International News

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Sinai Blasts Target Peacekeepers and Police (Lebanon Daily Star) “Two men blew themselves up in Egypt’s north Sinai Wednesday in what appeared to be abortive attacks by a shadowy militant group on a multinational peace force and on the Egyptian police,” reports the Daily Star. “… Cabinet spokesman Magdy Rady said he thought Wednesday’s incidents could be linked to bombings which killed 18 people in the budget resort of Dahab Monday—the third attack in two years on Sinai resorts frequented by foreign tourists.… The state news agency MENA quoted security sources as saying all the attacks were related … ‘the perpetrators of the Dahab bombings were from the fugitive remnants of the Sharm al-Sheikh bombings (in July 2005),’ the agency said.… The government accuses a group called Tawhid wal Jihad (Unification and Holy War) of carrying out the Sharm al-Sheikh attacks and multiple bombings further up the coast that left 34 people dead in October 2004.” [View article]

Iran Warns U.S. of Reprisals if Attacked (Washington Post) “Escalating the threats between Washington and Tehran, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Wednesday that his country would strike U.S. targets around the world in the event it is attacked over its refusals to curb its nuclear program,” reports the Washington Post. [View article]

In Uniform, With Official ID, ‘Madrinas’ Help Move Drugs (Washington Times) “Hundreds of Mexican nationals who wear government-issued uniforms, carry official identification cards and are authorized to use weapons are helping smugglers move tons of drugs into the United States, U.S. law-enforcement officials say,” according to the Washington Times. “Known as ‘madrinas,’ from the Spanish word for ‘godmothers,’ they negotiate bribes for corrupt Mexican government officials from drug cartels and are suspected in numerous confirmed incursions into the U.S. by heavily armed men escorting smugglers of cocaine, marijuana and heroin.” Officials “suspect [that madrinas] are playing a role in rising violence along the U.S.-Mexico border … Rafael Laveaga, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, has vigorously denied that Mexican military personnel have been involved.” [View article]

Canada Guards Against Terrorist Attacks on Oil Platforms (London [Ontario] Free Press) “The Canadian military is working to prevent possible terrorist attacks against giant oil and gas platforms drilling off the East Coast,” reports the London Free Press. “Various government agencies are trying to come up with defence strategies against possible scenarios that could leave the numerous rigs vulnerable to threats.… Ottawa has made preparing for such occurrences a top priority, despite the fact there are no perceived threats.” [View article]

Russia Stages Antiterror Drills (Yahoo! News) “Russia on Monday launched one of the largest anti-terrorism drills in recent years in its troubled south, involving 32,000 personnel from the police, intelligence and military branches of the security forces, media reports said,” according to the Associated Press. “The exercises began in the Rostov region with a simulated terror attack by militants on a population center.… The NTV channel said that the drill aimed to test the ability of police, Federal Security Service and Defense Ministry units to coordinate their actions during special operations.… after Rostov, the exercises would move to Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkariya in the next few days. China, which faces a Muslim separatist movement in its western Xinjiang region, sent a delegation to observe the exercises.” [View article]

Philippines Foils Abu Sayyaf Bomb Attack (Manila [Philippines] Times) The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said yesterday “that it foiled an Abu Sayyaf terror attack on several crowded places” planned for 1 May, reports the Manila Times. “… operatives confiscated high-powered improvised bombs, grenades, blasting caps and other materials in a bungalow in Marikina City, which they said, was rented by ranking al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels.” [View article]

Philippine National Police Chief Calls for Regional Alliance (Manila [Philippines] Times) “Director General Arturo Lomibao, Philippine National Police chief, on Wednesday called for closer regional and international cooperation to address terrorism and other transnational crimes,” reports the Manila Times. Lomibao addressed the “26 participants [in] the 2006 Symposium on East Asia Security … The annual symposium, which runs for three weeks and is sponsored by the United States Pacific Command, is an intensive program for security and defense officials from the Asia-Pacific region seeking to identify emerging issues in regional security, explore areas of future cooperation among nations of the region, and offer participants the opportunity to share perspectives on security issues of importance to their countries.” [View article]

On Tape, bin Laden Warns of Long War (Washington Post) “Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urged his followers to prepare for a drawn-out conflict with the Western world in a new audiotape broadcast” on the al-Jazeera network on 23 April “blaming what he called ‘a Crusader-Zionist war’ for a long list of attacks on Islam in places from Darfur to Denmark,” reports the Washington Post. “… He urged Muslims to go to the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan to fight international peacekeepers, saying their real mission was ‘to occupy the region and steal its oil under the cover of maintaining security there,’ according to a translation of the audiotape by the” British Broadcasting Corporation. [View article]

Zarqawi Appears in Rare Video (Washington Post) “Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, showed his face in a video for the first time yesterday, accusing President Bush of lying to Americans about U.S. military victories in Iraq and vowing to destroy efforts to form a new government there,” reports the Washington Post. U.S. intelligence officials said that the video was genuine. [View article] [View Focus on al-Zarqawi]

Britain Culls Chickens With Different Strain of Bird Flu (BBC) “Some 35,000 chickens at a poultry farm in Norfolk are to be slaughtered after dead birds tested positive for a strain of bird flu,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “… The government’s chief vet said it was likely to be the H7 strain, virulent among chickens but less of a threat to humans than the H5N1 variant.” [View article]

Africa ‘Not Prepared’ for Bird Flu (Johannesburg, South Africa, Mail & Guardian) “Africa needs the capacity and donor aid to react swiftly to deal with a potentially large-scale outbreak of bird flu, a conference of experts from 19 African countries heard on Monday,” reports the Mail & Guardian. “… Five African countries are grappling with outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu that have left four people dead in Egypt, the state worst hit on the continent.” [View article]

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National News

Tears and Reflection at 9/11 Film Premiere (London Guardian) “The first feature film to address the events of 9/11 opened in New York [Wednesday], leaving some audience members sobbing and the rest in shocked silence,” reports the Guardian. United 93 “opened the Tribeca Film Festival,” and in attendance were “about 90 people who lost family members when a United Airlines plane crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 33 passengers and seven crew members, as well as the four hijackers.… ‘This movie tells the story with so much dignity,’ said Gordon Felt, who lost his brother Ed.… The film is a documentary-style re-creation” of the events. [View article]

Port Workers Will Get Background Checks (Washington Post) An estimated 400,000 “seaport workers will undergo background checks for links to terrorism and to ensure they are legal U.S. residents,” reports the Associated Press. Names of those “who work in the most sensitive areas of ports will be matched against government terror watch lists and immigration databases … They will be among roughly 750,000 workers … who have unrestricted access to ports and will be required to carry tamper-resistant identification cards by next year.” [View article]

Pentagon Plans for Fighting Terror Beyond War Zones (Washington Post) “Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has approved the military’s most ambitious plan yet to fight terrorism around the world and retaliate more rapidly and decisively in the case of another major terrorist attack on the United States,” reports the Washington Post. “… The long-awaited campaign plan for the global war on terrorism, as well as two subordinate plans also approved within the past month by Rumsfeld, are considered the Pentagon’s highest priority, according to officials familiar with the three documents … the plans reflect a beefing up of the Pentagon’s involvement in domains traditionally handled by the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department,” and the Pentagon has “gained the leeway to inform—rather than gain the approval of—the U.S. ambassador before conducting military operations in a foreign country … The plans … cover a wide range of overt and clandestine military activities—such as man-hunting and intelligence gathering on terrorist networks; attacks on terrorist training camps and recruiting efforts; and partnering with foreign militaries to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries.” [View article]

U.S. Efforts Might Not Slow Pandemic Flu (Yahoo! News) “If pandemic influenza hits in the next year or so, the few weapons the United States has to keep it from spreading will do little, a new computer model shows,” according to the Associated Press. “A pandemic flu is likely to strike one in three people if nothing is done, according to the results of computer simulation published in Thursday’s journal Nature. If the government acts fast enough and has enough antiviral medicine to use as preventive dosings—which the United States does not—that could drop to about 28 percent of the population getting sick, the study found.” [View article]

Some Archives Files Were Wrongly Kept Secret (Washington Post) “The CIA and other agencies wrongly kept secret about a third of the records they pulled from public shelves at the National Archives during reclassification efforts that were far more extensive than previously disclosed,” reports the Washington Post. “… Auditors for the Archives who reviewed a representative sample of thousands of formerly public records found that 24 percent were pulled despite being ‘clearly inappropriate’ for reclassification, and another 12 percent were ‘questionable’ as candidates for reclassification.” [View article]

Feds Look to Ants, Wikis and Blogs for Information-Sharing Tips (Federal Computer Week) “The intelligence community can learn from the behavior of ant colonies to improve information sharing—and it can use wikis and blogs,” according to Calvin Andrus, chief technology officer at the CIA’s Center for Mission Innovation, reports Federal Computer Week. “The intelligence community must respond more quickly to maintain tactical and strategic advantage over adversaries, said” Andrus. And the “community must change quickly in ways that it cannot predict … That’s where ant colonies can play a role. Complexity theory states that complex, adaptive group behavior can be built by having individuals follow simple behaviors, Andrus said. In an ant colony, each ant knows a few rules—move dirt, carry a pupa, find food—and uses them to react in various situations, Andrus said. If too many ants are carrying pupae, others will go find food on their own without looking to the queen for direction or permission. In a similar way, Andrus said, ‘we need intelligence officers who just go do.’” And “wikis and blogs allow real-time analysis and reaction to intelligence information to occur as quickly as users can update information … The CIA already has more than 1,000 internal blogs and an internal wiki with about 10,000 pages.” [View article]

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Federal News

HHS Gets Access to Passenger Data (Government Health IT) The Health and Human Services Department “has quietly made an agreement with the Homeland Security Department to share personal information about airline passengers in an effort to deal with a potential pandemic,” reports Government Health IT. “… the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the deal’s existence, but CDC, HHS and DHS officials would not comment on its details.” The European Union “has strict requirements that protect personal information, including e-mail addresses, home addresses and phone numbers. CDC wants airlines to collect all of that data, store it for 60 days and pass it on to CDC within 12 hours of a request.” The secret arrangement “appears to violate” a data pact with the EU that permits use of such data “only to prevent and combat crimes such as terrorism.” The Air Transport Association of America estimates that the cost of complying with the requirement would reach $1 billion. [View article]

US-VISIT Chief Proposes Global ID System (Government Executive) Jim Williams, director of the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program, “on Tuesday called for the creation of a ‘global ID management system’ to make travel easier while enhancing security,” reports Government Executive. “… Williams said he wants to join forces with several DHS agencies to develop a global identification system that would cut wait times, reduce government fees for travelers, fight illegal immigration and, perhaps paramount, better defend nations from terrorists.” Williams “said a worldwide identification system will better link nations in the fight against terrorism.” But “he did not specify when, or how, the proposed global program would be implemented.” [View article] [View Focus on US-VISIT]

DHS Plans Privacy Safeguards for PASS Card (Government Computer News) “The Homeland Security Department may use a reference number rather than personal identifying information on a new border-crossing card as a method to help protect privacy,” reports Government Computer News. “… The card is likely to have an … ultrahigh-frequency chip capable of being read at about 50 feet.” [View article]

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State and Local News

States not Prepared for ’06 Hurricanes (Government Computer News) “Eight hurricane-prone states still lack interoperable communications in the face of the 2006 storm season, according to a new report from the First Response Coalition,” reports Government Computer News. The Imminent Storm 2006: Vulnerable Emergency Communications in Eight Hurricane Prone States “examined interoperability efforts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.” The coalition “found a disparity among the eight states’ interoperability plans” and made “five recommendations to speed interoperable communications implementation.” [View article] [View report]

Jury Convicts California Man in Terror Case (Yahoo! News) A federal jury on Tuesday convicted Hamid Hayat, 23, a seasonal farm worker, of supporting terrorists by attending an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan three years ago, reports the Associated Press. Hayat “was convicted of one count of providing material support to terrorists and three counts of lying to the FBI.” Hours earlier, a case against his father, charged with lying to the FBI, ended in a mistrial. [View article]

Terror Case May Offer Clues Into Police Use of Informants (New York Times) “The trial of a Pakistani immigrant,” Shahawar Matin Siraj, “on charges that he plotted to bomb the Herald Square subway station in 2004 is likely to provide the most detailed picture to date of how the New York Police Department uses informants in and around the city’s mosques,” reports the New York Times. The trial, which began Monday, “is the first involving the department’s Intelligence Division since a judge granted the police expanded surveillance powers in 2003. It also marks the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks that a terrorism investigation was largely conducted by the Intelligence Division and prosecuted in federal court. The central witness will be a paid police informant who knew Mr. Siraj from a Brooklyn mosque and the nearby Islamic bookstore where he worked. Lawyers for Mr. Siraj, 23, have said they will seek to prove that he was entrapped.” [View article]

Hole in Pipe at Nuclear Plant ‘Not An Accident’ (News 6, Miramar, FL) “In early April, a small hole was found in a coolant pipe at Florida Power and Light’s Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant” in Florida City, reports News 6. “Dr. Nils Diaz, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said it is not a major safety issue but it causes worries about security issues.… ‘We take any, any attempt at a nuclear power plant, no matter how small, very seriously,’ Diaz said. Though not saying that that was why a small hole was purposely drilled in a coolant pipe … Diaz strongly hinted that that could be the case.” [View article]

Atlanta Airport Hosts Mock Disaster (Clayton [GA] News Daily) A sick passenger “showing flu-like symptoms” on a plane set the scene “for the ‘Big Bird 2006’ safety drill at” Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on 20 April, reports the News Daily. The “exercise was intended to test a quarantine procedure that airport officials began to develop in 2002 when there was concern about the use of smallpox in a terrorist attack.… Along with the airport’s fire fighting unit, which is part of the City of Atlanta Fire Department, participating agencies included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, [and] the American Red Cross.” [View article]

Mumps Outbreak in Midwest Tests Pandemic Plans (Stateline) “State officials in the Midwest are using an outbreak of mumps to test emergency health plans,” reports Stateline. “The real-life exercise is critical for health officials, who have struggled to ready their systems for a possible flu pandemic in the near future. So far, more than 1,000 cases of mumps have been reported in eight Midwest states”—Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Oklahoma. “Midwest health officials said the mumps epidemic has pushed them to rehearse outbreak scenarios, monitor airline flights and streamline communications.” [View article]

Michigan Readies for Possible Flu Pandemic (Michigan Live) “Michigan needs to prepare for a flu pandemic that could resemble the 1918 outbreak that killed more than 900 people in the state and sickened 21,000 Michiganians … warned” Alex Azar II, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, according to Booth Newspapers. “‘Pandemics happen, and we are overdue and underprepared,’ [he] told about 400 local and state officials gathered Tuesday for a summit … State and federal officials signed a joint planning agreement to update local and state plans that spell out what action should be taken in case of an outbreak.” [View article]

Chicago Getting More Security Cameras (Chicago Tribune) “Chicago’s network of 100 ‘blue light’ police cameras is being enlarged by 70 percent as Mayor Richard Daley continues to add to a city video surveillance system that already has more than 2,000 cameras in public places,” reports the Chicago Tribune. “… Twenty of the new cameras, the last of an outstanding order, will be the same 100-pound, bulletproof, box-encased models with flashing blue lights as those now in service. The other 50 represent a new generation of design. Weighing about 35 pounds, they are ‘smaller, lighter and easier to install,’ Daley said.” [View article]

Private-Sector News

Businesses Prepare for Monday’s Immigration Rallies (Chicago Tribune; Denver Post) “From huge factories to small hotels, restaurants and supermarkets, many employers who support immigrants’ rights plan to give employees Monday off so they can join the national rallies that day,” reports the Chicago Tribune. “Rallies are planned nationwide Monday—May 1, a historic and traditional day for labor protests—to show opposition to federal proposals that would make being undocumented a felony, build a wall along the United States’ southern border and provide no way for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to become legal residents. Organizers are asking immigrants and supporters to refrain from spending money, to take the day off work if they can and to wear white,” reports the Denver Post, which notes that many Colorado “businesses are rescheduling shifts, planning to work with skeleton crews or closing altogether [next] Monday, a planned national day of action for immigrants and their supporters.” [View Tribune article] [View Denver Post article]

National Security Concerns Drive Workplace Inspections (New Mexico Business Weekly) “Businesses in New Mexico are more likely to net a visit from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents if they are connected to ‘critical infrastructure’ related to national security and have a complaint against them than they are for a check to see if their employees are illegal immigrants,” reports the New Mexico Business Weekly. “… At the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque [NM], Norman Cairns, a prosecutor and spokesman, says [that] though the office’s caseload is roughly 50 percent ‘immigration-related,’ only a few of the cases stem from workplace enforcement actions.” [View article]

Atlanta Business Group Braces for Avian Flu (Atlanta Business Chronicle) “A group of more than 35 local businesses has been quietly working together for months through a new group called the Business Operations Center,” reports the Atlanta Business Chronicle. “The group is laying out strategies on how to keep their businesses running during a crisis, how to communicate with their employees and how to best protect their work force from the deadly virus.” The center “will officially launch May 1. The goal is to help businesses coordinate with each other to manage a major disease outbreak like avian flu or cope with another major disaster like a hurricane.” [View article]

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Education

The Homeland Security Institute lists these education programs as a service to readers who may be interested; it does not endorse them or their courses.

Airport Security Planning Course (8-9 May, Baltimore; 22-23 May, Sacramento, CA) Ohio University Community and Professional Programs in cooperation with Robinson Aviation is sponsoring an intensive Airport Security Planning Course, designed for general aviation airport security personnel, tenants, operators, planners, and managers. It meets all federal guidelines for general aviation airports. Participants will gain an understanding of airport security requirements, rules, and regulations and learn how to form an airport security plan, conduct airport security audits, and coordinate the security plan with the crisis and contingency plan and prepare capital budgets for security. They will visit a regional airport to conduct an onsite security audit and will receive a composite report of the audit findings. For more information, call (740) 593-1764 or visit www.ohiou.edu/gasecurity/. [View course website]

Protecting Tourism Against Terror (17-18 May; Nassau, Bahamas) The course will include case studies, a tabletop drill, videos, and experts’ presentations. It will cover background on the suicide terror threat, an overview of groups that use suicide terror, the modus operandi of different groups, terror cell organization and stages of a suicide attack, recruitment of bombers, predicting a suicide terror attack, recognizing a suicide bomber, the elements of a security plan, countermeasures, safety considerations, working with law enforcement, and planning the defense of a hotel and an attack on a hotel. [View course website]

Upcoming Events

New Events (After two weeks, new events will be moved to the list below, in chronological order) IEEE Intelligence and Security Informatics 2006 (23-24 May; San Diego) Sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the conference will be co-located with the 7th Annual National Conference on Digital Government Research. [View conference website] Society for Risk Analysis (3-6 December; Baltimore) This year’s conference theme is “Risk Analysis in a Dynamic World: Making a Difference.” The society’s annual meeting brings together nearly 1,000 international scientists and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines who share an interest in risk analysis and represent academia, government, industry, non-governmental organizations, private firms, and themselves. [View conference website]

May

4th Annual Homeland Security Contracting Opportunities Conference (11-12 May; Washington, DC) To bridge the gap between the government’s needs and the private sector’s ability to deliver goods and services, the Bureau of National Affairs presents this conference. Topics include “Top Priorities for DHS and the Private Sector,” “Homeland Security Spending Outlook,” regional requirements, “Small Business Contracting Opportunities,” and “Roles and Requirements of U.S. Armed Forces.” [View conference website]

June

2006 Techno Security Conference (4-7 June; Myrtle Beach, SC) The conference will bring together private industry, government and law enforcement decision makers, and technical enthusiasts in the fields of information and network security, digital forensics, incident response, operational and physical security, auditing, and cyber-crime. Eight simultaneous tracks will feature interactive high-intensity training sessions, hands-on labs, and opportunities for professional certification and networking. Topics will include homeland security; wireless security; web hacking; contingency planning; vulnerability assessments; incident response; computer, personal digital assistant, and enterprise forensics; password recovery and disk-wiping tools; intrusion prevention; Internet investigation techniques; street smarts for investigators; biometrics; and steganography. [View conference website]

Homeland Port Security Conference (7 June; New York) This conference sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute will feature senior U.S. Navy and Coast Guard officers, as well as civilian, political, and business leaders, thrust into real-time simulations of simultaneous terrorist attacks against key maritime assets in the United States, requiring panelists to identify critical issues and challenges:

• Lessons learned: How do agencies disseminate unclassified information?
• Communication logistics during emergencies: Is everyone on the same page?
• Command and control: Who’s in charge in a layered-response scenario?
• Secure shipping: How do we monitor and secure the supply chain?
• Terrorist attacks on commerce and energy: What are the financial implications?

Terrorism Research Symposium (12-13 June; Denver) Law enforcement officials who deal with terrorism in their states, cities, and communities will learn what works to prevent and respond to terrorism. The conference is hosted by the National Institute of Justice’s International Center. Panelists will discuss research findings about common issues and invite state and local officials to describe their challenges and experiences in interactive, dynamic sessions. [View conference website]

Explosives Detection Conference (12-16 June; Miami) This conference, sponsored by the Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office Technical Support Working Group, focuses on large vehicle bomb detection, short-range detection, canines, and suicide bomber detection. Attendance is by invitation only. To request an invitation, register on the website. There is no fee for the conference. For further information, email detection_conference@bah.com. The registration deadline is 5 June. [View conference website; enter code TSW73414]

July

4th TICS and TIMs Symposium (11-13 July; Richmond, VA) Scentczar’s symposium will provide an overview of perceived threats, equipment requirements, and tools for identifying, defending against, and remediating incidents involving toxic industrial chemicals and toxic industrial materials. [View conference website]

INFORMS Military Applications Society (24-26 July; Mystic, CT) The Military Applications Society, a technical arm of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, will hold a conference with the theme “Homeland Security for the 21st Century.” [Register online]

September

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Calls for Papers

New Calls for Papers Society for Risk Analysis (3-6 December; Baltimore) This year’s conference theme is “Risk Analysis in a Dynamic World: Making a Difference.” The deadline for submitting abstract, symposia, and workshop proposals is 1 June. [View conference website]