• JASON says computer models cannot predict terrorist events

    Pentagon advisory panel concludes that extreme terrorist events such as the 9/11 attacks cannot be predicted by computer models because the data re too sparse; “it is simply not possible to validate (evaluate) predictive models of rare events that have not occurred, and unvalidated models cannot be relied upon”

  • Afghan insurgents have found ways to destroy MRAPs

    The Pentagon has spent more than $26.8 billion to develop and build three versions of the largest Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, totaling some 16,000 vehicles, mostly for the Army and Marine Corps; another $5.4 billion is being spent to produce 5,244 M-ATVs, the smaller version that U.S. defense officials contend offers as much protection as the large models do, but is more maneuverable and better suited to Afghanistan’s dirt tracks and narrow mountain roads; insurgents in Afghanistan have found ways to cripple, and even destroy, the vehicle

  • Iraqis use "magic wand" at checkpoints to detect explosives; U.S. officer: this is "laughable"

    The Iraqi government has spent tens of millions of U.S. aid dollars to buy thousands of “magic wands” which are supposed to detect explosives at checkpoints; one American officer says the device works “on the same principle as a Ouija board”; another officer says that to believe the claims of the British company which is selling the device, and of the Iraqi authorities that swear by it, “would be laughable” — except that people are dying as a result; “[the company and Iraqi government have] crossed an insupportable line into moral depravity” he says

  • Gait-recognition biometric technology to help soldiers manning checkpoints

    SET Corporation is developing a technology which directs low-power radar beams at people — who can be 50 yards or more away; early research indicates that this method could one day be augmented with video-analysis software that spots bombers by discerning subtle differences in gait that occur when people carry heavy objects

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  • Black-market cigarettes could fund terrorism, RCMP fear

    Canadian authorities worry that the booming black market trade in cigarettes could be used to finance terrorism; many Indian reservations are used as bases for the illicit trade

  • How credible -- and serious -- is the cyber threat the U.S. faces?

    New report examines recent cyber attacks on South Korea and asks whether whether the attacks constituted an act of war and whether they could have been the work of a terrorist group; the answer is no on both counts; the U.S. dependence on digital technology makes it somewhat more vulnerable to cyber attacks than other nations,

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  • Israel says it will continue to listen-in on Hezbollah communication

    Hezbollah has its own communication network in Lebanon, separate and independent from the government’s sanctioned carrier networks; Israel says that bugging the organization’s network does not amount to a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty

  • How prepared is the U.S. for a bioterror attack?

    The current U.S. bioterror detection program: A federally funded, locally run program with an $80 million annual budget, deploying a network of vacuum pumps that draw surrounding air through filters, sniffing for signs of biological agents

  • VA hospital builds $750,000 anti-terrorism fence

    Officials at Charles George Veterans Affairs Hospital say that terrorists will not go after military targets, which are hard to hit, but will instead aim for places such as hospitals with the goal of disrupting and disheartening the public

  • Worries grow about safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons facilities

    All the terror strikes in Pakistan in the recent past have been suicide attacks, but the attack on the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi three days ago was more of a commando attack carried out by well-trained jihadists; experts worry that such military-style tactics could be used against Pakistani nuclear sites

  • New compartment design protects vehicle crew in battle

    By putting the backs of the crew toward the center of the crew compartment, the new design concept moves the crew away from the outside walls to reduce the likelihood of injury from side blasts, provides better visibility for the crew to monitor their surroundings, and allows blast-resistant seats to be frame mounted

  • French may take intrusive measures to prevent inside-the-body bombers

    Security experts are split over whether inside-the-body suicide bomb is a serious threat; the French say they may not take any chances, and warn that security measures at airports may become more intrusive

  • Lockheed Martin show 360-degree IR sensor for better targeting

    The hand-launched Desert Hawk III is designed to operate in extreme temperatures and high altitudes and has provided the British Army with critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities in Iraq and Afghanistan; it will now be equipped with an upgraded 360-degree color electro optic (E/O) sensor, providing 10 times continuous zoom capability and aiding in contact identification

  • 25 years to Oregon salmonella bioterrorism

    The 1984 Oregon outbreak of Salmonella enterica Typhimurium sickened 751 people and sent 45 to hospitals; the attack was launched by a mystical cult which tried to take over the remote Oregon county

  • Panelists call for more investment in anti-piracy technology

    Experts on a panel at the International Maritime Museum of Hamburg call for more investment in anti-piracy technology, and for greater coordination among trading nations to address the threat of piracy