New round of mass Web attacks

Attack tool kit aliased as Asprox is still doing damage to Web sites; kit launches SQL injection attacks to append a reference to the malware file using the script tag, which makes it an efficient crimeware tool

WHO, IAEA is simulated nuclear accident drill

The World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency collaborate in a nuclear accident drill at the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant in Mexico

Important deals in the chemical sector

Ashland acquires Hercules, and Dow announces its plans to acquire Rohm and Haas; Ashland values Hercules at $3.3 billion; Dow is willing to pay $18.8 billion for Rohm and Haas

Criticism of delays in coordinating national emergency communication

Congress criticizes DHS for delays in coordinating a national emergency communications plan for first responders

Midwest floods to create record dead zone in Gulf of Mexico

Each year, an influx of nutrients -- mainly nitrogen -- which come from fertilizers flushed out of the Mississippi basin creates dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico -- zones where there is not enough oxygen to sustain life; the summer's Midwest floods flush record levels of nutrients into the Gulf, creating a dead zone the size of New Jersey

Cybercrime gangs highly structured

The chain of command of a cybercrime gang is not unlike the Mafia, an evolution which shows how online crime is becoming a broad, well-organized endeavor

Better picture of what lies beneath the Earth's surface

A tool which measures minute changes in the planet's gravity field from the air allows a cheaper alternative to seismic surveying

New way to purify water

Water-attracting materials seem to repel impurities, thus leaving a layer of pure water near their surface; making tubes from these particle-excluding materials would allow for a new way to purify water -- if, for now, in relatively small quantities

Land transportation & border security

China's transportation vulnerability, I

Remember the Daily Wire's unofficial motto: Where there is a security need, there is a business opportunity. The need: Securing land transportation in China. Here goes: What with the many problems China faces, an accident on a town bus may not rank very high. There is, however, more to the story than meets the eye: A fire aboard the number 842 bus in Shanghai's Yangpu district during morning rush hour of 5 May killed three people and injured a dozen more. The bus, operated by the Dazhong Transportation (Group) Co., caught fire around 9:15 a.m. local time near Huangxing Road and Guoshun Road. Publicly, security officials say the fire was an accident caused by a mechanical problem. Security officials, however, have privately said that an individual came on board the bus carrying flammable materials. There is strong suspicion that the fire was the result of an intentional act, perhaps related to someone frustrated with losses on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Roger Baker of RightSideNews writes that for several months China has been stepping up security for transportation infrastructure in anticipation of the Beijing Olympics in August.

Safeguarding Infrastructure // by Christopher Doyle

Our ability to protect America against terrorist threats and the natural hazards of tomorrow depends upon our ability to harness the ideas and innovations of today. For this reason, the U.S Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate is working to develop new technologies and integrate existing ones to create homeland security solutions.

A major focus of that effort centers on preparedness -- the key to protecting national infrastructure and facilitating lifesaving responses in the event of an incident. The Infrastructure and Geophysical Division (IGD) of the S&T Directorate is working to find methods and technologies which will improve our ability to protect buildings, facilities, and other kinds of physical structures. IGD is also considering various techniques which will prevent cascading effects of man-made and natural disasters that can lead to even more catastrophic consequences.

IGD serves a number of customers at the federal level, including the DHS Office of Infrastructure Protection (OIP) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). more