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December 2009 |
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Your Bi-monthly Homeland Security News Source |
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Upcoming Events
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3 Basic Steps to Thwart Most Cyberattacks, courtesy of NSA
By Ben Bain
 Computer systems with proper security and network controls should be able to withstand about 80 percent of known cyberattacks, according to a senior National Security Agency official.
There are common steps that people could take to bolster computer security and make it more difficult for would-be-hackers to gain access, Richard Schaeffer Jr., the NSA's information assurance director, told the Senate Judiciary Committee's Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee today. He identified three measures in particular as being especially effective.
Schaeffer's big three
National Security Agency information assurance director Richard Schaeffer says these three basic steps will enable your agency to withstand 80 percent of known cyberattacks:
1 - Implementing best security practices
2 - Proper network configurations
3 - Strong network monitoring Read on... |
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Neo-Nazi Group Coming Back to Idaho
It's been 8 years since the Aryan Nation compound in North Idaho was demolished.
But people who live in the Hayden Lake area say they're seeing more and more evidence of the Aryan Nation on the rebound.
People say they're getting harassed and white supremacy literature is being passed around.
The Neo-Nazi group says they're not bringing violence to the community rather pride in their race. But civil rights activists think differently.
A few years ago it almost looked like a battlefield.
When the Aryan Nations marched down the streets of downtown Coeur d'Alene and spreading their message of white supremacy.
That message sometimes became violent.
Now, they're making a comeback.
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Military to review air defenses put in place after 9/11
By Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt
The commander of military forces protecting North America has ordered a review of the costly air defenses intended to prevent another Sept. 11-style terrorism attack, an assessment aimed at determining whether the commitment of jet fighters, other aircraft and crews remains justified. 
Senior officers involved in the effort say the assessment is to gauge the likelihood that terrorists may succeed in hijacking an airliner or flying their own smaller craft into the United States or Canada. The study is focused on circumstances in which the attack would be aimed not at a public building or landmark but instead at a power plant or a critical link in the nation's financial network, such as a major electrical grid or a computer network hub.
The review, to be completed next spring, is expected to be the military's most thorough reassessment of the threat of a terrorism attack by air since al-Qaida's strikes on Sept. 11, 2001, transformed a Defense Department focused on fighting other militaries and led to the Bush administration's "global war on terror."
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Analyze your Security Risk and Critical Infrastructure with Two New and Timely Books from CRC Press, A Leading Publisher in Counterterrorism and Homeland Security
15% OFF THE LIST PRICE!
Keeping pace with changes in laws and policies made by the Department of Homeland Security, this new edition continues to provide an invaluable resource for emergency managers and disaster response professionals as well as public safety officials and those involved with maintaining infrastructure. It adds information to reflect the development of the Incident Command System (ICS) and the total revision of National Response Plan (NRP), which were implemented this year. The book expands sections on the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Homeland Security Presidential Directives and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisitions Systems (SCADA) security initiatives.
Cat. #: AU9527 ISBN: 9781420095272 Pub Date: December 2009 Pages: 318
List Price: $99.95 Discounted Price: $84.96
by Thomas L. Norman
A comprehensive resource devoted to the risk analysis process, this is the first book to evaluate all DHS-approved risk assessment methods. The text moves readers from basic principles to complex processes in a step-by-step fashion augmented by numerous case illustrations. By fully explaining the five principles of the core risk analysis lifecycle-determining assets, threats, vulnerabilities, risks, and countermeasures, the author makes the process fully comprehendible. This text includes a completely adaptable graphic risk analysis tool that is simple to use and can be applied to any situation, including virtually all public or private industries as well as key critical infrastructures.
Cat. #: AU7870 ISBN: 9781420078701 Pub Date: December 2009 Pages: 232
List Price: $59.95 Discounted Price: $50.96
Apply Discount Code 628MA at Checkout to Receive 15% Off the List Price!
Secure your Copies Today! |
Unique opportunity for SWAT team members who want to learn
how to conduct Counter Terrorism Operations
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For more information on hosting an SSI SWAT CTU OPS Course for your agency, please contact Sol Bradman at (305) 302-2790.
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Hackers steal electronic data from top climate research center By Juliet Eilperin
Hackers broke into the electronic files of one of the world's foremost climate research centers this week and posted an array of e-mails in which prominent scientists engaged in a blunt discussion of global warming research and disparaged climate-change skeptics.
The skeptics have seized upon e-mails stolen from the Climatic Research Unit of the University of  East Anglia in Britain as evidence that scientific data have been rigged to make it appear as if humans are causing global warming. The researchers, however, say the e-mails have been taken out of context and merely reflect an honest exchange of ideas.
University officials confirmed the data breach, which involves more than 1,000 e-mails and 3,000 documents, but said they could not say how many of the stolen items were authentic.
"We are aware that information from a server in one area of the university has been made available on public websites," the statement says. "We are extremely concerned that personal information about individuals may have been compromised. Because of the volume of this information we cannot currently confirm what proportion of this material is genuine."
Michael E. Mann, who directs the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, said in a telephone interview from Paris that skeptics are "taking these words totally out of context to make something trivial appear nefarious."
In one e-mail from 1999, the center's director, Phil Jones, alludes to one of Mann's articles in the journal Nature and writes, "I've just completed Mike's Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (i.e., from 1981 onwards) and from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline."
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Marine Special Operations 2009 - December 8th-11th
Tactical handcuffing - High Risk Boarding's - Exotic Weapons Identification - Marine Medical Equipment - Counter Terrorism Training
Only a few slots remaining!
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Shortage Slows a Program to Detect Nuclear Bombs
The Department of Homeland Security has spent $230 million to develop better technology for detecting smuggled nuclear bombs but has had to stop deploying the new machines because the United States has run out of a crucial raw material, experts say.
The ingredient is helium 3, an unusual form of the element that is formed when tritium, an ingredient of  hydrogen bombs, decays. But the government mostly stopped making tritium in 1989.
"I have not heard any explanation of why this was not entirely foreseeable," said Representative Brad Miller, Democrat of North Carolina, who is the chairman of a House subcommittee that is investigating the problem.
An official from the Homeland Security Department testified last week before Mr. Miller's panel, the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Science Committee, that demand for helium 3 appeared to be 10 times the supply.
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Inspection Robot Cracks the Code by Ellie Zolfagharifard
Ageing nuclear reactors could be made safer with a non-destructive-testing inspection robot that better detects structural damage.
This is the hope of a European consortium that is working on NozzleInspect, a £1.3m project to provide a better method for detecting cracks in the nozzle welds of a nuclear plant. 
At the moment, cracks in the component are detected using ultrasonic scanners that carry a number of different probes. These probes have to be calibrated separately by an operator who is at risk of being exposed to radiation during installation. Providing one half of the UK contribution to the project, The Welding Institute (TWI) will be designing a single phased-array probe that, it claims, will be safer, cheaper and more accurate than existing systems by reducing calibration time.
Project leader Dimos Liaptsis said that the device could remove the need for human intervention in the future. He added, however, that, while the technology is already proven, several challenges remain in developing the system for nuclear inspection.
'One difficulty is that the curvature and weld profile of a nozzle is constantly changing,' said Liaptsis. 'We are currently working on altering the angles of the inspection in real time, depending on where in the nozzle we are.'
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NEW COURSE:
Middle Eastern Culture and Terrorist Strategies
 Upcoming: May 10-12, 2010
Hosted by MBTA (Quincy, MA)
In a fascinating, insightful and packed three-day program, you are taken through the formative phases of the Islamic religion and will understand the different branches of Islam, understand how these were formed and on what ideology they are based. You are taken through a journey up to the present time, to really understand how extremism is organized in Radical Islam. You will also get practical hands-on information on recognizing Suicide Bombers, planning and changing protocols to respond to acts of terror, the detection of terrorists through fake ID's and the basics of their tools such as IED and VBIED's.
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Next-gen biometric ID system helps combat terrorism by Barry Rosenberg
"From a Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems perspective, there have been several developments that have significantly impacted the performance of C4ISR capabilities and systems. We've made great strides in the use of biometric technology over the past  year. Improvements in DOD's repository of multimodal biometric data are enabling us to capture, retain and match facial images, palm prints and iris scans, in addition to fingerprints."
"The Next Generation Automated Biometric Identification System processing time is 1,400 percent faster than the previous system with increased accuracy and interoperability with Navy, FBI and other federal agency systems. NG ABIS is making the world safer for our soldiers as they ferret out suspected terrorists."
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DHS Wants First Responders to Speak in Plain English
by Matthew Harwood
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to persuade local first responders to use plain English at all times when communicating rather than relying on the common code system in use across the United States, reports the Ventura County Star of California.
Police across the country use "10-codes," a coding system where numbers translate into commonly-agreed upon phrases, such as "10-4," which commonly means "affirmative." The problem, according to the Star, is that the system is not universal, with certain numerical codes representing very different things to other agencies.
This led to so much widespread confusion during the 9-11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina that the federal government now requires all state and local agencies to talk in plain English during multi-agency responses if they want DHS grants.
DHS spokeswoman Sara Kuban told Security Management that sometimes dispatchers may have to tell first responders to switch from coded language to plain English when a situation calls for it. This is one of the reasons the emergency response community is pushing for plain-English communications in all situations.
"Ultimately, the way responders train and communicate daily will impact the way they will communicate in a mutual aid incident," Kuban said. "If emergency responders are trained to use plain English in all situations and incidents, we can alleviate the risk of delayed communication or miscommunication during a mutual aid incident."
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Counter Terror Expo, the leading global event for counter terrorism and specialist security solutions for the public and private sector.
300+ exhibitors, 85 leading international conference speakers and 90+ free to attend workshops.
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New Product from SSI: BlastSax®
Security Solutions International is proud to introduce BlastSax® TMD (Transportable Mitigation Device). The patent pending BlastSax® devices are engineered for the military, private industry and public safety to save lives in the field during wartime, training, industrial construction and homeland terrorist attacks. BlastSax® are extremely lightweight, portable and always ready to deploy in seconds.
When dry, each is less than 1 lb. They activate in less than three minutes with water and deploy to a 50 lbs blast absorbing cushion. BlastSax® can provide protection against incendiary devices and can stop a variety of firearm rounds.
In addition to suppressing shock waves from an explosion, BlastSax® can assist in containing the flash, smoke and most importantly the fragmentation or "frag". A unique feature that was engineered into BlastSax® is its capability to "capture" and "cool" hot frag pieces to assist in forensic analysis for a more complete reconstruction of the device.
BlastSax® can assist to:
- Reduce demand on resources
- Considerably reduce blasts
- Contain blast frag pieces and contaminants
- Save lives & protect property from blasts or flood water (see FloodSax®)
Learn More... |
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Military wins small battle in war against counterfeit chips
By Jon Stokes
The DOJ has announced a small victory in the government's long-running war to keep the country safe from... overclockers? Unfortunately, the practice of selling remarked or fake computer chips to the military will go on, because there's no good way to stop it.
The US Department of Justice announced today that a California man has pled guilty to trafficking  counterfeit computer chips to the US military. Neil Fehaly agreed to cooperate with the government as part of his plea deal, and he faces up to five years in prison for passing off bogus versions of chips from Intel, VIA, STMicro, Analog Devices, and other chipmakers to the Navy. These counterfeits, some of which were outright fakes from China, and others of which were "remarked" versions of cheap chips that had been made to look like more expensive parts, have gone into countless critical military systems since the scam started, possibly endangering the lives of military personnel and civilians.
So-called remarking scams, where a lower-speed part is cosmetically altered and then sold as a higher-speed part, have been the bane of Intel and other integrated circuit makers for decades. Indeed, remarkers are indirectly responsible for some of the very early successes of sites like Tom's Hardware and Ars Technica. The clock-locking mechanisms the PC hardware scene fought for years weren't put in place to stop enthusiasts from wringing a few extra MHz out of a processor-they were used by Intel to stop remarkers who were scamming customers with secretly overclocked chips and costing chipmakers money in customer support calls and returns.
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Confessions of a White jihadist
Printed from the Times of India
He was a Jew who converted to Islam while in college. He went from "holding liberal ideas about Islam to conservatism to militancy". He worked for the head of a Wahabi organisation that the US  government has since named a 'specially designated global terrorist entity' with alleged links to al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba, the perpetrators of 26/11. As the FBI and the Indian investigative agencies work overtime to trace David Coleman Headley's deadly terror trail in India, and as America seeks answers to the recent killing rampage by a US army major of Palestinian origin, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross writes for TOI-Crest on why he became a radical Islamist - as well as his journey back, post 9/11. Today, he is one of America's foremost authorities on counter-terrorism and works with the FBI in its investigation of terror organisations, particularly on home-grown extremism.
Jimi Hendrix's Eazy Riderreached its crescendo as I pulled into the driveway of the house I shared with my parents. So I held the cassette in both hands and squeezed until the plastic snapped. In that instant, the broken tape seemed like a symbol. I was turning my back on a life of not being serious about my faith... Over time, I came to believe that listening to music was a transgression that believers should avoid... And if God believes its wrong to pet a dog or shake hands with a woman, who am I to argue? If you have one view, and God has another, wouldn't you change your mind rather than expecting God to change His?
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
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