Infogram

January 29, 2004

NOTE: This INFOGRAM will be distributed weekly to provide members of the emergency management and response sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. It has been prepared by NATEK Incorporated for the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. For further information, contact the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) at (301) 447-1325 or by e-mail at emr-isac@dhs.gov.

HSAS Preparedness Guide

A new document that provides a comprehensive guide for all fire and emergency services is now available. Prepared by the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) to promote critical infrastructure protection, the Fire and Emergency Services Preparedness Guide for the Homeland Security Advisory System offers suggestions for activities that may be appropriate for the five Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) Levels.

Within this guide, the emergency response leadership will find recommended preparedness measures for each HSAS Threat Condition. Therefore, the contents of the document should assist the heads of the fire and emergency medical services with the development and implementation of appropriate department or agency-specific preparedness measures.

"The preparedness actions recommended are not all inclusive, nor do they reflect all the variations in local conditions, agencies, and operations," according to the U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison. "These guidelines do, however, provide a good place to start the development or enhancement of organizational plans. Agencies need to balance the cost versus benefit of various proposed measures to determine the most cost effective ones."

A complete copy of the guide can be seen and downloaded from the following link: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/subjects/emr-isac/cipc-jobaid.shtm.

U.S. Rail Systems Incident Preparedness

Although there have been no attacks within the United States since 9/11, intelligence specialists continue to suspect that terrorist organizations are dangerously interested in conducting assaults on American railways and subways. Their suspicions must be taken seriously because public rail transportation is highly accessible and difficult to protect against an attack. Unfortunately, terrorists know that rail systems play a vital role in urban public transportation as well as the freight movement of considerable economic resources. Furthermore, these adversaries understand that to assail these modes of transportation could cause substantial loss of life, would severely damage public confidence, and may result in massive economic loss.

Counterterrorism experts theorize that terrorists could use numerous possible attack scenarios including suicide bombers inside terminals, remotely operated trackside bombs, improvised explosive devices in passenger cars, etc. Any of these criminal techniques might also involve chemical, biological, or radiological (WMD) agents.

Considering these possibilities, prudence dictates that emergency first responders with railways and/or subways in their jurisdiction reexamine, revise, and exercise response plans for rail system incidents. When doing so, the EMR-ISAC suggests particular attention to the protection of department critical infrastructures before and during response operations in addition to the well-known WMD lessons for emergency responders briefly summarized as follows:

Emergency Vehicles: Tools for Terrorism?

The EMR-ISAC continues to learn about emergency vehicles that are occasionally reported as stolen or missing throughout the nation. Although this is not an indication of a major problem among American first response departments, it is still a matter for deliberation and correction. Security and infrastructure protection specialists fear that terrorists may use stolen or copycat emergency vehicles to deceive force protection measures and easily transport explosive ordnance to their targets without delay or discovery.

Counterterrorism experts believe that it is no longer sufficient to simply lock the parking lots, stations, and garages where emergency vehicles are parked, stored, and repaired. They maintain that it is now necessary to be actively observant for emergency vehicles that may have been stolen, rented, or purchased by our adversaries intent on deception to exploit vulnerabilities, destroy critical infrastructures, and seriously harm large numbers of people.

To prevent the unauthorized or illegal use of actual emergency vehicles, the EMR-ISAC encourages chief officers to review, improve, and enforce their department SOPs pertaining to the employment and security of department vehicles. Accepting that there must be reasonable exceptions, such as at the immediate scene of an incident, department leaders should expect that all agency vehicles will be locked properly wherever and whenever unattended.

National Cyber Alert System

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled the National Cyber Alert System (NCAS) on 28 January. The system will deliver timely and actionable information to computer users and technicians to help them better secure their computer systems. NCAS represents an ambitious effort by DHS to develop a trusted warning system that can assist home, business, and government users.

As part of this program, DHS is making available a series of electronic mail (e-mail) products to provide rapid information on computer security vulnerabilities, potential impact, and action required to mitigate threats, as well as computer "best practices" and "how to" guidance. Anyone who signs up with the NCAS will receive e-mail messages about major virus outbreaks and other Internet attacks as they occur, along with detailed instructions to help computer users protect themselves. All information products are available on a free subscription basis and are delivered by push e-mail. To learn more about this opportunity visit: http://www.us-cert.gov.

The EMR-ISAC opines that this service will have value for organizations of the emergency management and response sector. It should assist emergency responders with the long-term protection of the electronic component of their communication systems, which is a key part of their department critical infrastructures.

FAIR USE NOTICE

This INFOGRAM may contain copyrighted material that was not specifically authorized by the copyright owner. EMR-ISAC personnel believe this constitutes "fair use" of copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material contained within this document for your own purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Reporting Notice

DHS and the FBI encourage recipients of this document to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to DHS and/or the FBI. The DHS National Operation Center (NOC) can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9685 or by e-mail at NOC.Fusion@dhs.gov.

The FBI regional phone numbers can be found online at www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

For information affecting the private sector and critical infrastructure, contact the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC), a sub-element of the NOC. The NICC can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9201 or by e-mail at NICC@dhs.gov.

When available, each report submitted should include the date, time, location, type of activity, number of people and type of equipment used for the activity, the name of the submitting company or organization, and a designated point of contact.

RSS FeedWeekly INFOGRAM's are now available as an RSS Feed. More Information »