The Department of Homeland Security is recommending agencies to integrate enterprise mobility management technologies with app vetting tools to fortify the security of their mobile devices. 

DHS said Tuesday that its science and technology directorate conducted a study with the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute and found that a continuous approach to integrating mobile vetting procedures would improve enterprise security while enabling employees to facilitate business operations to achieve mission goals. 

“This study validates that a holistic approach to security is essential to ensure mobile devices are in fact secure and available,” said Vincent Sritapan, portfolio manager for physical and cybersecurity research at S&T. “It also shows that capturing the interoperability of mobile security solutions is a far more effective approach than simply running each separately.”

The study, titled “Evaluating Mobile App Vetting Integration with Enterprise Mobility Management in the Enterprise”, saw HSSEDI perform 43 test cases to evaluate two EMM offerings and six mobile app vetting tools. The team also used custom and commercial apps as part of the exercise.

The National Guard is working with Louisiana and Texas authorities to conduct assessments following ransomware attacks to the states’ information technology systems in the commercial, financial and educational sectors, FCW reported Wednesday. 

Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said at a press briefing that the National Guard may opt to expand its pilot cybersecurity program which is expected to run for six to eight additional months. The program involves the deployment of cyber mission assurance teams in Hawaii, Ohio and Washington that handle the assessment of federal installations to mitigate vulnerabilities that result from relying on outside utilities.

“We have skill sets already in place that do cyber analysis of vulnerabilities of various critical infrastructure,” he said. “Standardization between state emergency response operations is needed to properly address and prevent cyber attacks,” Lengyel added.

The Department of Homeland Security’s science and technology directorate has partnered with the Open Geospatial Consortium to integrate smart city technology into public safety missions across the city of St. Louis. DHS said Wednesday that the partnership will study, design and assess the potential of Smart City Interoperability Reference Architecture to support integration of connected sensors for community safety initiatives.

The department intends for the pilot to demonstrate how real-world technology platforms can support urban operations and emergency response missions. Tests will evaluate the performance of internet-of-things equipment in various scenarios such as flooding, building fire and vulnerable population outreach.

“Community level application of existing technologies is essential for a 21st century city to adequately deliver services to its residents and provide for their public safety, as well as enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of all city services,” said St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson.

NASA has docked its Mars Helicopter to the Mars 2020 rover for the upcoming exploration mission on the red planet. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory attached the twin-rotor, solar-powered helicopter to the rover’s belly section, the space agency said Wednesday.

The rover features a cover designed to protect Mars Helicopter from debris. The helicopter will only undock and deploy once the rover reaches a flight-suitable area within Mars’ Jezero Crater. The space agency would deploy a second wave of Mars Helicopters for future missions if the initial unit’s demonstration concludes successfully.

“Our job is to prove that autonomous, controlled flight can be executed in the extremely thin Martian atmosphere,” said MiMi Aung, Mars Helicopter project manager at JPL.

NASA will launch the Mars 2020 rover July next year on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

An undersea cable project between Los Angeles and Hong Kong designed to expand internet connectivity might not get a license to operate as it faces opposition from U.S. officials due to national security concerns, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Sources said a panel led by the Department of Justice and tasked with reviewing telecommunications projects – Team Telecom – has expressed objection to the 8,000-mile Pacific Light Cable Network project due to ties of Beijing-based investor Dr. Peng Telecom & Media Group to the Chinese government and Hong Kong’s declining autonomy.

According to the report, the $300M PLCN project is backed by Facebook and Google and work on the program is being conducted under a temporary permit, which is set to expire in September. Hong Kong-based Pacific Light Data Communication said it has installed more than 6,800 miles of cable as part of the project, which is set to enter service by December or January.

If the project’s application is denied, it’d be the first time the U.S. has denied a license for an undersea cable project due to national security, the report said.

The Department of Energy is investing $50M in fusion energy and plasma science projects conducted by industry firms, universities and national laboratories. The investment aims to allow for fusion energy’s use as a source of clean power, DOE said Wednesday.

The department used fiscal 2019 allotments for majority of the funds. Fusion energy researchers would work to sustain high-temperature plasmas in magnetic field confinements known as tokamak facilities.

“Research in the important fields of fusion energy and plasma science promises both short-term and long-term benefits to industry and society at large,” said Paul Dabbar, DOE undersecretary for science.

Sixty percent of the funds will support 10 U.S.-based multi-institutional teams to perform studies at facilities across the globe. DOE will use the remaining fraction of funds to establish new centers for low-temperature plasma research projects. The department conducted a competitive peer review to select projects.