CybersecurityNew Cyberattack Tricks Scientists into Making Dangerous Toxins, Synthetic Viruses Published 1 December 2020 An end-to-end cyber-biological attack, in which unwitting biologists may be tricked into generating dangerous toxins in their labs, has been discovered by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev cyber-researchers. It is currently believed that a criminal needs to have physical contact with

Cybersecurity educationCybersecurity Curriculum, Pilot Focused on Veterans and First Responders Published 1 December 2020 The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is part of a coalition of universities and industry partners that are developing a curriculum to increase cybersecurity talent focused on health care with $6.3 million in funding from the National Security Agency. The

TerrorismNew Book Examines Threat of ISIS in the United States Published 1 December 2020 Despite the large amount of media reporting, there had yet to be a definitive accounting of what ISIS supporters in the U.S. looked like. Researchers have collected mountains of data to try to paint at least a partially representative picture for

Mass shootingsMass Shootings in the U.S. Have Risen Sharply in 2020 – Why? By Craig Jackson Published 1 December 2020 Despite the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic using sporadic stay-at-home orders and lockdowns, as of 26 November 2020 there have been 578 mass shootings so far this year. According to data provided by the

TerrorismNew Book Examines Threat of ISIS in the United States Published 1 December 2020 Despite the large amount of media reporting, there had yet to be a definitive accounting of what ISIS supporters in the U.S. looked like. Researchers have collected mountains of data to try to paint at least a partially representative picture for

Terrorism2020 Global Terrorism Index: Deaths from Terrorism Reach 5-Year Low Published 27 November 2020 Globally, deaths from terrorism fell for the fifth consecutive year in 2019, to 13,826 — a 15 percent decrease from the prior year. In North America, Western Europe and Oceania, far-right attacks have increased by 250 percent since 2014 – they

The Russia connectionRussian Influence Peddlers Carving Out New Audiences on Fringes By Jeff Seldin Published 27 November 2020 After four years of warnings and preparations, the 2020 presidential election did not see a repeat of 2016, when intelligence officials concluded Russia meddled using a combination of cyberattacks and influence operations. But according to current and

Nuclear weaponsFlight Tests to Show B61-12 Will Work on Air Force’s Newest Fighter Jet Published 27 November 2020 A mock B61-12’s strike in the dusty Nevada desert successfully completed the first in a series of flight tests with the U.S. Air Force’s newest fighter jet, demonstrating the bomb’s first release from an internal bomb bay

Cybersecurity educationUtah State University’s Seth Manesse Wins First Individual CyberForce Competition Published 27 November 2020 After a tough, day-long contest, Seth Manesse from Utah State University won the sixth CyberForce Competition. Each CyberForce Competition presents a real-world scenario in which participants must defend cyber-physical infrastructure against threats modeled on those faced by the energy sector

Nuclear fuelNovel Chemical Process a First Step to Making Nuclear Fuel with Fire Published 27 November 2020 Uranium dioxide, a radioactive actinide oxide, is the most widely used nuclear fuel in today’s nuclear power plants. A new “combustion synthesis” process recently established for lanthanide metals—non-radioactive and positioned one row above actinides on the periodic table—could