Global Security Challenge

GSC Blogs from April 2008 (13)



Terminator Come True: Rise of the Machines

Researchers from Modular Robotics Lab at the University of Pennlysvannia  are working on cool robotics technologies; their latest robot can put itself back together after being exploded. If you dont believe it, watch the movie I found today on Marc A...

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Silent Cyber Security Initiative: the new "Manhattan Project"?

Evidently the US Government is responding to the dramatic increase in cyber attacks against its assets in the last fiscal year.  Depending on who you talk to the project is massive and calls for a dramatic reduction in points of access for attackers....

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Competition Dying in Defence Industry?

Today Messrs Zakheim and Kadish - now senior executives at Booz Allen Hamilton though you might remember them as former US Defense and Missile Defense Agency heads, respectively - wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post about the decline of compet...

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VCs Are Hungry for Security Startups

Here is a roundup of recent venture capital funding rounds in security startups, which amounted to over $120 million so far this year. Technologies ranged from data security to facial recognition and alternate GPS solutions, invested by VCs from around t...

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Interpol Afraid of Olympics Attack - Surprise?

"The head of Interpol said Friday that there is a "real possibility" that the Beijing Olympics will be targeted by terrorists or that anti-China groups could attack athletes." An article by MSNBC today states that Interpol is sending out a warning o...

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People are the Biggest Unknown for Security Leaders

Your correspondents spent the day yesterday at InfoSec Europe in London.  We were looking for innovators and talking to the big integrators and corporates.  One of the most interesting parts was a panel we sat in on.  It was hosted by Micro...

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Signs of Acceptance of a Globalized Defence Policy?

Last June, the US signed a defense trade cooperation treaty with the UK and proceeded to sign a similar one with Australia in September. These treaties will allow the States to trade most defense technologies more quickly with the UK and Australia because...

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Turning People into Tools for the War on Terror

The ubiquity and advanced capabilities of today's mobile phones have led a few American researchers to the idea of utilizing people and their gadgets as automated bomb sniffers. Professors from Purdue University invented a system that would utilize smart ...

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Global Security Challenge Competition 2008 Opened for Entrants Today!

Global Security Challenge, the largest international security innovation competition, is open for entries, offering security start-ups worldwide the opportunity to showcase their inventions and compete for over $500,000 in cash-grants. The GSC, which is i...

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Controversy about UK's Holding Period for Terrorist Suspects - Why not use technology to enhance police capabilities?

Jacqui Smith, the UK Home Secretary recently stated that the terrorist threat is growing and threatens to overwhelm the ability to police.  These claims come as she is requesting that parliament approve a change to the period for which terrorist su...

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Some government backed innovation still misunderstood

The UK MoD's recent move to open a "pilot centre for defence enterprise" has come under fire within the press. Evidently this new centre for incubation will be located in the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. The proximity to Cambridge...

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German Government Provides €29 Million in Funding for Explosive Research

  Germany's Federal Ministry of Research is providing €29 million in funding for 16 new collaborative projects for the detection of toxic and explosive substances. Altogether 73 partner entities are involved in these 16 projects, ranging from univ...

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The DHS Inspector General Takes a Look at Airport Security

The Office of the Inspector General at DHS recently released an unclassified summary of its undercover testing of airport screening, entitle an Audit of Airport Passenger and Checked Baggage Screening Performance. The OIG evidently sent in undercover ...

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