The United States last week updated the Worldwide Caution information on the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against Americans and interests throughout the world. In some countries, the rise in oil and food prices has caused political and economic instability and social unrest. American citizens are reminded to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.
Shake-up at the top of New York State's homeland security office
David Sheppard, acting director of New York State Office of Homeland Security who was appointed by former governor George Pataki, resigned last week, signaling further consolidation of power by Michael Balboni, the state's homeland security czar
ACLU: Terrorist Watch List hits one million names
ACLU claims terrorist watch list reached one million names; launches online watch list complaint form
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TSA: ACLU’s terrorist watch list facts and figures are a myth
The Transportation Security Administration refutes the facts and figures used by the ACLU in the latter’s claim that the list is now 1-million strong
Cyber cafes to be monitored in India
Indian police places biometric systems and CCTV in more than 150 cyber cafes in order to catch cyber criminals in the act
U.K. says country is a good place for scientific research
U.K. government body releases a reference work showing major research infrastructures, including light sources, research ships, innovative laboratories, and social data sets
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Cybercrime gangs highly structured
The chain of command of a cybercrime gang is not unlike the Mafia, an evolution which shows how online crime is becoming a broad, well-organized endeavor
New Jersey's Stevens Tech to lead research on port security
Hoboken is poised to become a center for research into port security
Powerful laser blinds Moscow partygoers
Organizers of a rave party north of Moscow use a powerful laser to beam the partygoers, causing retinal burns and permanent eye damage to many; engineers accuse party organizers of "technical illiteracy"
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Biodefense and food supply safety
Yesterday we wrote about the growing discrepancy -- a yawning gap --between the sheer amount of drug and food imported into the United States, and the resources available to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to inspect these imports and the companies which manufacture them to make sure they meet U.S. safety and health standards. Instead, U.S. drug companies, battling mightily to protect public health and their corporate reputations -- and congressional pressures -- often step in where FDA inspections have not. The Chicago Tribune's David Greising and Bruce Japsen write that Baxter, for example, attempted to do so: In September 2007 a Baxter team visited the Chinese plant from which it was buying herapin. By that time, though, timelines produced by Baxter, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show the suspect heparin already was making its way through the Baxter supply chain.
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