Archives: February, 2015

Detection of the presence of explosives could be falling to a device not much larger than a postage stamp. Wired reports that GE Global Research, is developing an explosive detector in the form of a “tiny RFID tag that activates only when it detects certain explosives or oxidizing agents. In effect, it could replace gigantic […]

Here’s a post from Security Dreamer on a subtlety worth paying attention to: the difference between “finding the best deal” and “solving the problem most cost-effectively.” Going for the lowest price, in security as almost anywhere else, isn’t always smart. There’s a link to a whole webinar for the wary that discusses the differences. (Graphics […]

Government Security News has enough details on how hackers stole “up to $1 billion from about 100 international banks over the past two years” to alert other organizations on how to promote Internet security. “On average,” says the report, “each bank robbery took between two and four months, from infecting the first computer at the […]

Technical folks recently observed Safer Internet Day. A post on the Safe & Savvy site notes that, while the Internet is a blessing, “There are so many ways we could screw it up.” Truly. It’s well worth monitoring the Internet’s fortunes and security developments there. Safe & Savvy offers a source for doing just that […]

Bruce Schneier is too nice a guy to say straight out that having a common password, like “Mustang,” is dumb. Ford Motor Co., too, is both touting its sports car, and warning that “Mustang” should be strengthened as a password and, like Schneier, offering suggestions on how to do that. Which all comes down to […]

Here’s a post by Richard Gil Kerlikowski, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on how budget uncertainty has been impacting border security, something that everybody wants. There must be a better way to sort our such matters politically, something else that lots of people want.

Cybersecurity is becoming a steadily growing concern for all of us – businesses and individuals alike. It’s gone beyond the shield of anti-virus software alone. In a Wall Street Journal interview, Howard Schmidt, co-founder of Ridge-Schmidt Cyber LLC and a former presidential cybersecurity adviser, offers protective advice to all concerned, starting with who to call. […]

Drones aren’t toys only. Maybe you never thought that anyway, but, as this Wired post explains, government security planners have been mindful of the risks of drones for a long time. Security officials are becoming so antsy about drones that DJI, a China-based maker of consumer drones, updated its drones’ firmware to create a 1.5 […]

CNN advises that there’s a security gap at many on the nation’s airports, one involving employees of the airports themselves. “The vast majority of airport employees with direct access to the tarmac and airplanes do not go through any daily security screening,” CNN reported on Feb. 3. “Only two of the country’s major airports have […]

Weather satellites launched and positioned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) can have a safety and rescue function too. In 2014, NOAA’s weather satellites “helped save 240 people from potentially life-threatening situations throughout the U.S. and its surrounding waters,” the agency says. Government Security News advises that NOAA’s satellites have the ability to […]