CHINA WATCHWhy China’s Advancements in Quantum Technology Worry Others By Ralph Jennings Published 15 December 2021 Quantum refers to a type of computing that lets high-powered machines make calculations that are too complex for ordinary devices. China’s advances in quantum computing will give a new advantage to its armed forces, already the world’s third strongest,

SOFT TARGETSConsortium to Combat Targeted Crowd Attacks Published 15 December 2021 Ten universities formed a consortium to combat terrorist and criminal attacks on soft targets such as schools, hospitals, shopping malls and sports stadiums. “The challenges of keeping people safe in soft targets and crowded spaces gets more complicated every day,” said one expert. The United

ACOUSTIC DETECTION Gunfire or Plastic Bag Popping? Trained Computer Can Tell the Difference Published 15 December 2021 There have been 296 mass shootings in the United States this year, and 2021 is on pace to be America’s deadliest year of gun violence in the last two decades. Discerning between a dangerous audio event like a

AVIATION SECURITYAviation Self-Screening Concept and Prototype Published 15 December 2021 DHS S&T has awarded $2.5 million to Vanderlande Industries to develop a passenger self-screening concept design and prototype that streamlines TSA PreCheck operations. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate(S&T) Screening at Speed Program announced the award of $2,527,907.76 to Vanderlande Industries Inc. of Marietta,

CHINA WATCHWhy China’s Advancements in Quantum Technology Worry Others By Ralph Jennings Published 15 December 2021 Quantum refers to a type of computing that lets high-powered machines make calculations that are too complex for ordinary devices. China’s advances in quantum computing will give a new advantage to its armed forces, already the world’s third strongest,

NATRUAL DISASTERSNew Tool Pinpoints Natural Disaster Risk Down to County Level Published 14 December 2021 NOAA has released an innovative mapping tool that provides county-level information on natural disaster hazards across the United States. This new feature provides significant enhancements to the state-level data on NOAA’s Billion-Dollar Disasters website. NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

TORNADOESTornadoes and Climate Change: What a Warming World Means for Deadly Twisters and the Type of Storms That Spawn Them By John Allen Published 14 December 2021 The deadly tornado outbreak that tore through communities from Arkansas to Illinois on the night of Dec. 10-11, 2021, was so unusual in its duration and strength, particularly

FLOODSStorm Drains Keep Swallowing People During Floods By Topher Sanders Published 14 December 2021 An alarming number of people (especially children) have drowned after disappearing into storm drains during floods. The deadly problem should be easy for federal, state and local government agencies to fix, but tragedy strikes again and again. On the night of Sept.

TRUTH DECAYInformation Disorder: A Crisis That Exacerbates All Other Crises Published 14 December 2021 The Aspen Institute has issued a report analyzing the dangers of truth decay – the report’s authors prefer the term “information disorder” — and making a number of recommendations. In their introductory remarks, the authors write that “Information disorder is a

PERSPECTIVE: Cybersecurity NightmareWhat’s the Deal with the Log4Shell Security Nightmare? Published 11 December 2021 What started out as a Minecraft prank, has now resulted in a 5-alarm security panic as administrators and developers around the world desperately try to fix and patch systems before the cryptocurrency miners, ransomware attackers and nation-state adversaries rush to exploit