SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Securing Cities: The Fight Against Local Level Cyberthreats
Imagine waking up to news of a city plunged into chaos. The water supply has been disrupted, emergency services are offline, and local transportation is at a standstill. A ransomware attack has crippled local government, holding critical infrastructure hostage. Sensitive personal data, from Social Security numbers to medical records, are at risk of being leaked to criminal organizations. Citizens wonder what they should do and how long it will take for their community to…
Most Recent
National Laboratory Partnerships: Linking Operations and Research
Ryan Eddy and Ann Lesperance
September 25, 2024
The September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 spurred a pivotal change in the way the U.S. approaches preparedness for threats to the homeland. In recognition of National Preparedness Month, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory showcases how national laboratories address homeland security threats by developing the technology and other resources first
AI and 911 Call Systems: A New Ally or a Hidden Risk?
Michael Breslin
September 11, 2024
From natural disasters to sophisticated cyberthreats, the risks to public safety are evolving fast. As unexpected events can strike at any moment, the systems designed to protect people – 911 call centers – face unprecedented challenges. Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the landscape by increasing efficiencies and risks. Learn about
Dual-World Tabletop Exercises – Addressing Unmet Infrastructure Needs
Charles (Chuck) L. Manto
August 21, 2024
The U.S. critical infrastructure is vulnerable to many forms of cyber and electromagnetic threats. This article presents a new tabletop exercise concept for addressing these ongoing threats to critical infrastructure. Similar to medical research groups that involve treatment and control groups, two exercise groups would work simultaneously on the same
Lessons in Social Media – Preparing Kids and Community Leaders for Disasters
Patricia Frost and Michael Prasad
August 7, 2024
Addressing children’s needs during a crisis can be challenging. Leveraging social media to create crisis communication campaigns can be an effective way to boost community outreach efforts and raise awareness of the unique needs children have in disaster planning and response. Successful social media campaigns by governmental and non-governmental organizations
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Archives
The Psychology of Crisis
Mary Schoenfeldt
May 22, 2024
The psychological side of a disaster or other impactful event is a critical component of crisis management. However, many people still do not fully understand
Resilience-Based CI and Domestic Preparedness: A Long-Overdue Imperative
Jeff Gaynor
May 15, 2024
For decades, preparedness leaders have known and publicly warned about the rapidly growing and metastasizing threats to and exploitable vulnerabilities of U.S. critical infrastructure (CI).
The Missing Plague Vials
Robert C. Hutchinson
April 17, 2024
A true story of missing bubonic plague vials, an airport bomb threat, and other suspicious activities again demonstrate continued national and homeland security vulnerabilities and
Dungeons and Disasters: Gamification of Public Health Responses
Michael Etzel and Michael Prasad
April 10, 2024
New technologies offer new ways to train personnel and exercise public health responses like COVID-19 and prepare response agencies for many other threats and hazards.
Interoperability During Mass Casualty Incidents
Charles J. Guddemi and Catherine L. Feinman
April 3, 2024
During a mass casualty incident, response agencies must be able to communicate in real-time. This means that interoperability plans need to include everyone involved in
The Evolution of Homeland Security Higher Education
Heather Issvoran
March 27, 2024
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, homeland security education expanded to ensure that local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal agencies had the tools
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Securing Cities: The Fight Against Local Level Cyberthreats
Imagine waking up to news of a city plunged into chaos. The water supply has been disrupted, emergency services are offline, and local transportation is at a standstill. A ransomware attack has crippled local government, holding critical infrastructure hostage. Sensitive personal data, from Social Security numbers to medical records, are at risk of being leaked to criminal organizations. Citizens wonder what they should do and how long it will take for their community to…
Most Recent
Drones – A Life-Saving Time-Saver
Kevin Jones
July 24, 2024
As drone technology continues to evolve, it is important for law enforcement and other first responder agencies to understand the
The Key Bridge Collapse – Through the Lens of Community Lifelines
Michael Prasad
July 17, 2024
The eight major elements of Community Lifelines use traffic-light-type color-coding to categorize the adverse impact status of a disaster. The
Fentanyl Hazards and Detection
Ashley Bradley and Kristin Omberg
June 12, 2024
The deadly opioid epidemic in the United States does not stop at overdoses. It also poses life-threatening exposure to first
A Modern Take on an Age-Old Biological Weapon
Raphael M. Barishansky
June 12, 2024
Reports about North Korea launching balloons filled with fecal matter and propaganda into South Korean territory were intriguing. However, this
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Archives
Nation-State Activity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing
Margaret (Margie) Graves
February 28, 2024
The development of artificial intelligence and quantum computing has exploded in recent years. However, as many countries find new ways to leverage these technologies for
A Holistic Approach to Cybersecurity Risk
Ernesto Ballesteros
February 28, 2024
Cybersecurity is a core business process that involves the entire organization or agency. So, it should not be brushed off as an “IT thing.” A
Protecting Infrastructure – Cyber, Physical, and EMP Attacks
David Winks
February 21, 2024
Imagine 3,500 spiders, each with their own style, getting together to create a giant web. That’s how this author describes the U.S. power grid and
Needed: More Imagination for Countering Domestic Risks
Jeanne Benincasa Thorpe
February 7, 2024
From “Lord of the Flies” to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, significant consequences have been blamed on failures of imagination. Avoid repeating past mistakes and
Commercial Facilities Sector Perspectives
Kole (KC) Campbell
January 31, 2024
Commercial facilities dominate the U.S. economy, contributing trillions of dollars to the U.S. gross domestic product while employing and supporting millions of jobs. Learn more
Rising Above the Flood: A Decision Tool for Structural Safety
Cedric Ling, Debashish Kar, Nur Yazdani, Eyosias Beneberu, Maria Koliou and Yong Yoo
January 24, 2024
When homeowners choose to elevate their homes above flood levels, they may compromise the structural integrity of the building if the elevation method does not
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Subscribe today to Domestic Preparedness and get real-world insights for safer communities.