Science & Tech

US Considers Using Portable DNA Labs, Iris Scans to Vet Syrian Refugees

Throughout the Syrian civil war the UN has relied on portable eye-scanning machines to register fleeing Syrians, but the US has yet to make use of that data.

Science & Tech

These Are the Decisions the Pentagon Wants to Leave to Robots

The U.S. military believes its battlefield edge will increasingly depend on automation and artificial intelligence.

Science & Tech

FAA Gets Serious About Drones

If your new Christmas toy outweighs two butter sticks, you need to register it with the feds. Do it now for free.

Science & Tech

US Air Force to Ask for More Drones

Plan would add 3,500 Reaper pilots and up to five more ops centers around the country.

Science & Tech

State Department Says Hackers May Have Stolen Sensitive Data

The revelation, buried in a new inspector general report, is the first acknowledgment that foreign spies might have grabbed national secrets during a months-long campaign last fall.

Science & Tech

Meet the Military-Funded AI that Learns as Fast as a Human

Today, it recognizes handwriting; tomorrow, it may vastly improve the military’s surveillance and targeting efforts.

Science & Tech

DARPA Wants Networks to Find and Fix Security Holes — In Seconds

The Pentagon is seeking an "automation revolution in computer security” in which machines swiftly detect attacks and patch their vulnerabilities.

Science & Tech

America's Spies Want to Speed Up IBM's Quest for a Quantum Computer

IBM has been working on quantum computers for decades, and now it has the support of IARPA, the U.S. intelligence community’s research agency.

Science & Tech

US Intel Community Taps Encryption-Busting Tech Firm for Digital Spying

The venture capital arm of the CIA is buying in to a Canadian company that says it can access certain encrypted technologies.

Science & Tech

Kazakhstan's New Encryption Law Could Be a Preview of US Policy

The Central Asian country will require 'back doors' that will allow the government to surveil and censor Internet traffic.

Science & Tech

JLENS Supporters: Never Mind the Blimp, Save the Radar

The super-sophisticated sensor remains America’s best near-term defense against Russian cruise missiles, retired brass argue.

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DHS Wants Silicon Valley to Help It Secure the Internet of Things

The agency is dangling grant money to small business and big investors in the backyard of American tech giants like Facebook and Google.

Science & Tech

How a Poorly Rigged Antenna Contributed to Kunduz Hospital Strike

AFSOC commander describes new drones, training, and gear could prevent future deadly mistakes.

Science & Tech

A Glimpse At Tomorrow's Electromagnetic Spectrum Weapons

The electromagnetic spectrum is where the wars of the future will be won or lost. Here’s a brief glimpse of what those battles will look like.

Science & Tech

AI Program Beats Humans On College Acceptance Test

Japanese researchers have created a computer program capable of limited humanistic understanding.

Science & Tech

The US Military Just Ditched Plans to Launch Satellites with F-15s

DARPA was looking for a way to get small sats into orbit more quickly, but the fuel proved too dangerous.

Science & Tech

Why Your Plane Can’t Have An Escape Pod

Recent terrorism alerts may put the flying public on edge. But not every would-be solution ought to get off the ground.

Science & Tech

Shutting Down Jihadist Websites Won't Stop Terrorism

Censoring the web won’t squelch radical voices — and it just might help terrorists achieve their aims.

Science & Tech

Can the Military Design a Disaster-Resilient City?

Cities are incredibly complex, and break in complicated ways. Understanding that complexity will be key to mitigating tomorrow’s disasters.

Science & Tech

ISIS-Endorsed Encryption Provider to Begin Screening Customers

The software company Silent Circle hopes to mitigate nefarious use of encryption by closely monitoring how it's clients pay for the service.