September 2017 SM Online

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS 

U.K. communications regulator Ofcom fined mobile network operator Three £1.9 million (approximately $2.4 million) for weaknesses in its emergency call network. An Ofcom investigation found that Three broke an important rule designed to ensure everyone can always contact emergency services. Networks must allow emergency calls to be connected, even when the network experiences technical problems. In this case, Three’s emergency call service was vulnerable to a single point of failure, and did not provide back-up routes for diverting emergency calls.

WASTEWATER 

The 2017 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report, Wastewater: The Untapped Resource, demonstrates how improved wastewater management generates social, environmental, and economic benefits essential for sustainable development and water security. 

SHARING INTEL

Terrorism has changed how international intelligence is shared, and old allies face new issues, according to a Global Security Studies report. 

TERRORISM INFORMATON

A disconnect in intelligence sharing among the European Union’s member states means countries aren’t getting the information they need, according to an article in European View.

WATER REUSE

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded $23 million to communities in seven states for planning, designing and constructing water recycling and reuse projects. A list of the projects and other resources can be found on the WateReuse website.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The artificial intelligence (AI) market is projected to reach $70 billion by 2020 and will impact consumers, enterprises, and governments according to The Future of AI is Here, a PricewaterhouseCoopers initiative. 

MOBILE DEVICES

As workers bring more of their own devices to work, security pros must address the challenges of managing bandwidth and device access, as well as security concerns. BYOD and Mobile Security Spotlight is a report from Crowd Research Partners.

MARIJUANA

An employer acted illegally when it failed to hire a medical marijuana user because she disclosed could not pass a preemployment drug test, a Rhode Island state court ruled.

COERCION

In the first decision of its kind, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board ruled ​that an employer committed an unfair labor practice when a manager texted an employee asking whether the employee’s loyalties lay with the company or the union.