Biosecurity

New York may be weeks away from reaching a peak in coronavirus cases. Now other states are preparing for a surge

Several states are reporting a spike in coronavirus cases, raising fears more hotspots will emerge in the US after New York as soon as next week.
The US surpassed Italy and China this week to become the country with the most coronavirus cases in the world --- with more than 101,240 known cases, according to CNN's tally. At least 1,588 Americans have died. At least 402 of those deaths were reported on Friday alone.
More than a third of the country's cases are in New York -- which has been in a partial lockdown for a week as officials try to slow the spread of the virus and hospitals scramble to keep up with the patients streaming in.
The state's healthcare system is already overwhelmed. One hospital was forced to create a makeshift morgue and another reported 13 patient deaths in 24 hours. New York and its National Guard are now assembling four 1,000-bed temporary, overflow hospitals in existing buildings.
The rate of new cases may be slowing in New York, but the governor says it may take 21 days for the state to hit its peak -- the highest point of reported cases before that number begins going down.

Biosecurity

'Like a bomb had gone off on either side of their chest.' London doctors speak of 'continuous tsunami'

British doctor Katie Sanderson hit breaking point over the weekend. As she advised the family of a Covid-19 patient on where their loved one should die, she received an image on her phone of crowds of people sunning themselves in a north London park.

"That made me hit a wall," the 32-year-old said, furious that members of the public were not heeding the government's social distancing advice as confirmed cases and deaths from the global Covid-19, or coronavirus, outbreak climbed in the UK. "These people are going to contribute to somebody needlessly dying in two weeks' time."

The rapidly rising number of deaths in Italy and Spain have placed Europe at the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis. Both countries now have higher death tolls than China, where the outbreak began, and with more than 7,500 fatalities Italy has the most deaths anywhere in the world.

Biosecurity

6 deadly bioweapons the US Army has faced since 1969

Few things are more frightening as a weapon than infectious diseases. The idea of a creeping, invisible death that will probably make you bleed from places you'd rather not is much worse than the idea of getting shot.

In this veteran's opinion, anyway.

In any case, it's a good thing the US Army has its Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases to counteract the development or weaponization of superbugs and viruses for use against the United States.

Since the 1960s, USAMRIID has been on the front lines of disease research and testing in order to keep the communists, terrorists, Mother Nature or anyone else from using biological weapons against America and its allies.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity: This attack is the most common threat you will face

Almost half of businesses have experienced a cyberattack or data breach in the past year – and almost all of the organisations that know they've been on the receiving end of attacks have reported being targeted by phishing and other fraudulent emails as the volume of these attacks continues to rise.

The larger the organisation, the more likely it is that they will have identified a data breach or cyberattack – partly because they're going to be viewed as a more valuable target for cyber criminals and partly because they're more likely to have the finances and resources to implement a cybersecurity programme that helps them spot intrusions.

The figures have been released as part of the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2020, which aims to understand business awareness and attitudes towards data protection and security, and is commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The statistics are based around the detection of successful and unsuccessful cyberattacks.

Public security

At Large: No toilet paper? That reminds me of the compliance department . . .

In Newport, Oregon, police are asking citizens to stop calling 9-1-1 to report that they’ve run out of toilet paper. The UK’s sewage system is in danger of clogging from wet wipes and other improvised loo roll substitutes. In Paris, PQ panic has set in, as papier cul (excuse my French) has disappeared from stores everywhere.

What’s going on? And what are the lessons for compliance professionals?

1. Fear produces irrationality. There’s enough toilet paper for everyone. We know that because every day for years we’ve all had enough. But when uncertainty about Covid-19 set in, people started imagining things. Like a world without toilet paper. In our work, then, what happens if we think the future is shaky? What if we fear losing our jobs, or being demoted, or having our pay cut? Might that fear motivate us to pay a bribe? Even if a bribe may not work, is always illegal, and is likely to end in disaster for us personally, might we pay a bribe anyway? Oh ya...

Biosecurity

Germany and the Netherlands seem to fight off the virus better than most — here’s why

The Netherlands and Germany both showed glimmers of hope in the battle to combat the coronavirus on Wednesday, while the number of cases in New York rose rapidly.

Data from Germany show just 0.4% of people who tested positive for the virus have died from it, much less than the 9.5% in Italy and 4.3% in France. In the Netherlands growth in transmissions of the virus have slowed significantly.

Giving evidence in front of the Dutch Parliament, Jaap van Dissel, head of the Netherlands National Institute of Health, said: “The exponential growth of the outbreak has in all probability been brought to a halt,” with the infection only being passed on at a rate of one infected person to one other person.

If proven, this would be a significant achievement. In some countries, the average spread from one infected person has been to as many as five or more people. In the U.S., the state of New York had 5,146 new cases confirmed on Wednesday, and more than 30,000 have tested positive.

Energy security

US report identifies nuclear workforce trends

The 2020 US Energy & Employment Report (USEER), prepared under a Memorandum of Understanding between NASEO and the EFI clean energy think-tank, identifies important trends and skill sets for the USA's energy workforce. The report was first published in 2016 and 2017 by the US Department of Energy. EFI and NASEO have since 2018 organised and implemented USEERs to provide continuity with the previous editions and to provide year-to-year comparisons.

The report is intended to inform policymakers, academic decision-makers and the private sector in developing integrated energy, security, economic development and workforce plans.

"This kind of integration is key to maximising the benefits of the nation’s abundant energy resources, rapid pace of energy innovation, and dynamic energy markets … Creating a single and consistent measure of employment across the entire US energy system is critical to that understanding," the two organisations said.

The 2020 USEER analyses five sectors of the US economy: fuels; energy efficiency; motor vehicles; electric power generation; and transmission, distribution and storage. Nuclear industry employment falls into two of those sectors - electric power generation (EPG) and fuels. EPG covers all utility and non-utility employment across electric generating technologies, including fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewable energy technologies. Also included in the employment totals for EPG are firms engaged in facility construction, turbine and other generation equipment manufacturing, operations and maintenance, and wholesale parts distribution for all generation technologies.

Power grid security

New Protection for US Energy Grid and Nuclear Weapons Systems

One is focused on defending large U.S. electrical utility systems from potential attacks by hostile nations, as well as from damage inflicted by extreme natural disasters like hurricanes and solar flares. The Resilient Energy Systems campaign, a multi-year research portfolio with up to $40 million in total funding, is supported by Sandia’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, which funds exploratory work in science and technology.

“The original electric grid was not designed with security in mind against cyberhacks, or protection from electromagnetic disturbances, or natural disasters such as hurricanes or geomagnetic solar storms,” portfolio manager Craig Lawton said.

“The primary objective of our mission portfolio is to mitigate vulnerabilities caused by antiquated technology in transformers and other components. Solutions require research, and we’re looking for collective inputs of ideas from researchers in industry, utility companies, universities, other labs and of course Sandia,” he said.

Missile defense

Navy ships seek to stop missile, drone and surface attacks -- all at once

Multiple-track sensing and detection is expected to bring the desired radar detection strategy, as SPY-6 radars combine air-warfare and ballistic missile defense into a single system. When it comes to application, the SPY-6 radar systems streamline otherwise disparate fire-control and detection technologies; the SPY-6 can cue short-range, closer-in interceptors as well as longer-range ballistic missile interceptors such as an SM-3. This shortens sensor-to-shooter time and offers war commanders a longer window with which to make decisions about which countermeasure is needed. This integration is precisely the kind of defense needed to counter a multi-pronged, coordinated enemy attack potentially combining ballistic missiles with cruise missiles, drone attacks ... and other threats.

The SPY-6 family moves beyond existing AN/SPY-1 ship-integrated radar system and, according to an interesting essay in “Microwave Journal,” “handles 30 times more targets and has 30-times greater sensitivity than the SPY-1D(V).” (“Radar and Phased Array Breakthroughs,” Eli Booker).

Extremism

Terror suspect dead in confrontation with FBI after allegedly targeting hospital

A 36-year-old domestic terror suspect was killed in a confrontation with the FBI Tuesday after allegedly targeting a Missouri-area hospital providing care during the coronavirus emergency, the bureau said Wednesday.

Timothy Wilson, the subject of a long-running undercover terror inquiry, had allegedly considered a range of targets before he "settled on an area hospital ... that is providing critical medical care in today's environment," according to the FBI.

The FBI said Wilson was wounded when agents sought to arrest him Tuesday in Belton, Missouri, after closely tracking his activities. The bureau said Wilson was armed at the time he was shot in the clash with agents. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital

"Wilson was the subject of a months-long domestic terrorism investigation, which revealed him to be a potentially violent extremist, motivated by racial, religious, and anti-government animus," the bureau said in statement.

Biosecurity

The Kremlin sends mixed messages on coronavirus as Russian cases spiral

Just over a week ago, President Vladimir Putin said Russia had the spread of coronavirus "under control." Now the country is changing tactics, as authorities acknowledge they are gearing up for a major Covid-19 outbreak.
In a nationwide address Wednesday, Putin conceded that it was "objectively impossible to stop [coronavirus] from spilling over" into a country of Russia's size. He urged Russians to "understand the complexity of the situation" and stay home, declaring next week to be a paid stay-at-home holiday.
It was a classic presidential performance, but Putin stopped short of delivering a bitter pill to the public. While he announced a number of measures to bolster the country's economy and encouraged citizens to stay home, he left it to other officials to announce more sweeping lockdown measures
On the morning following his speech, the Russian government announced it would seal its borders and cancel all international flights, with the exception of repatriation planes that are expected to bring thousands more Russians home from hard-hit areas.

Defense

Analysis: Tracked defense and security combat vehicles of Turkish Industry

The Turkish defense industry offers high-technology and cost-efficient solutions in compliance with NATO standards to armies in the world. Three Turkish companies - FNSS, OTOKAR and BMC - design and manufacture the latest technologies of tracked combat vehicles including main battle tanks, light tanks, APC armored personnel carriers, IFV infantry fighting vehicles, etc.

The ACV-15 is a family of tracked Armored Combat Vehicles (ACV) designed and manufactured by the Turkish company FNSS. The Armored Combat Vehicle (ACV) is the generic designation for a tracked, diesel-engine powered, heavily armored platform in the 13-15-ton class, capable of performing combined arms operations with main battle tanks. The platform design allows the integration of different subsystems for executing a variety of different roles.

The ACV-15 is a full-tracked (5 roadwheels), lightweight, low-silhouette armored vehicle capable of high-speed operations in desert conditions, poor infrastructure, roads and/or highways. The hull is manufactured in a ballistic aluminum plate. Plate thickness varies on the different planes of the hull to meet appropriate ballistic requirements. FNSS produced more than 2,500 ACV-15s for the Turkish Land Forces and users worldwide.

The vehicle modernization packages are aimed at improving survivability, situational awareness, firepower and mobility. For survivability, priority has been given to the enhancement of mine and ballistic protection levels, mine-resistant seats, protection lining applications, dual-stage automatic fire extinguishing and suppression systems, an NBC system, air conditioning for the crew and the RPG protection network.

Forensics

Nuts! The bizarre CIA 'fake scrotum' designed to enable downed pilots to conceal an escape radio - even if they were strip-searched

Spies have come up with countless bizarre and wacky devices to help them in their line of work.

But this one, designed by the CIA, really is nuts.

The 'scrotum concealment device' was designed to enable pilots to hide an escape radio in a place that would remain undiscovered even during a strip search.

It was created in the late 1960s by Tony Mendez, the former chief of disguise at the CIA, and is now on show at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC in its Tools of the Trade display in the Spies and Spymasters room.

According to the museum, the thinking behind the device was that male security guards would be less likely to 'thoroughly search the genital area', so it made for a good area to hide an escape radio.

Biosecurity

The Coronavirus Is the Worst Intelligence Failure in U.S. History

Last September, I met the vice president for risk for a Fortune 100 company in Washington, D.C. I asked the executive—who previously had a long career as an intelligence analyst—the question you would ask any risk officer: “What are you most worried about?” Without pausing, this person replied, “A highly contagious virus that begins somewhere in China and spreads rapidly.” This vice president, whose company has offices throughout East Asia, explained the preventative mitigating steps the company had subsequently adopted to counter this potential threat.

Since the novel coronavirus has swept the world, I have often thought about this person’s prescient risk calculus. Most leaders lack the discipline to do routine risk-based horizon scanning, and fewer still develop the requisite contingency plans. Even rarer is the leader who has the foresight to correctly identify the top threat far enough in advance to develop and implement those plans.

Biosecurity

Russia's New Coronavirus Cases Triple Overnight, Totaling 658

Russia confirmed 163 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the country’s official number of cases up to 658 and marking the largest one-day increase in cases so far.

Russia’s officially reported numbers — which are still smaller than those in European countries — have sparked suspicion as they spiked in the past week. Experts warn that Russia's testing capacity is hampered by bureaucracy, while officials warn that the real number of cases is likely much higher.

This week, Moscow changed the way it counts its coronavirus cases, with patients considered coronavirus-positive upon a single positive test rather than having samples sent to a lab Novosibirsk for further verification.

Russia has registered three coronavirus-related deaths so far. Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 420,000 people and killed more than 16,000.

Cybersecurity

U.S. Navy Scientists Are Exploring the Weaponization of 'Cute'

The Office of Naval Research is studying how emotions prompt people to share information on the internet, particularly how the perception of “cuteness” increases the likelihood of sharing. The goal is to be able to anticipate the spread and reach of cute content—from cat memes to anime—especially if that content is paired with a dark message.

One of the most controversial developments in the age of the internet is the rise of “clickbait,” or manipulating headlines to get reader attention. Getting people to share negative content is easy. What makes people share positive content, including “cute” content, is another story. The ONR is partnering with academic experts studying how people perceive cute and how cuteness affects sharing on the internet.

Even ISIS, the Naval Science and Technology Future Force reports, used images of its fighters with cats, “probably a reference to a companion of the Prophet, Abu Huraira, who was fond of cats.” Bad actors, as NST calls them, use cats and other cute critters to make a negative or divisive message more likely to be shared or even perceived in a more positive light.

Biosecurity

Grocery Stores Are the Coronavirus Tipping Point

For a couple of weeks now, grocery stores have been one of the only respites from cabin fever. Despite all the lockdowns and social-distancing measures across America, people still need food. In the most restrictive states, the grocery store has become about the last place you can go where life is lived more or less as it previously was.

Except now, not even grocery stores can keep up the facade of normalcy. As many health experts have feared, last week, reports began to trickle in of grocery-store workers coming down with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. A Trader Joe’s employee in Seattle tested positive. So did a King Soopers employee in Denver, along with two Fred Meyer employees: one in Monroe, Washington, and one in Portland, Oregon. A worker at the Columbus Circle and Bryant Park Whole Foods locations in New York, through which thousands of people filter every day, tested positive as well.

So far, the virus does not appear to be extremely widespread among grocery workers. Nationally, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents the employees of some grocery stores, told me only six of its members are known to have tested positive for the coronavirus. But many more might have the virus and have not been tested. Until this past week, it was possible to at least wishfully imagine that grocery stores were somehow immune to the virus. Now the risk has become even more apparent: Yes, people can get COVID-19 at the grocery store.

Cybersecurity

US cyber security experts see recent spike in Chinese digital espionage

A US cybersecurity firm said Wednesday it has detected a surge in new cyberspying by a suspected Chinese group dating back to late January, when coronavirus was starting to spread outside China.

FireEye Inc. said in a report it had spotted a spike in activity from a hacking group it dubs "APT41" that began on Jan. 20 and targeted more than 75 of its customers, from manufacturers and media companies to healthcare organizations and nonprofits.

There were "multiple possible explanations" for the spike in activity, said FireEye Security Architect Christopher Glyer, pointing to long-simmering tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade and more recent clashes over the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 17,000 people since late last year.

The report said it was "one of the broadest campaigns by a Chinese cyber espionage actor we have observed in recent years."

Electronic surveillance

Snowden warns: The surveillance states we’re creating now will outlast the coronavirus

Governments around the world are using high-tech surveillance measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak. But are they worth it?

Edward Snowden doesn’t think so.

The former CIA contractor, whose leaks exposed the scale of spying programs in the US, warns that once this tech is taken out the box, it will be hard to put it back.

“When we see emergency measures passed, particularly today, they tend to be sticky,” Snowden said in an interview with the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival.

The emergency tends to be expanded. Then the authorities become comfortable with some new power. They start to like it.

Supporters of the draconian measures argue that normal rules are not enough during a pandemic and that the long-term risks can be addressed once the outbreak is contained. But a brief suspension of civil liberties can quickly be extended.

Military

Pentagon orders 60-day troop freeze

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered a stop to all troop movement overseas for 60 days to attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the military, the Pentagon announced Wednesday. 

The stop movement order will apply to all U.S. forces, civilian personnel and families — including those scheduled to return stateside and those scheduled to deploy — with some exceptions, Esper first told Reuters on Wednesday. 

“This measure is taken to aid in further prevention of the spread of [COVID-19], to protect U.S. personnel and preserve the operational readiness of our global force,” according to the DOD statement.

The new order will not impact “the continued drawdown of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, which is scheduled to be complete within 135 days following the signed agreement.” 

There are 227 service members, 81 civilian employees, 67 dependents and 40 contractors who have tested positive for the illness COVID-19.