• New nuclear watchdog created

    Anti-proliferation activists create the World Institute for Nuclear Security; funded with private and government funds, it will be headquartered in Vienna — next to the IAEA; it aims to facilitate sharing information to improve security at the world’s nuclear sites

  • GPS vulnerable to spoofing

    GPS technology is ubiquitous in civilian and military applications; Cornell University researchers raise uncomfortable questions by demonstrating how GPS navigation devices can be readliy duped by transmission of fake GPS signals that receivers accept as authentic ones

  • France delays Big Brother database

    The French government, in an effort to fight crime and juvenile delinquency, launched a police database aimed at gathering information on suspects as young as thirteen; civil libertarian groups protested the scope of the information to be gathered, and the government, for now, has relented

  • Studying Osama bin Laden's audio tapes

    University of California, Davis researcher is studying more than 1,500 audiotapes seized in Afghanistan in 2001; the tapes are recording of conversations from the late 1960s through 2000 among bin Laden and more than 200 of his associates

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  • Rethinking strategy for finding bin Laden

    The effort to bring Osama bin Laden to justice has so far failed; there are many reasons for that: Half-hearted efforts by the Pakistani authorities; failure to win the hearts and minds of tribal leaders in Pakistan’s Northwest Territories; limits Pakistan imposed on direct U.S. action inside Pakistan; the invasion of Iraq, which consumed vast resources which otherwise would have been invested in the effort against al-Qaeda; and more; U.S., Pakistan, are now rethinking the strategy

  • U.S. gets a C grade in WMD report

    A blue ribbon panel of former high security official says terrorism threat remains real, and that the U.S. government’s efforts to counter WMD threats leave much to be desired

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  • Protecting wireless sensor networks

    Detecting compromised sensors in a wireless sensor network is of vital importance to homeland security as well as for successfully tracking natural events with the potential to devastate cities; by countering sabotage, false alarms that waste response efforts could be minimized in times of impending crisis

  • U.K. Grand Challenge mini-vehicle competition held this weekend

    Eleven teams made it to the final of the U.K. Ministry of Defense mini-vehicle competition, aiming to promote devising highly autonomous vehicles capable of identifying threats that are being encountered by U.K. troops on overseas operations

  • Military contractors move aggressively into civil security

    BAE’s acquisition of Detica, a company with a large portfolio of British civil IT contracts, exemplifies the EU policy of encouraging military firms to use their knowledge of homeland security; civil libertarians are worried

  • U.S.-EU private data sharing agreement near

    The United States and the EU are near an agreement to share private data of their citizens, including credit card information, travel history, and internet browsing information; one issue yet to be resolved: the right of EU citizens to sue the U.S. government for mishandling the information

  • U.K. adapts to DCGS

    The U.S. military has been using Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) for a while now to provide a more accurate, timely understanding of adversaries and their actions; U.K. adapts the U.S. system to its own needs

  • Unmanned Ground Systems Summit: Early Bird Special

    Unmanned systems perform more and more missions that used to be performed by humans; the Pentagon plans to spend about $4 billion on robots by 2010; IDGA holds ground robots summit in D.C. this August

  • New satallite images identification technology

    Researchers offer the first computerized method that can analyze a single photograph and determine where in the world the image likely was taken

  • Team developing NGI defines roles and responsibilities

    Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the FBI’s ambitious Next Generation Identification System; team members define their contributions to the project

  • U.K. to store all phone calls and e-mails

    The U.K. Home Office plans to create a massive database to store every person’s e-mails, phone calls, text messages, and Internet use; police and security services would only be granted access to the information after seeking permission from the courts