DOE audit reports that two out of three defense labs are not maintaining controls over nonnuclear explosives.

The FBI gives tips for how governmental agencies and organizations can avoid a check fraud scam that targets expired checks.

Recommendations on how local and federal officials can improve police response in identity-theft cases are in a new report.

A federal appeals court has ruled that a man who was beaten by a security officer may pursue his lawsuit against the officer’s employer.

In a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Court addressed how harmful an adverse action by an employer must be to render the employer liable for retaliation against an employee.

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that an employee cannot sue his employer for wrongful termination under a state whistleblower statute because he was not asked to commit a crime.

The U.S. Supreme Court has adopted new rules of civil procedure for courts to follow for electronic discovery.

The federal government has ordered a Tulsa business to pay $1.24 million to 52 employees for violating laws against discrimination.

An interview with Tim Manning, director, New Mexico Office of Homeland Security.

The Business Roundtable recommends that the private sector take responsibility for fixing weaknesses in key Internet assets.

Read about the Consumer Privacy Legislative Forum, which was formed by major corporations to support consumer privacy legislation.

A report offers recommendations on how government agencies can better share sensitive information.

You may think Star Wars is fiction. In fact, the need to secure the final frontier is already an issue today.

Although Italy and the United States have close counterterrorism ties, U.S. agencies weren’t able to formally assess Italy’s operational security plans due to lack of access to sensitive information. They improvised by using “established relationships with their Italian counterparts to develop a working knowledge of Italy’s plans and capabilities for providing security,” according to a GAO report. @ Read the report at SM Online.

ASIS headquarters is at low to moderate risk for flooding. But the risk surges just a few blocks to the east, closer to the Potomac River. Want to assess the flood risk to your current or prospective sites? Check out the government’s Flood-Smart site (through SM Online), which also offers other flood-related resources for businesses and homes.

Detonators, rocket motors, and bulk explosive powders were among at least 410 items that Sandia National Laboratories could not account for when audited by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General. Auditors found other problems with explosives handling and processing at both Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, but Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was hailed for its “robust program” for explosives handling and processing.@  Read the audit report  at SM Online.

The appropriations bill (H.R. 5441) funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been approved by the House of Representatives and is now pending in the Senate.

A bill (S. 2145) introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) that would enhance security at chemical facilities has been approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Senate has agreed to consider the measure.

A bill (S. 1554) that would establish a grant program to improve overall communications equipment for first responders has been approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The measure will now be considered by the full Senate.

A bill (H.R. 4157) that is designed to improve the coordination and protection of health information has been approved by the House Ways and Means Committee. It is not yet clear whether the measure will continue on to a full vote in the House of Representatives.

A bill (S.B. 2002) would require that all applicants to any North Carolina university undergo a criminal records check. The bill, the first of its kind in the nation, was introduced after two University of North Carolina students were killed by their classmates. Both murderers had lied on their applications and denied having a criminal record to gain admission.

A new Florida law (formerly H.B. 1351) requires that all alarm monitoring companies attempt to contact property owners on two different phone numbers before calling for police assistance. The law, designed to help reduce the number of false alarms, is the first state law of its kind in the country, though many municipalities have already enacted similar provisions.

After a spate of well-publicized thefts of government laptops earlier this year, Clay Johnson III, deputy director for management with the Office of Management and Budget, sent a memorandum to department heads urging them to take action to safeguard information properly.

Pressure to comply with regulatory efforts such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Gramm-Leach-Bliley is the key driver of enterprisewide encryption efforts, according to security professionals at 112 financial services companies surveyed by InfoTech, yet just over half of those surveyed said that encryption of data at rest is “a high priority for their organizations.”