Grave Lack of Security at Fed Buildings: GAO

Department skipped a mandatory test on ASP device, GAO complains

(NEWSER) - Homeland Security plans to buy 400 new radiation detection machines, even though it’s skipped its own internal requirements to test them first, the Government Accountability Office complained in a report today. These Advanced Spectroscopic Portal machines have a checkered past, the Washington Post reports: In January, the National Academy of Sciences said there was no way to know if they worked, and accused Homeland Security of presenting them to Congress “in ways that are incorrect and potentially misleading.” More»

(NEWSER) - A Homeland Security plan to build a $700 million lab handling highly infectious animal diseases in Kansas' 'Tornado Alley' probably isn't the best idea it's had, the Washington Post reports. A withering report from the Government Accountability Office found that the DHS based its decision on a flawed, hastily done study that grossly underestimated the chances of pathogens infecting livestock if the lab was built in Kansas or elsewhere on the US mainland. More»

(NEWSER) - The war in Afghanistan is getting deadlier for both coalition troops and Afghan forces, reports James Dao in the New York Times, mostly because of an increase in homemade bomb attacks—465 in May alone. The IEDs—improvised explosive devices—are getting more sophisticated as well as more common, and are spread through the country via a complex network of bombmakers and distributors. The Pentagon is sending thousands of robots, dogs, and IED-resistant vehicles—but also targeting the networks themselves. More»

Homeland Security program would allow local government to access spy photos

(NEWSER) - A Government Accountability Office review raises concerns about plans for domestic satellite surveillance, the Wall Street Journal reports, but Homeland Security will proceed anyway. A bill allows the agency to provide satellite imagery for emergency and scientific purposes, but could be expanded to include surveillance and border control. The department has no way to prevent abuse of the data. More»