Short Takes – 1-2-26

100,000-Watt Iron Beam laser becomes world’s first drone defense zapper to be operationally deployed — it can also shoot down rockets, mortars, and other aerial threats. TomsHardware.com article. Pull quote: “A complex mix of government, military, scientific, and commercial interests were responsible for the research and development of the Iron Beam laser system. Central to the Iron Beam are “an advanced laser source and a unique electro-optical targeting system, enabling the interception of a wide range of targets at an enhanced operational range, with maximum precision and superior efficiency,” boasted the press release by Israel’s MoD. Moreover, it works “at a negligible marginal cost, which constitutes the laser system’s primary advantage.””

The New Laser-Based Iron Beam Is Live — And It Shoots Drones for Pocket Change. I-HLS.com article. Pull quote: “From a defense perspective, the system fills a specific niche. Missile-based interceptors remain essential for fast, maneuvering, or long-range threats, but they are less efficient against slow, small, or low-altitude objects. Officials acknowledge that existing systems intercept the vast majority of rockets and missiles, yet smaller drones and similar targets are harder to defeat consistently. Iron Beam is intended to handle those simpler threats, preserving missile interceptors for more complex engagements.”

Securing the Industrial Edge: Protecting Legacy Systems in the IIoT Era. ChemEngOnline.com article. Pull quote: “The challenge is particularly acute in chemical processing. A distillation column running on 1990s-era controllers likely speaks Modbus — a protocol from 1979 with no encryption or authentication. Crystallizers maintain precise supersaturation levels through control loops that, if manipulated, could produce off-specification products or cause massive fouling. Polymerization reactors operate near runaway boundaries where unauthorized setpoint changes could trigger dangerous exothermic reactions. These systems have operated reliably for decades, but they were never designed to face threats from the internet.”

The Year That Was (2025). LawFareMedia.org article. Pull quote: “As the year comes to a close, it’s only fitting to take a breath. So, as in previous years, I asked my colleagues to reflect on what happened in 2025 in their respective areas of focus. We’ve included links to some of what Lawfare has published on those topics to give snapshots of our work this year. It’s a lot—and yet it’s only a sampling.”

World's most contagious virus detected at two major US airports amid holiday traffic. AOL.com article. Pull quote: “The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) also confirmed on Christmas Eve that a visitor from Texas was diagnosed with measles.”

Trump issues his first vetoes of this term. CBSNews.com article. Pull quote: “Mr. Trump vetoed the two bills on Monday, the White House announced on X, after they were sent to his desk earlier this month. The bills had backers in both parties, and they passed the House and Senate through voice votes. Both houses of Congress would need to pass the bills again by a two-thirds margin to override the president's veto.”

Superbug hits 27 states: Here’s where the deadly fungus is spreading. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Some strains of the fungus [Candida auris] are considered a superbug because they’re resistant to all types of medications usually used to treat fungal infections. While healthy people may be able to fight off the infection on their own, the fungus can be deadly in the health care settingswhere it spreads, where people are often sick and vulnerable.”

How the US could lose its Diego Garcia military base to China. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Diego Garcia is at risk because Britain has been determined to decolonize Chagos. The islands were, as a matter of convenience, administered from Mauritius. When the U.K. granted independence to that island group in 1968, London kept control of Chagos, which is now administered as the British Indian Ocean Territory.”

Backlog List

• Homeland Security Missions Falter Amid Focus on Deportations,

• EPA Launches Comprehensive Cybersecurity Resources as Water Sector Faces Escalating Threats,

• Mitigating the Homeland Security Threat of Chemical Attacks at Major International Diplomatic and Political Conferences,

• O(N^2) nationalism,

• EPA shares findings on Weatherford ammonia spill, air quality,

• Zero Trust for Operational Technology, and

• The missile meant to strike fear in Russia’s enemies fails once again.