Bill Heffernan, a member of the Australian Parliament, revealed a security flaw in the Parliament building Monday when he was able to successfully smuggle a fake pipe bomb and dynamite sticks in undetected.

The number of new security clearances provided by the federal government, including renewals, has decreased by 9 percent since 2011, according to a new report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The number of approved clearances dropped for the second consecutive year in FY2013, to just more than 777,000. 

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has had 18 investigators convicted of falsifying reports since 2006, and a lack of resources is preventing officials from processing a backlog of an additional 36 cases. 

Concerns about voter disenfranchisement and the logistics of providing adequate numbers of photo IDs before the November 6 election were the top reasons Judge Simpson cited for blocking the law. 

Investigators from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) were able to obtain drivers licenses and state IDs using counterfeit materials in three different states.

The current tool used by the Director of National Intelligence for determining clearance levels produces wildly different results than government standards.

The Richmond, Virginia Mayor’s Office is looking into better security systems at city hall after a man allegedly stormed into City Council offices and panic alarms failed.