Showing posts with label Homeland Security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homeland Security. Show all posts

Oct 21, 2011

Cloning is Still Alive

Korea has found a useful way to make cloning work. It has been cloning dogs for a specific purpose. Dogs are a integral part of security in airports around the world, helping detect narcotics, explosives, and other banned substances. Inchon Airport in South Korea says some of their best drug-sniffing dogs are clones.

It cloned genes from a prized security dog named Chase and produced seven cloned Labrador puppies. They are part of an ongoing study about how genetic reproductions of prized work animals may revolutionize their use in the field. Only 30% of normal dogs pass the tests to become drug-sniffers, all of Chase’s clones passed.

Here in the US, The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is working on a cell phone attachment. It is a sensor capable of detecting deadly chemicals with minimal drain on the phone’s battery life. It works like an antivirus software that bides its time in the background and springs to life when it spies suspicious activity. The device, named Cell-All regularly sniffs the surrounding air for certain volatile chemical compounds and shows an alert.

Jul 16, 2010

Internet Privacy

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a draft last month to develop a voluntary identification system and set up a website to gather input from experts and Internet users about how it should be structured.

From the web site - The Nation faces sophisticated threats against the sensitive and confidential data of our citizens, industries and government. Securing identities in transactions and creating a trusted online environment has become a critical national priority, and  the President’s Cyberspace Policy Review called for development of a strategy to address this issue.

"The technology that has brought many benefits to our society and has empowered us to do so much has also empowered those who are driven to cause harm," said White House cyber czar Howard Schmidt in a blog posting that outlined the need for better security online.

The plan, he said, envisions a future in which people would be able to get a secure identifier - such as a smart identity card or a digital certificate - from a variety of service providers. Customers could then use the card or identifier to prove who they are as they make their online transactions.

The draft plan is part of an administration effort to promote cyber-security among society as a whole. Lawmakers have introduced a number of bills aimed at furthering those goals. Oh, and about those jobs, crisis over!