How did we get here? Long, unstable fault lines in the bedrock that undergirds U.S. society have become active, sending seismic waves that have shaken the social contract. Citizens can’t agree on basic facts. People question whether COVID-19 is real amid shifting medical advice and conflicting data on case and death rates. The footing keeps getting less stable. Economic freefall. Surging unemployment. White supremacists, fascists and anarchists boldly emerging from the shadows. Loss of faith in law enforcement by swaths of the populace after black citizens perished in police custody. Rampant misinformation campaigns by anonymous groups and nations. The result is a bitterly split populace that has retreated to their respective echo chambers.

Flashback to 2004 and the genesis of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), an initiative created to raise awareness in the U.S. around the importance of cybersecurity. Founded by the National Cyber Security Division within the Department of Homeland Security and the nonprofit National Cyber Security Alliance, NCSAM has taken place each October, since its mid-aughts inception, in efforts to ensure all Americans have knowledge of the resources and tools they need to be safer and more secure online.

More than 250 high school teachers across the nation participated in certification training to become provisional instructors in the First Aid for Severe Trauma (FAST)TM program funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). 

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health, announced that it has awarded 11 grants with a total first-year value of approximately $17 million to establish the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID).

International technology standards consortium Object Management Group® (OMG®) and the Industrial Internet Consortium® (IIC™) announced the first vertical profile for the recently released v1.2 of the IoT Security Maturity Model (SMM) Practitioner’s Guide. Targeted specifically for the retail industry, IoT SMM: Retail Profile for Point-of-Sale Devices will help retail organizations determine the right level of investment to meet their security needs.

AVANGRID announced the appointment of Brian Harrell to the role of Chief Security Officer and Vice President of Physical and Cybersecurity. Harrell will lead the security efforts across the company.

The National Health Service is preparing to test drone usage to deliver emergency medical supplies to vulnerable populations in the event of a second wave of COVID-19.

International SOS put together an interactive map which shows how difficult to may be to open and operate in a given country.

While the burgeoning world of IoT has transformed the ways in which we live and work, the world of IoT has also caught the attention of cybercriminals. As IoT devices become increasingly more advanced, hackers have simultaneously become more sophisticated in their attacks, often targeting pre-existing security loopholes to gain access to company systems.