House Orders Pentagon To Say if it Weaponized Ticks and Released Them

The House quietly voted last week to require the Pentagon inspector general to tell Congress whether the department experimented with weaponizing disease-carrying insects and whether they were released into the public realm — either accidentally or on purpose. From a report: The unusual proposal took the form of an amendment that was adopted by voice vote July 11 during House debate…

Judge Dismisses Oracle Lawsuit Over $10 Billion Pentagon JEDI Cloud Contract

Last year, Oracle filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government complaining about the procurement process around the Pentagon’s $10 billion, decade-long JEDI cloud contract. “They claimed a potential conflict of interest on the part of a procurement team member (who was a former AWS employee),” reports TechCrunch. “Today, that case was dismissed in federal court.” From the report: In dismissing the…

The Pentagon Has a Laser That Can Identify People From a Distance By Their Heartbeat

An anonymous reader quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: A new device, developed for the Pentagon after U.S. Special Forces requested it, can identify people without seeing their face: instead it detects their unique cardiac signature with an infrared laser. While it works at 200 meters (219 yards), longer distances could be possible with a better laser. “I don’t want…

US Launches Cyber-Attack Aimed At Iranian Rocket and Missile Systems

The US has responded to a recent rise in Iranian cyber-activity and the shooting of an unarmed drone last week by launching cyber-attacks against Iran’s military IT systems. From a report: The cyber-attacks were carried out by US Cyber Command with the direct approval of US President Donald Trump, the Associated Press reported on Sunday, citing two inside sources, and confirming…