Stephen
I hope that everyone had a great and safe holiday season, and I'm
looking forward to working with all of you over the next year to make
this country just a little bit safer. Living in the DC Metro area
was quite an experience this month as we all got to experience the
preparations for the inauguration. Quite frankly, it was a
madhouse, but from all reports that I've heard, there were no serious
injuries or deaths as a result of the inauguration, so hats off to the
DC Emergency Managers and their counterparts at Fire, Police and Public
Health. We've got a really long newsletter for everyone this
month. Lots happening in the Safety, Security and Emergency
Preparedness fields. Check out the Infragard seminar coming
up. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: if you're not a
member of your local Infragard chapter, then you should be. Most
of them are free, and you have access to a veritable cornucopia of
Security Information. One last question for everyone before we
get to the meat: I'm thinking of starting a blog to bring you more up
to date information on happenings. If I start a blog, how many of
you would find it useful. Most of the information that I would
include would be what's in the Newsletter, but there would probably be
more of it and more timely. Let me know!
-Stephen
Stephen will be taking care of the editing until
we can find a new editor. If any of you are interested, please
contact him at: stephen.melvin@oursafetowns.com.
Al-Qaeda's Plague
Backfires: (NOTE: THIS IS FROM A BRITISH TABLOID. IT WAS INCLUDED
IN A MAILING LIST I RECEIVED FROM AN OFFICIAL SOURCE, BUT I HAVE NOT
VERIFIED ITS CREDIBILITY)
The Sun revealed yesterday that Black Death, also called the Plague,
killed at least 40 fanatics at a terror training camp in Algeria
earlier this month. It was thought they caught the disease
through poor living conditions in their forest hideouts. But Dr
Igor Khrupinov, of Georgia University, said: "Al-Qaeda is known to
experiment with biological weapons. And this group has direct
communication with other cells around the world. "Contagious
diseases, like ebola and anthrax, occur in northern Africa. It makes
sense that people are trying to use them against Western governments."
Black Death HAS been researched as a biological weapon before.
And al-Qaeda boss Osama bin Laden's fanatics were experimenting with
anthrax in Afghanistan in 2001. Last year it was revealed 100
suspected terrorists tried to become students in Britain, giving them
access to labs. In 2006 a plot to poison London's water was
unmasked. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2150050.ece
New Report Released Pushing Inherently Safer
Technology:
Orum, Paul. Chemical Security 101: What You Don't Have
Can't Leak, or Be Blown Up by Terrorists. Center for American
Progress, November 2008, 57 pages. Accessed at: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/11/pdf/chemical_security.pdf
From Executive Summary:
Most of the nation's 101 most dangerous chemical facilities could
become less attractive terrorist targets by converting to alternative
chemicals or processes. Doing so would improve the safety and security
of more than 80 million Americans living within range of a worst-case
toxic gas release from one of these facilities, according to data
compiled for this report. Millions more living near railroads and
highways used for transporting hazardous chemicals would also be safer
and more secure...
New Best Practice - Read
All About It: Galveston Newspaper Never Misses a Beat
Galveston, TX - The Galveston County Daily News has written countless
stories about the challenges and heroes of Hurricane Ike (2008). But
there is one story they have refused to write: Their own. During the
worst of Ike, they didn’t miss an edition. Read
more...
DHS Announces Voluntary
Private Sector Preparedness Program (PS-Prep)
The Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and
Certification Program is mandated by the Implementing Recommendations
of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to establish a common set of
criteria for private sector preparedness, including disaster
management, emergency management, and business continuity
programs. The goal of this voluntary program is to enhance
nationwide resilience in an all hazards environment by improving
private sector preparedness. Participation in the program will be
voluntary and intended to be driven by the marketplace.
For more information, click here.
Recent
Events
California's South
Beach CAER group hosted a joint CAER meeting on Jan 28th with Special
Guest Speaker, John Bresland, who is the President of the Chemical
Safety Board. For more information, contact Robert Kamm at: robert.kamm@lausd.net.
The Statewide LEPC meeting with Regions I&VI, took place on January
29, 2008 in conjunction with the California Certified Unified Program
Agency Conference. For more information, please contact LEPC I
chair Steve Tsumura at: stsumura@elsegundo.org
or LEPC VI chair Nick Vent at: Nick.Vent@sdcounty.ca.gov.
From Gary
Sturdivan at ERNIE (1/7/9):
Hello All:
I wanted to let all of the ERNIE members know that we have a new signed
member. Please welcome Eastern Municipal Water District to the ERNIE
group! I received the signed agreement today. The contract and contact
in formation will be posted shortly.
Gary Sturdivan
Upcoming
Events
Feb. 5, 12,
19, 26: HAM Radio License Course
HAM Radio License Course
February 5, 12, 19, 26 2009
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Perris Senior Center, 100 N. D Street, Perris.
You do not have to attend all sessions as you may study on your own if
you wish.
You must attend the orientation on Feb. 5, 2009 to register and pay
your
fees: $20 for the manual, $15 for the exam.
You must also attend the last session, Feb. 26, 2009 to take the exam.
The other sessions are being held to assist you with the material and
are
not mandatory.
Please RSVP as soon as you can if you would like to attend so that we
will be sure to have enough Manuals on hand. To RSVP, you may email Bob
Turner at bturner@perris.k12.ca.us or call him at the Perris
School District Office: 951-657-3118.
Feb 27:
Corporate Security Workshop
Infragard Members are
invited to the Corporate Security Workshop sponsored by the InfraGard
San Diego Members Alliance. The details are as follows:
What: InfraGard San Diego Members Alliance Security Officer Workshop
When: Friday, February 27, 2009
Where: FBI Annex Building
9737 Aero Drive
San Diego, CA 92123
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Agenda:
- Get an Update on
Cyber Crime from experts at the FBI
- Hear from local
experts during the Cyber Security Panel Discussion and Q&A
- Lunch
- Raise your
awareness of issues critical to your response plan by participating in
the Cyber Security Incident Exercise and After Exercise Review:This
training exercise will prove to be an interesting and useful event
focused on cyber crime issues relevant to San Diego.
Please note attendance at referenced
Corporate Security Workshop is limited to InfraGard members only.
We will be collecting $5 per person the day of the event to help defray
costs of refreshments. If you have additional questions, please
feel free to contact InfraGard Coordinator Erika Foxworth at (858)
499-7926 or Erika.Foxworth@ic.fbi.gov; or InfraGard Operations
Specialist Marygrace Siller at (858) 499-7875 or
marygrace.siller@infragard.org.
May 13-15:
May 13-15, 2009: 2009 CFEDWest Conference & Expo
The 2009 CFEDWest Conference & Expo is California's largest
domicile response event. Developed by California's response base -- for
California's response community—the 2009 event features five great
educational tracks with the following areas of focus: FIREFIGHTING,
EMS, DISASTER RESPONSE & PUBLIC HEALTH, EMERGENCY NURSING, and
HOMELAND SECURITY via the co-location of the California Homeland
Security Response Conference. We also offer POST, EMS and BRN
educational credit
The California Homeland Security Response Conference and the CFEDWest
Conference & Expo will be held May 13-15, 2009, in Palm Springs,
CA. Come join 2,000 of your peers in this can't miss event!
The 2009 CFEDWest Conference & Expo qualifies for reimbursement
from State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP), Urban Area Security
Initiative (UASI), Metropolitan Medical Response Systems (MMRS), and
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP).
More info is available here: http://www.cfedwest.com/
As mentioned in the introduction, we
are interested in possibly starting a blog so that we can make this a
multi-way conversation with you. Please let us know what you
think!
If you are
interested in working with us directly to make your community,
business, or agency safer, please contact us at: info@oursafetowns.com.
See you next month!
Resource: Emergency
Management Institute (EMI) Training Opportunities
Vacancies exist for FY2009 courses at the Emergency Management
Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland. For more information, please
go to: http://training.fema.gov/emicourses or contact the Admissions
Office at (301) 447-1035 or via email at netc-admissions@dhs.gov
. Send completed applications to your State Training Officer for
approval. The State will then forward them to
Admissions.
Applications for course vacancies must be received at least 6 weeks
before the course start date for the applicant to be considered for the
course. Vacancies within 6 weeks of the course start date shall
only be filled from the established waitlist (if one exists), so it's
important to apply early!
If interested, apply immediately!
For more information, visit FEMA's EMI web page at: http://training.fema.gov/EMICourses/
IAEM Bulletin Call for
Articles: "Research to Practice" <>
From the FEMA Higher Education Report: "Received a request from IAEM
Bulletin Editor, Karen Thompson, to post the following note:
The IAEM Editorial Work Group is looking for articles for the next
special focus issue of the IAEM Bulletin on "Research to Practice."
This issue will focus on innovation and new ideas that are put into
practice. We especially want to hear from practitioners who have put
research into practice, not just researchers who have great ideas.
Also, how have you taken a lesson learned from some event and applied
it to a different situation, circumstance, event or organization?
Please keep your articles under 750 words, and e-mail articles to
Bulletin Editor Karen Thompson at thompson@iaem.com no later than April
10, 2009. Please read the author's guidelines on our Web site before
submitting your article. Remember, the IAEM Bulletin is published
monthly, and we always welcome articles of general interest to our
readers. "
Continuity
Forum News, January 23, 2009
Also from the FEMA
Higher Education Report: Serrano,
Alex. "Exploring the Link Between Organisational Resilience and
Crisis Management." Continuity Forum News, January 23,
2009. Accessed at: http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0636.html
Excerpts:
....These days, organisational survival is counted in minutes and days,
not weeks and months. Companies that cannot restore material services
in short order risk losing substantial market share and possibly face
losing their license to operate, incurring hefty fines and claims for
compensation. Organisations that suffer disasters resulting in injuries
to their staff face severe public opprobrium if they fail to manage
human needs effectively.
Corporate threats are increasing. Between 1994 and 2003, 50 percent of
the largest global companies suffered declines in share price value of
more than 20 percent in a single one-month period. Up to half of this
group took two years or more to recover to the share price level before
the drop occurred. A disproportionate number of these value loss events
occurred around 'low-frequency, high-impact' events such as September
11.(Ref: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 'Disarming the Value Killers',
2005)
That is why the term 'resilience' is coming into prominence within the
management boards of public and private enterprises alike all across
Australia. The country's corporate and community leaders increasingly
understand the relevance of a concept that encompasses both the
technological and systemic, as well as the human and cultural factors,
that help organisations and communities thrive in an era of
uncertainty, ever-increasing change, competitive pressures, and
exogenous threats.....
Risk-intelligent executives place as much emphasis on identifying and
mitigating significant corporate risks through a continual process of
risk assessment, risk transfer and mitigation before an event occurs,
as on plans that help them restore critical activities afterwards...
State of the
State Speeches
Most governors unveil
their priorities in “state of the state addresses” or budget speeches
presented to the legislatures early in the year. Below is a list of
this year's speeches and links to those that have occurred. To
read the text or a summary of each state's speech, go here.
Free HazMat
Training Games
HazMat Solutions,
Inc. has developed some training games for agencies that have had to
tighten their training budgets. We have not evaluated these
games, but feel free to try them out and see if they will work for your
agency.
2009 Placard Matching Game
http://www.hazmatsolutions.net/FreeTrainingGames/HazMatchGame.htm
2008 ERG Video & Movie
http://www.hazmatsolutions.net/FreeTrainingGames/2008ERGVideoandQuiz.htm
HazMat Challenge Refresher Quiz
http://www.hazmatsolutions.net/FreeTrainingGames/HazMatChallenge.htm
For more information, contact:
Dean H. Blauser, MS, CHMM
HazMat Specialist
HazMat Solutions, Inc.
(616) 850-9036
<>
Sorting
Diamonds from Toothbrushes: New Guide to Protecting Personal
Information (from NIST)
Thefts of personally identifiable information (PII), such as social
security and credit card account numbers, are increasing dramatically.
Adding to the difficulty of fighting this problem, organizations often
disagree on what PII is, and how to protect it. Now, in a
first-of-its-kind publication, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) has issued a draft guide on protecting PII from
unauthorized use and disclosure.
“You can’t protect PII unless you can identify it,” says NIST’s Erika
McCallister, a co-author of the new work. The new NIST publication
provides practical guidelines for implementing a basic definition of
PII established by the government’s Office and Management and Budget
(OMB) in a 2007 memo: “information which can be used to distinguish or
trace an individual’s identity”* either all by itself—such as
fingerprints, which are unique—or in combination with other
information, such as date of birth, which can belong to multiple people
but can be narrowed down to an individual in connection with other data.
Echoing former national security advisor McGeorge Bundy, who once
stated, “If we guard our toothbrushes and diamonds with equal zeal, we
will lose fewer toothbrushes and more diamonds,” McCallister and her
co-authors observe that, “All PII is not created equal.” A telephone
area code holds less specific information about an individual than a
social security number, so “you don’t need to protect things the same
way,” McCallister says.
The NIST team recommends tailoring safeguards to the level of risk
involved in holding personal information. PII should be graded by “PII
confidentiality impact level,” the degree of potential harm that could
result from the PII if it is inappropriately revealed. For example, an
organization might require appropriate training for all individuals who
are granted access to PII, with special emphasis on moderate- and
high-impact PII, and might restrict access to high-impact PII from
mobile devices, such as laptops and cellphones, which are generally at
greater risk of compromise than non-portable devices, such as desktop
computers at the organization’s headquarters.
The publication also recommends basic actions that organizations should
take: identify all the PII they maintain, minimize the amount of PII
they collect to what is strictly necessary to accomplish their mission,
and develop incident response plans to handle breaches of PII. Such
plans would include elements such as determining when and how
individuals should be notified, and whether to provide remedial
services, such as credit monitoring, to affected individuals.
The publication is intended primarily for U.S. federal government
agencies, which must implement certain requirements on handling and
protecting PII, but is intended to be useful to other organizations.
The publication, known as Special Publication (SP) 800-122, “Guide to
Protecting the Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information
(PII),” is available at the NIST Computer Security Resource Center's
draft publication Web page: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsDrafts.html#800-122.
* OMB M-07-16, “Safeguarding Against and Responding to the Breach of
Personally Identifiable Information,” http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2007/m07-16.pdf
Media Contact: Ben Stein, bstein@nist.gov, (301) 975-3097
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