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Chemical plant securityGrowing demand for chemical plants to switch to IST
A 2008 analysis estimated that seven of Clorox’s bleach plants placed a total of nearly ten million people in the United States at risk from chlorine gas release; Clorox announced last year that it was phasing out processing chlorine gas into sodium hypochlorite in its plants; trouble is, Clorox consumes only about 1 percent of the chlorine gas used each year in the United States, thus, the overall impact of Clorox's positive move on the country’s risk is minimal
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Chemical plant securityNew survey shows many water, wastewater plants improve chemical security
New study says 554 drinking water and wastewater plants in 47 states have replaced extremely hazardous substances with safer and more secure chemicals or processes; at least 2,600 additional water and wastewater facilities still use large amounts of chlorine gas
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Top concern at RSA 2010: security of cloud computing
Cloud computing offers efficiency and cost reduction, but it also offer new opportunities to hackers and cybercriminals; Melissa Hathaway, former senior director for cyberspace for the National Security Council, said the migration toward the cloud is gaining momentum without having satisfactorily addressed several pressing concerns; former National Security Agency technical director Brian Snow said he does not trust the cloud
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Engineering earthquake-resistant buildings
Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake was much more powerful that Haiti's 7.0-magnitude tremor; yet, Haiti's quake claimed an estimated 300,000 dead, while Chile's quake claimed around 800; the reason: Chile enforced building codes for earthquake-resistant structures after the 1960 9.0-magnitude earthquake; the corrupt, indifferent, and ineffective governments of Haiti never bothered to develop a meaningful building code, let alone enforce one
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CybersecurityFBI: Cyber-terrorism a real and growing threat to U.S.
FBI director Robert Mueller: "The risks are right at our doorsteps and in some cases they are in the house"; Richard Clarke, former White House terrorism czar: "Every major company in the U.S. and Europe has been penetrated -- it's industrial warfare"
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CybersecurityU.S. unveils cybersecurity strategy
The Obama administration on Tuesday declassifies part of the secret cybersecurity plan aiming to bolster U.S. cyberdefenses; the plan has twelve directives that cover the government’s strategy to protect U.S. networks -- including military, civilian, government networks, and critical infrastructure systems -- as well as the government’s offensive strategy to combat cyberwarfare
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A bridge ready for the Big One
On 17 October 1989, a 7.1 earthquake nearly caused the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to collapse; scientists say that just one or two seconds more of shaking and the whole bridge would have come down; the seismic innovations being incorporated into the construction of the new Bay Bridge will make the bridge secure enough to survive a massive level earthquake -- the largest we would see in 1,500 years
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Smart grid attack likely
The smart grid’s distributed approach exposes these networks and systems, especially in the early phases of deployment; the communication among these networks and systems will be predominantly wireless and it is assumed they will be sniffed, penetrated, hacked, and service will be denied
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Designing terror-proof buildings
Terrorists attack high-profile building for the symbolism such attacks carry; students at Purdue University test methods to make buildings terror-proof, and the research results could be used in high-profile construction projects
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How real is the threat of cyberattack on the United States?
Some experts compare the economic impact of a major cyberincident to the 2003 Northeast blackout, which cut service to fifty million people in the United States and Canada for up to four days; economists place the cost of that event between $4.5 [billion] and $10 billion -- which they regard as a blip in the $14.2 trillion U.S. economy
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U.S. cyberattack drill exposes unsettling vulnerabilities
Experts, including current and former officials, conduct a cyberattack-on-the-U.S. drill; the results show that the peril is real and growing; no grand plan emerged, but the group did agree to advise the president to federalize the National Guard, even if governors objected, and deploy the troops -- perhaps backed by the U.S. military -- to guard power lines and prevent unrest
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University of Missouri upgrades access control system to provide enhanced security, emergency management
The University of Missouri has upgraded access control and security software in its Residential Life Buildings complex -- twenty-four on-campus buildings where 6.700 students live; the security system -- Matrix System's Frontier -- offers many features which campuses and other public facitilites will find useful
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Critical infrastructure companies targeted by malware
Companies in the critical infrastructure sector, such as oil, energy, and chemical industries, experienced a higher percentage of malware in 2009 than organizations in other sectors – much, much higher: more than 350 percent more than other industries
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ShockWave cyberdrill will see former officials manage cyberattack on U.S.
Simulated cyberattack to test government response to nation-wide cyberattack on the United States; the purpose of the drill is to see how officials in key government positions would react to a real-time cyberattack, and to evaluate the split-second decisions they may be required to take to deal with it
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New method of sensing concrete corrosion
Researchers develop a novel sensor system to monitor the early signs of concrete corrosion, which could reduce expensive, long-term maintenance costs; the sensors measure the key parameters related to concrete corrosion -- pH, chloride, and humidity -- in highly alkaline environments
The Long View
Planetary securityNew ideas for deflecting Earth-threatening asteroids
As scientists use better equipment to make more accurate observations of space, they find more Earth-threatening objects loitering in Near Earth Orbit; a debate is growing as to the best method to deal with this threat
Dire climate scenario: Mass migrations and war
Lord Nicholas Stern, the eminent economist, says severe climate shifts and sea-level rises would "transform where people can live": "People would move on a massive scale. Hundreds of millions, probably billions of people would have to move if you talk about 4-, 5-, 6-degree increases" (7 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit)
Good code, bad computations: A computer security vulnerability
Beware of return-oriented programming -- that is, if you want to make sure your computer or server is not tricked into undertaking malicious or undesirable behavior
Energy companies targeted by Web-borne malware
New report says the energy companies experienced more Web-based malware attacks than any other vertical market in the third quarter of this year, with an increased rate of exposure of 189 percent
Shape of things to comeNew reactor design lessens risk of weapon proliferation
Nuclear materials for power reactors cannot be stolen by those interested in using it for nuclear weapons while the material is in the reactor -- it is too hot to handle; the risks of diversion are during the enrichment process, and while the material is being transported; to lessen the risk, researchers offer innovative reactor design
