Archive for August, 2008

3 years ago today…

Friday, August 29th, 2008

(Do I even need to say what happened? Katrina remembrance seems to be everywhere in the news this morning, particularly with the horrible irony of Gustav heading in to the Gulf Coast.)

I use the Library of Congress’ website almost daily (for my work with A Moment in Time, another U of R production), and their “Today in History” feature is fascinating, mining the depths of the Library’s often “hidden” treasures. (Take a second now to put Nicholas Cage out of your mind.) Today’s Hurricane Katrina feature was too good not to share.

Hurricane Katrina path

In addition to the more technical NOAA and Map Collection links, there are also links to images of the whole sweep of Gulf Coast struggles with hurricanes, and a link to the StoryCorps oral histories, some of which you may have heard on NPR. The experiences of those who survived the storm are awesome, and serve as a reminder that the work people do now to prepare for “the Next Katrina”, whenever it comes, is vital to our nation.

Emergency Preparedness On Campus

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

For those of us who work full-time on campus, there’s a nice rhythm to the year, with the ebb and flow of people and activity. Right now, we’re enjoying having students back in the library – and lots of them, too, for this early in the semester. (I suspect it’s a bit like the rush of gym memberships in January – all good intentions early on…)

As I’ve sat through orientations over the past month, I’ve heard the University’s Police Department give their introduction, and they always stress the importance of signing up for UR Alerts. This is the system in which a voice call, text message, or email will be sent to you (at the point of contact you designate in BannerWeb) in the event of a campus emergency. Here in Virginia, in particular, the shooting at Tech reminded us that anything can happen, even on a idyllic campus such as ours, but the system can only work if you “opt in”. This FAQ page answers many of the questions you might have about this alert system.

The Federal Government realizes that this aspect campus security is vital to the national interest. This year’s latest amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires that schools maintain:

‘‘A statement of current campus policies regarding immediate emergency response and evacuation procedures,
including the use of electronic and cellular communication (if appropriate), which policies shall include procedures to—

‘‘(i) immediately notify the campus community upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or staff occurring on the campus, as defined in paragraph (6), unless issuing notification will compromise efforts to contain the emergency;
‘‘(ii) publicize emergency response and evacuation procedures on an annual basis in a manner designed to reach students and staff; and
‘‘(iii) test emergency response and evacuation procedures on an annual basis.’’

Finally, if you’re on campus the first Monday of each month at 1:25PM, you will hear a “groaning noise [which] amplifes until it reaches full volume”; that’s the test for the Tornado Warning System. If you hear this at any other time, you should immediately seek shelter.

CyberSecurity Training Workshop

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Because it’s relatively local, I thought I’d pass this along to anyone interested…

 

Homeland Defense Journal Training Workshop (R)

Emerging Trends in Crime and Attackers in Cyber Security Workshop
How Criminal Groups Impact US Business and Government

 

November 6-7, 2008

Arlington, VA

 

For additional details on this course and all of our Intelligence and IT Security Training, go to www.HomelandDefenseJournal.com.

Registration Time: 8:00 AM
Program Starts: 8:30 AM
Wrap-up: 4:00 PM

Here is a full list of our fall line up of Intelligence and Facility Security Training Courses & Workshops.  For additional details, go to www.HomelandDefenseJournal.com.

·         Methods and Process of Obtaining a Facility Clearance and the Roles and Responsibilities of a Facility Security Officer Workshop Aug 12-13, 2008Arlington, VA

·         Basic Understanding & Preparation of the DD-254 – A 1 day workshop on the Methodology & Preparation of the DD-254 & your Contractual Security Requirements Aug 14, 2008 Arlington, VA

·         Mail Center Safety & Security Workshop Sep 9, 2008Arlington, VA24, 2008Arlington, VA

·         Homeland Security Intelligence Workshop Oct 23-24, 2008 Arlington, VA

·         Managing Workplace Violence – A two day Workshop on Implementing a Detect, Prevent and Protect Strategy to Implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Program Oct 28-29, 2008 Arlington, VA

·         Developing Effective Physical Security Measures Workshop Nov 10-11, 2008 Chicago, IL (Course held at the Sears Tower)

·         Building Security for Managers – A 1.5 Day Conference Focusing on Commercial, Residential and Mixed Use Building Life Safety and Physical Security Challenges & Solutions Nov 12-13, 2008 Chicago, IL

·         Methods and Process of Obtaining a Facility Clearance and the Roles and Responsibilities of a Facility Security Officer Workshop Dec 2-3, 2008 Arlington, VA

·         Basic Understanding & Preparation of the DD-254 Dec 4, 2008 Arlington, VA and December, TBD, 2008 San Diego, CA

·         Basic Geospatial Intelligence Workshop October TBD, 2008Arlington, VA

 

About this Training Workshop:  Emerging Trends in Crime and Attackers in Cyber Security Workshop

The “enemy” in today’s society is able to conduct their intelligence collections and attacks from any cyber-café in the world – miles or oceans away from their target by just using the Internet. Criminal groups have been using online methods and the Internet to further their business operations and goals. Targets of their activities have included US businesses and US government entities. As the Internet grows and becomes more diverse and prolific, so to have organized groups and individuals. The Internet has opened numerous avenues for perpetrators to conduct their business in increasing quantities and qualities.

This workshop will concentrate on information regarding the organized (and not so organized) criminal groups and how they impact business and government organizations. Topics will include: terrorism, activists, hackers/phishers, organized crime, child pornographers, and fraud rings. A discussion on how these groups operate, who they target, how they fund their operations, and how they cross-communicate will be included. The discussion and workshop will also include how to stay on top of these threats and design mitigation strategies to better protect your organization.

Topics Include:

·         A comprehensive look at 12 different criminal groups and how they operate online including: hackers, phishers, ID thieves, terrorists, activists, child pornographers, organized crime, black market goods distributors, espionage, human traffickers, drug traffickers, and lone wolves.

·         The motivations and goals of these criminal groups.

·         A review of various components of the Internet – where the dangers are, where the risks and vulnerabilities are, and what the criminals are doing online.

·         Descriptions and explanations of the visible and hidden Internet and how these criminal groups are using the Internet to further their operations and business.

·         Trends – how organizations are currently being targeted, what the threats are and how to protect your organization.

·         Future and anticipated threats – and how to combat them.

You Will Learn: 

·         Who the threats in the cyber-world are and what are they doing

·         An understanding of the criminals’ sources, methods and operations

·         Mitigation Strategies – what can the organization do to combat these threats

·         Anticipation of Future modus operandi – what will be the next move for these criminal groups and how can organizations decrease their vulnerabilities?

Who Should Attend:

·         Management in the fields of Intelligence, Security, and Counter Terrorism

·         IT Security

·         Counter-Intelligence

·         Analysis and Investigations

·         Risk Management

·         Competitive & Business Intelligence

About the Instructor: 

Dr. Terry Gudaitis specializes in forensic psychology with application to intelligence and investigations. Terry is currently the Cyber Intelligence Director at Cyveillance. Before joining the team at Cyveillance, she was the Director of Open Source Intelligence at SAIC, and prior to SAIC she was Chief Behavioral Scientist at Psynapse Technologies, LLC. Terry has also held positions as a team member and lead investigator of computer incident response teams for SAIC, Global Integrity Corporation, Predictive Systems Inc., and Network Security Corporation. Terry became the only cyber-crime profiler in the commercial information security industry who provided a business differentiator for her incident response teams as well as for the field of cyber-intelligence. She expanded and altered the classical profiling methods used in homicide, serial crime, and terrorist investigation and adapted them for the applied use in computer crime investigations and internet-based cases.

Terry gained a foundation for her expertise as an operations officer and behavioral profiler at the CIA’s Counter Terrorist Center. At CIA, she was responsible for developing terrorist profiles, assessments of informants, and managing targeting teams. In addition to her corporate related work, Terry has served on the United States Secret Service Advisory Board for Insider Threat, regularly presents at national and international conferences, and has authored publications in numerous security-related journals and books.

Workshop Location:

The workshop will be held in the Homeland Defense Journal Training Center in the Jefferson Plaza Building at 1421 Jefferson Davis Highway (7th floor), Arlington, VA 22202. Public parking at the facility is available for $10.00 early morning special (before 8:00am) or $18.00 all day. The Jefferson Plaza Building is just two blocks from the Crystal City Metro Station on the blue and yellow line. Please note: the parking garage is located on Crystal Drive.

 Registration Fee: 

·         Government attendees: $699 per person

·         Small Business: $749 per person

·         Industry: $799 per person

Communicating in a Crisis

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

I read a lot of blogs in areas outside my own sphere of expertise – and marketing and communications is one field in which I often find interesting insights. I find PR and Communications blogger Kami Huyse consistently thought-provoking. Her Communications Overtones posting for today was the slideshow for a presentation she gave on “The 3 R’s of Crisis Management”: Research, Response, and Recovery. While the presentation was definitely aimed at a lay audience, I thought the focus on communicating during a crisis was a strength. Also, click on the “crisis management” tag under the post to see her other posts on this subject.

If you haven’t used SlideShare before, you will need to sign up for a free account. (I think of SlideShare as YouTube for Powerpoint presentations…)

DHS 2008 National Emergency Communications Plan

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

We know from past experience with emergencies that the ability to communicate effectively between agencies is critical. So critical, in fact, that when the DHS was established in 2002, they were mandated to develop a strategy to “address emergency communications shortfalls.”They are also tasked with setting guidelines and standards for the deployment of inter-operable communication systems, and setting deadlines for meeting these. This is the first release of a comprehensive plan which addresses the various aspects of this mandate.

This release (an 83 page .pdf document) gives an overview of the issues involved, then details the vision, goals, and capabilities needed for truly inter-operable communications systems. 7 objectives to achieve this state are described in detail, with the currect state of activities, key gaps and obstacles driving action, and recommended national milestones for each listed.

Finally, the 9 appendices (what good is a government publication with a list of acronyms used?) provide extensive, detailed background on the legislative requirements, source documents, and key federal emergency communications initiatives, programs, systems, and services. These documents alone are worth reading for anyone involved in emergency communications.

Hurricane Season Forecasts Links

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

As we come into the 2008 hurricane season (peak months are usually August-October), I’ve come across some interesting sites that I wanted to share.

Weekly Sea-Surface Temperature

NOAA, of course, offers hurricane predictions each season. The most recent one was released August 7th, for the Atlantic Coast region. (They are predicting an 85% probability of an above-average season, although the prediction is prefaced with paragraphs of qualifications.) They also offer real-time monitoring of both Atlantic and East Pacific Hurricane Potential, with in-depth oceanographic data that can be manipulated in various ways.

Colorado State University’s Tropical Meteorology Project also makes a seasonal prediction, which they update quarterly. The most recent one was released on the 5th of August; they also predict an ‘above-average’ season for the Atlantic. The main website for the TMP is packed with predictions, FAQ’s on typhoons, hurricanes and other tropical storms, and publications, as well as lists of contacts for personnel associated with the project.

The GeoGraphics Laboratory at Bridgewater State College, in association with Colorado State, oversees the “United States Landfalling Hurricane Probability Project” and their website contains an interactive Landfall Probability display, with data that can be manipulated by state and county.

Virginia’s Department of Emergency Management publishes a Virginia Hurricane Guide, with information specific to the Hampton Roads area. I’ve always wondered about the criteria the state would use to reverse traffic on I-64 along the Hurricane Evacuation Route, and that information is found in this brochure, along with a map of evacuation routes, and a list of helpful contacts. While it seems to be directed toward the average citizen, it’s worth a look.

FBI releases Anthrax case documents

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

In case you missed the announcements (as if you could!), the FBI has released their evidence against Dr. Bruce Ivins, the government anthrax researcher who took his life last week. Dr. Ivins is suspected of perpetuating what amounts to the worst case of bioterrorism in U.S. history, killing 5 people and sickening 17 others, while essentially shutting down critical parts of the Postal System.

FBI officials lay out the case against Dr. Ivins

The FBI has an overview page, updated today, entitled “Anthrax Investigation: Closing a Chapter“. This page offers ‘press release’ type information, but it also includes a “By the Numbers” section, and links to a photo gallery of some of the tainted envelopes (and the process that it took to open suspected envelopes under safe conditions) and the actual court documents, from the Department of Justice.

Anthrax Investigation Links

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

After several years of little or no news, the “Amerithrax” Investigation (to use the FBI’s nomenclature) took a sudden, interesting turn this weekend. In the intervening years since the mail attacks, the government has been busy researching, investigating, and compiling information about anthrax, its effects, and how to prevent and cope with attacks. The following links will give you just a sampling of the resources available.

Gloved hands handling suspect mail

FBI Investigation – this site offers a fact sheet about the 2001 attacks, photographs and linguistic/behavioral analysis of the actual letters, and statements and press releases.

CDC’s Questions and Answers about Anthrax – clinical information, covering every aspect of the disease, from diagnosis to treatment to prevention.

AVIP (Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program) – a DoD site with information about the U.S. military vaccination program. As someone whose husband has been immunized by the Navy, I found the information here interesting, if a little scary. There are good links to medical journals and articles about anthrax, as well as non-DoD sites with further information.

CSIS - where I once interned, long, long ago, publishes The Washington Quarterly. Lest we think the attacks here in the U.S. are unique, this article examines an anthrax incident which took place in April and May 1979 in Sverdlovsk, in the former Soviet Union. The history of the incident, including “Lessons Learned” is a fascinating one. The Washington Quarterly article is not the only publication from this preeminent think tank; search “anthrax” on their website to see more.

CRS has published a number of reports which relate to the anthrax threat and investigation, including a regularly updated “Overview of the U.S. Public Health System in the Context of Bioterrorism, an annual report on “Innovation and Intellectual Property Issues in Homeland Security”, and “Anthrax-Contaminated Facilities: Preparations and a Standard for Remediation”, published in 2005. These reports are not available regularly, but the HSDL offers access to the ‘open’ content. University of Richmond students have access to these reports through IP access; i.e., you must be on-campus or using VPN to take advantage of our subscription. (Contact me if you are a University of Richmond student who needs assistance using this resource or setting up VPN.) Alternately, you may request a password for yourself as a student in an ESM/Disaster Sciences program; information can be found here (https://www.hsdl.org/?auth/login). The GAO also has many interesting reports, testimonials, etc. that are available by searching for “Anthrax” on HSDL, then limiting the results to GAO.

Minnesota Bridge Collapse Anniversary Post

Monday, August 4th, 2008

With the one-year anniversary of the Minnesota I-35W Bridge collapse last Friday, I was reminded of this collection of information about the incident. The University of Minnesota Libraries Government Publications office has collected both U. S. Federal and Minnesota state resources relating to the collapse, and listed them all together on this page: http://govpubs.lib.umn.edu/bridge.phtml. In addition to links to data sets such as Bridge Maps by Congressional District and the number of Steel Deck Truss Bridges by State, the collection includes links to further research sites such as the Minnesota Department of Transportation library, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

I35W Collapse - Day 4 - Operations & Scene (95).jpg