD awards more than $46M in research grants
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense announced it had awarded more than $46 million in grants to support basic research in national security topics. The DoD awarded 19 grants to university-based faculty teams under its Minerva Research Initiative. The grants are three- to five-year awards... Read More »
DHS S&T looks for solutions to reduce risks to power infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced Friday that it was looking for Software Artifact Dependency Graph (ADG) Generation capabilities to understand risks within the software that power cyber and physical infrastructure. The solicitation... Read More »
DOD, LLNL and NNSA partnering on biodefense supercomputer
The U.S. Department of Defense and the National Nuclear Security Administration said earlier this month that they will partner with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to work on a biodefense supercomputing system. On Thursday, the DoD said it was working with NNSA to increase the computing... Read More »
Smiths Detection moves forward in partnership with SeeTrue
On Thursday, Smiths Detection, a business within Smiths Group, announced it was accelerating its partnership with AI-based threat detection software provider, SeeTrue. Smiths Detection said it had successfully integrated and tested SeeTrue’s technology into its advanced CT security checkpoint... Read More »
Legislation strengthening cybersecurity measures introduced
On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduce legislation they said will strengthen federal cybersecurity by forcing federal contractors to adhere to cybersecurity guidelines. The legislation, the Federal Contractor Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction Act of... Read More »
Legislation to combat illicit fentanyl entering the U.S. introduced
On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Rob Wyden (D-OR), Cynthia Lummus (R-WY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced legislation to combat illicit goods, including fentanyl, from entering the country. The legislation, the Fighting Illicit Goods, Helping Trustworthy... Read More »
Legislation introduced to address terror threats with cloud-based apps like TikTok
U.S. Reps. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) announced they had introduced legislation to thwart terror threats from cloud-based apps like TikTok. Pfluger, chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence, said the... Read More »
Committee passes bill to extend Homeland Security Task Force’s authority
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) announced Tuesday that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee had passed legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Joint Task Force’s authority. The bill would extend the task force’s authority for two... Read More »
National Security Workforce gets AI-enabled tools for upskilling
A recent DARPA competition is working to develop tools to help build national security workforce training programs, officials said. As part of DARPA’s “Building an Adaptive and Competitive Workforce,” six teams received cash prizes to kickstart and refine solutions showing promise in... Read More »
CBP officers confiscate largest fentanyl seizure in history
On Thursday, officers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency seized more than half of a ton of fentanyl pills, the largest singular fentanyl seizure in the agency’s history. The seizure of an estimated 4 million pills at the Port of Lukeville, AZ was part of Operation... Read More »
Legislation to deter foreign espionage introduced
On Tuesday, in the light of Cuban spy Manuel Rocha pleading guilty to anti-American espionage, U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation to remove the statute of limitations on espionage charges. The Congressmen said they hoped that the... Read More »
Legislation to advance federal cyber workforce introduced
On Friday, U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) introduced legislation that would help advance the development of the country’s federal cyber workforce. Rounds, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity said the legislation, the... Read More »
New York hosts “Ravens Challenge” training exercise
More than 100 public safety and military personnel participated in the 2024 “Ravens Challenge," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday. “Ravens Challenge” is the world’s largest annual training exercise for public safety bomb squads and military explosive ordnance disposal teams. The... Read More »
Border agency announces expanded enforcement against transnational criminal organizations
On Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced it was expanding enforcement efforts against Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). Troy Miller, senior official performing the duties of Commissioner said the agency would be expanding Operation Plaza Spike to the El Paso and... Read More »
Legislation introduced to reform travel screening practices
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced legislation to reform screening practices at airports and ports of entry that can affect individuals who may pose no danger to national security. The Enhanced Oversight and Accountability in Screening Act would require the Secretary of the... Read More »
Human smuggler indicted in United States, arrested in Mexico
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that the alleged leader of an international human smuggling ring responsible for bringing thousands of migrants into the country had been arrested in Mexico. The defendant, Abdul Karim Conteh, 42, a Sierra Leone national, was... Read More »
Legislation introduced to strengthen border security support Shadow Wolves agents
On Monday, U.S. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) introduced legislation to support Shadow Wolves agents and strengthen border security. The legislation, the Shadow Wolves Improvement Act, would provide career mobility opportunities to Shadow Wolves law enforcement officers and... Read More »
NATO Allies to establish Integrated Cyber Defense Center
On Thursday, NATO Allies announced they had reached an agreement to establish a new center that will address increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The NATO Integrated Cyber Defence Centre (NICC) will augment the protection of NATO and Allied networks as well as the use of cyberspace as an... Read More »
Legislation to harmonize federal cybersecurity regulations introduced
On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation that would establish a comprehensive framework for cybersecurity regulations across the federal government. The bill, the Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act, seeks to address sometimes... Read More »
FEMA rule to increase flooding resiliency finalized
The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Wednesday it had published a final rule to implement Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The final rule provides a flexible framework to increase resilience against flooding and help protect... Read More »
CISA holds cyber roundtables for industry, higher education, healthcare stakeholders
On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, M.D. (R-TN) held four cyber roundtables with Jen Easterly, director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for industry, higher education and healthcare stakeholders. The discussion followed hearings by the House Homeland Security... Read More »
More than 650 project selected for climate resiliency grants
More than 650 projects across the country were selected to receive $1 billion in climate resilience funding, officials announced Tuesday. President Joe Biden, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the 656 projects will... Read More »
DHS to make new fire safety technology available for testing
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced it would be making an innovative new fire safety tool available to fire departments across the country for testing. The tool – a helmet-mounted indoor visualization and navigation device... Read More »
DHS to distribute $160M for security at faith-based institutions, nonprofit organizations
As a first round of additional funding from the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week announced that $160 million would go to faith-based institutions and nonprofit organizations to better protect them from targeted attacks. This funding, pulled from the... Read More »
PHMSA sets new requirements for freight railroad hazmat disclosures
In a bid to improve rail safety and support first responders, the Biden administration’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced a final rule this week that would require railroads to proactively provide first responders with real-time details of hazmat... Read More »
U.S. congressman works to ensure nonprofits aren’t supporting terrorism
U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) has requested information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits and their potential involvement in terrorist activity. “We are concerned that nonprofit... Read More »
House committee chairs seek declassification of info surrounding Chinese drones’ risks to national security
In a letter to the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Energy (DOE), House Committee on Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, MD (R-TN) and Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) urged the government to declassify information on the national security risks... Read More »
House Homeland Security Committee to consider new DHS requirements for U.S.-Canadian border
In introducing the Northern Border Security Enhancement and Review Act (H.R. 8734) last week, U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) sought to increase security and attention on the U.S.-Canadian border through several mandates at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The bill, which has 16... Read More »
Latest congressional crackdown on China would bar communist agents, businesses from land purchases
Escalating a long-running and long-growing feud with China, dozens of House Republicans recently signed onto legislation that would block members of or businesses owned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from purchasing land next to federal property. While the No American Land for the Chinese... Read More »
Bill to establish Northern Border Coordination Center advances through Senate
The Northern Border Coordination Act, authored by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Susan Collins (R-ME), advanced through the Senate this week, carrying with it the possible creation of a federal coordination center to be collocated along the border with Canada. “The Northern Border... Read More »
PREPARED for AI Act proposes guardrails for any federal use of artificial intelligence
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) recently introduced the PREPARED for AI Act, which calls for safeguards on any use of artificial intelligence (AI) by the federal government by the creation of certain standards focused on safe adoption and critical assessment. “Artificial... Read More »