Infogram

July 8, 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.

Making CIP Affordable

The National League of Cities Task Force on State and Local Homeland Security Funding, composed of governors, county and city officials, and tribal leaders, was created to address concerns raised by cash-strapped local governments. Among other things, the task force concluded that many states and cities lack the purchasing power to obtain needed goods and services to implement critical infrastructure protection (CIP) and related homeland security initiatives.

For numerous state and local governments throughout the United States, prevailing conditions and scarce resources have made preparedness and CIP spending extremely difficult if not impossible. This is why it is important to ensure that emergency managers and first responders recommend the protection of only those infrastructures (i.e., personnel, physical assets, and communication/cyber systems) that are absolutely essential for survivability, continuity of operations, and mission success.

If uncertain about how to protect threatened and vulnerable critical infrastructures with severely limited resources, the EMR-ISAC proposes that communities and their emergency department chief officers consider applying the CIP Process for a time-efficient and resource-restrained (i.e., more affordable) methodology:

Identify the critical infrastructures that are credibly threatened by all hazards.
Determine the vulnerabilities of those critical infrastructures that are credibly threatened.
Assess the risks of degradation or incapacitation of those critical infrastructures that are credibly threatened and vulnerable.
Apply protective measures for those critical infrastructures where risk is unacceptable.

Refer to the brief, easy reading CIP Job Aid for assistance with the CIP Process. This word document (81KB) intends to help leaders decide what really needs protection from natural and man-made threats or disasters. Additionally, it should assist in eliminating potentially misguided or wasteful spending. The document can be downloaded using the following link: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/doc/cipc-jobaid.doc.

Cyber Threat to Emergency Services

The 2004 Electronic Crime Watch Survey sponsored-in part-by the Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division substantiated a significant increase in electronic crimes, and network, system, or data intrusions within American organizations. Both insiders and outsiders equally committed sabotage or extortion at companies responding to the survey. Nevertheless, federal computer security experts affirm that too many computer/cyber systems throughout the country remain vulnerable to attack by malicious domestic and foreign individuals. They expressed particular concern for computer software in emergency dispatch, emergency call (9-1-1) centers, and the emergency operations centers serving the first responders of the nation.

Computer specialists point to worms, viruses, spyware, and denial of service attacks as the typical methods of choice by cyber criminals and terrorists. They teach that defending against these computer/cyber attack methods usually includes better safeguards: encryption, physical isolation of sensitive systems, firewalls, antivirus programs, etc. Considering the assertion that terrorist groups will increasing utilize computer/cyber attacks to complement their violent actions, the EMR-ISAC reminds emergency departments and centers of the following basics to reduce or eliminate the destructive effects of cyberterrorism:

Use strong passwords that are exceptionally difficult to decipher.
Make regular backups of critical data.
Frequently update virus protection software.
Utilize an excellent firewall as a gatekeeper between the computer and Internet.
Do not keep the computer online when not in use.
Do not open e-mail attachments from unknown sources.
Regularly download security patches from software vendors.

Enhancing Wildfire Preparedness

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced on 7 July a new "2004 Wildland Update" webpage to help firefighters and community leaders locate important and up-to-date wildland fire information. This new webpage, at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fire-service/wildfire/update_2004.shtm, features a collection of links to critical wildland websites, as well as weather predictions, current aviation strategy, community programs, and a daily "Six Minute Safety Briefing."

"This nation still has a majority of the 2004 wildland fire season ahead so it's extremely important that firefighters and residents be able to access the most current information available," said Michael Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response. The U.S. Fire Administration component of FEMA has built upon and organized the work of other federal, state, and local agencies into one source of information of great value to all firefighters. This website also includes links to the National Fire Plan, FIREWISE, and the handbook on "Preparing a Community Wildfire Plan".

Lessons Learned and Best Practices

Exclusive to first responders and homeland security officials, a relatively new website contains the national network array of lessons learned and best practices for disaster preparedness and responses based on real incidents: https://www.llis.gov. This website (LLIS.gov) houses an extensive catalog of after-action reports from exercises and actual incidents in addition to an updated list of homeland security exercises, events, and conferences.

The website's secure information facilitates efforts to prevent and respond to acts of terrorism across all disciplines and communities throughout the nation. All LLIS.gov users are verified emergency responders and security personnel at the local, state, and national levels. LLIS.gov uses strong encryption and active site monitoring to protect all information housed on the system. Furthermore, each lesson learned and best practice is peer-validated.

The directory of responders and homeland security officials gives users access to contact information for other authorized users. LLIS.gov also includes secure e-mail and message boards to exchange information in real-time. Users are encouraged to provide feedback about LLIS.gov content through message boards, surveys, and by submitting their ideas and feedback. Users can also submit potential lessons learned, best practices, good stories, upcoming events, and after-action reports for inclusion in the system.

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.

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