07/12/2011 - 

► A homeland security official said software sold to the United States government often comespreloaded with malware and spywareand that the government has been aware of the threat for quite some time. Greg Schaffer, DHS assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications said he was “aware of instances when foreign-made technology was built with embedded security risks but did not elaborate on what kind of equipment DHS has encountered,” PC World reports. Many of the items in questions were imported from overseas individually or as component of bigger products. The White House’s Cyberspace Policy Review says a broad, holistic approach is required rather than banning foreign products and services.

► A report from KUOW examinesemergency room violence. Focusing on hospitals in Washington state, the report documents the various types of training and countermeasures hospitals are providing for their staffs to keep themselves and their patients safe. Part of the challenge is finding the balance between being a nurturing area and being secure. “The security officers should resemble a concierge service, not a police force,” one security manager told the station.

► The hacker group AntiSec says it has published an online list of approximately 90,000 military e-mail addresses and passwordshacked from Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., the Los Angeles Times reports. The Associated Press says they counted only 67,000 email addresses in the leak, but either way, the information of thousands of military members and defense contractors was breached and is now available online.

► In other news, new legislation in Georgia appliesstiffer penalties for sex trafficking, mandating a 25-year minimum sentence for anyone convicted of trafficking someone under the age of 18. ♦ Networking companyCisco may cut 10,000 jobs. ♦ And anew laser could help defeat RPGs.