DHS News

U.S. Rejects Immigration Detention Rules (New York Times) “The Obama administration has refused to make legally enforceable rules for immigration detention, rejecting a federal court petition by former detainees and their advocates and embracing a Bush-era inspection system that relies in part on private contractors,” reports the New York Times. Immigration advocates “pointed to … the government’s failure to enforce minimum standards it set in 2000, including those concerning detainees’ access to basic health care, telephones and lawyers, even as the number of people detained has soared to more than 400,000 a year.” But “‘the rule-making process can take months, if not years,’ [a DHS spokesman] said … ‘and the administration believes that reforming our immigration detention system needs to happen much faster than that.’” [View article]

FEMA Says It Can’t Handle Emergency Housing Alone, Takes Heat for Trailer Debacle (Security Management) Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, on Monday “that his agency cannot handle the demand for temporary housing after a” catastrophe, reports Security Management. Last week a report by the Homeland Security Department’s Inspector General “criticized the DHS member agency for its negligent handling of formaldehyde-contaminated trailers given to hurricane victims.” [View article] [View testimony (656KB PDF)] [View report (1.8MB PDF)]

Infectious Diseases Research Needs to Stay Offshore, Says GAO (Washington Post) “The Department of Homeland Security relied on a rushed, flawed study to justify its decision to locate a $700 million research facility for highly infectious pathogens in a tornado-prone section of Kansas, according to” the Washington Post, citing a Government Accountability Office report. “… The department’s analysis was not ‘scientifically defensible’ in concluding that it could safely handle dangerous animal diseases in Kansas—or any other location on the U.S. mainland, according to” the GAO report. [View article] [View GAO report]

DHS Tests Ways to Counter Attacks From Small Vessels (Global Security Newswire) The Homeland Security Department’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office “is undertaking a pilot program aimed at countering the threat of a small-vessel attack on the nation’s ports,” reports Global Security Newswire. The “‘West Coast Maritime Pilot’ effort, based in San Diego and” Puget Sound, will “deploy and evaluate radiation and nuclear detection equipment,” including “human-portable and mobile, or boat-mounted, systems … Program officials will develop a regional maritime concept of operations and provide naval-specific training on nuclear detection equipment.” [View article]

Photo courtesy of Steve Dunham

SEPTA photo

DHS Officials Had Improper Communications, Says Inspector General (Federal Computer Week) “Staff members and officials at the Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate engaged in improper actions in four procurements in 2007 but stopped short of violating any ethics rules, according to” Federal Computer Week, citing “a new report from DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner.… the actions did create an appearance of impropriety, the report concluded.” [View article] [View report (1.4MB PDF)]

Richard Spires to Be DHS CIO (NextGov) The Homeland Security Department “has named federal information technology veteran Richard Spires, former chief information officer and later deputy commissioner for operational support at the Internal Revenue Service, as chief information officer,” reports NextGov. “… Spires was widely credited with turning around the IRS’ multibillion-dollar modernization effort, which prior to his arrival suffered from cost overruns and delays.” [View article]

Other Federal News

Judge Orders Release of Guantánamo Prisoner Captured as a Juvenile (Time) U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle yesterday ruled that a detainee—Mohammed Jawad—“who has been held at Guantanamo Bay since he was a juvenile is being held illegally and must be released,” reports the Associated Press. “… Attorney General Eric Holder has not yet decided whether to indict Jawad, who allegedly threw a grenade that wounded two U.S. soldiers and their interpreter in December 2002.” [View article]

Former CIA Director Defends Warrantless Wiretapping (New York Times) “The recent report of inspectors general on the President’s Surveillance Program [see the July 17 newsletter] operated by the National Security Agency has” been unfairly criticized, says Michael Hayden, former director of both the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, in the New York Times. Hayden writes that the surveillance “program was not a minor effort but neither was it the ‘Big Brother’ project that some have alleged.” He says that one finding in the report “hasn’t received the attention it deserves: ‘No evidence of intentional misuse’ of the program was discovered.” [View commentary]

FBI Says Vinas Was a ‘Gold Mine’ of Information (MSNBC) Bryant Neal Vinas—the New York man charged with assisting al-Qaeda (see last week’s newsletter)—“provided ‘an intelligence gold mine’” and “a ‘treasure trove’ of information” during his interrogation by the FBI, which conducted “approximately 100 interviews with the man,” reports the Associated Press. Vinas disclosed “the locations of safe houses and suspected terrorists” and “led authorities to issue a security warning last year around the Thanksgiving holidays about a possible plot against New York City–area transit systems,” although no attack took place. [View article]

Federal Plans for WMD Response Need to Be Integrated, Says GAO The Defense Department has plans for responding to domestic incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosive weapons “but has not integrated” its plans “with other federal government plans because” not “all elements of the Integrated Planning System mandated by Presidential directive in December 2007 have” been completed, reports the Government Accountability Office. The Defense Department’s “planned response times may not meet incident requirements,” and the department “may lack sufficient capacity in some capabilities, and it faces challenges to its strategy for sourcing all three” Consequence Management Response Forces “with available units.” [View GAO highlights (55KB PDF)]

Vulnerabilities Remain, and Limited Collaboration and Monitoring Hamper Federal Emergency Communications “Continuity of communications, capacity, and interoperability are primary areas of vulnerability in first responder emergency communications in communities across the country,” reports the Government Accountability Office. And “Federal agencies provide a wide range of assistance”—“(1) new guidance and other significant federal efforts; (2) grants and funding; and (3) technical support and federal assets.” But “limited collaboration and monitoring jeopardize federal emergency communications efforts.” For example, “delays in establishing the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center … undermine the National Emergency Communications Plan’s implementation.… efforts have focused on state and local jurisdictions and less on federal agencies, some of which lack formal emergency communications plans.” [View GAO summary]

GAO Calls for Standardized Review of Nuclear Trade Pacts (Global Security Newswire) “The U.S. State Department should standardize its system for identifying proliferation risks in potential civilian nuclear trade agreements with other governments, [the Government Accountability Office] concluded in a report released” yesterday, reports Global Security Newswire. “U.S. lawmakers raised concerns last year about a U.S.-Russian nuclear trade proposal submitted to Congress by the Bush administration,” and “a lack of formal procedures for reviewing the deal enabled Nuclear Regulatory Commission members to green-light the agreement based on an incomplete draft declaration of the deal’s associated proliferation risks.” The GAO “urged the State Department to develop a formal interagency review process for future nuclear trade proposals in cooperation with the national intelligence director and top officials at the Energy Department and Nuclear Regulatory Commission.” [View article] [View GAO summary]

Army Unveils Antiterror Plan, Phase II (DefenseLink) “The Army has developed Phase II of its Antiterrorism Strategic Plan, called ‘Tempering the Weapon,’” reports the Army News Service. The plan contains antiterrorism “goals and objectives that guide improvement in protection and contains measures of success so these goals and objectives can be reviewed and revised as required.… ‘The Army community represents the most formidable obstacle to terrorism,’ [Army antiterrorism chief Alex] Mascelli said.” [View article]

International News

Massive Bomb in Spain Shows Resurgent ETA (Christian Science Monitor) “A powerful car bomb ripped through a building housing Spanish paramilitary policemen and their families just before dawn Wednesday morning, injuring 65 people and sparking worries that the country’s Basque separatists”—a group known as ETA—“are veering in a more deadly direction,” reports the Monitor. ETA “has used terrorist tactics to press its cause—an independent state—for much of its 50 years in existence. But it’s been years since a mass-casualty attack on civilians.” [View article]

Pakistan Rescues Boys Trained as Suicide Bombers (Reuters AlertNet) “Pakistani security forces fighting Taliban militants in and around the Swat Valley have rescued nearly a dozen boys brainwashed into becoming suicide bombers,” reports Reuters. “… the Taliban had forced many families to let them take their boys.… some had since returned to their parents, who in turn handed them over to the authorities because of their brainwashed state. The government was working out how to rehabilitate the boys, aged between nine and 18.” [View article]

Commission Says Terrorists Could Use the Internet to Launch a Nuclear Attack (London Guardian) “A study commissioned by the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament … suggests that under the right circumstances, terrorists could break into computer systems and launch an attack on a nuclear state,” reports the Guardian. “… a well-coordinated cyberwar could quickly elevate to nuclear levels.… While the possibility of a radical group gaining access to actual launch systems is remote, the study suggests that hackers could focus on feeding in false information further down the chain—or spreading fake information to officials in a carefully orchestrated strike” and possibly “tempt another nation into a nuclear response.” [View article]

Fearing Attack, 69 Schools Close in India (New Kerala, India) Sixty-nine “schools in naxalism-infested Konta tehsil of Dantewada district, bordering Andhra Pradesh, [have] closed due to repeated rebel attacks,” reports United News of India. “… 838 teachers’ posts were vacant in Konta as most teachers were reluctant to serve in the area.” The present “Naxalite movement was started in the impoverished and underdeveloped Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh by the Peoples War Group,” according to the Naxal Conflict Monitor of the Asian Centre for Human Rights. “… Killings of the class enemies, petty bourgeois, police informers and sentencing through its Peoples Court became key features” of its operations, but “the State government of Andhra Pradesh too reacted with equal lawlessness.” [View article] [View Naxal Conflict Monitor]

Taliban Gets Most Funding From Overseas Sympathizers, Not Drugs (Los Angeles Times) “Taliban militants are receiving more funding from their sympathizers abroad”—particularly in “nations located on the Persian Gulf”—“than from Afghanistan’s illegal drug trade, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan [Richard Holbrooke] said Tuesday,” reports the Associated Press. “… The Taliban deny they are collecting money from drugs” at all. (See the Dec. 5, 2008, newsletter.) [View article]

Taliban Field Manual Aims at PR (Washington Times; Dallas Morning News) “The Taliban is mounting a public-relations campaign to try to win the hearts and minds of Afghans with their own version of a field manual that urges efforts to limit civilian casualties,” reports the Washington Times. “The little book with a blue cover, Rules for Mujahedeen, directs Taliban militants on how to behave while on deployment and how to deal with enemy combatants, treat prisoners of war and interact with civilians.” But “the requirement for Taliban fighters to respect the rules of war contradicts the reality on the ground, [Afghan] Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said,” according to the Dallas Morning News. And NATO’s Brig. Gen. Eric Tremblay “said insurgents have conducted at least 90 suicide bombings this year, and at least 40 percent of the victims were civilians. He also said that insurgents traffic in children to use them as unknowing suicide bombers and have destroyed at least 40 schools this year.” [View Times article] [View Morning News article]

Second-in-Command Rebuilds Taliban (Newsweek) Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, second-in-command of the Taliban, “portrays himself as a loyal lieutenant carrying out the orders of his absent boss,” Mullah Mohammed Omar, reports Newsweek. But he “appoints and fires the Taliban’s commanders and governors; presides over its top military council and central ruling Shura in Quetta, the city in southwestern Pakistan where most of the group’s senior leaders are based; and issues the group’s most important policy statements in his own name.” And “he controls the Taliban’s treasury.” He is “rebuilding the Taliban into an effective fighting force.” [View article]

Who Are Nigeria’s Taliban? (BBC) The Nigerian Taliban “have launched co-ordinated attacks across northern Nigeria, threatening to overthrow the government and impose strict Islamic law,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “… Since the group emerged in 2004 they have become known as ‘Taliban’, although they appear to have no links to the Taliban in Afghanistan.… The group’s other name, Boko Haram, means ‘Western education is a sin’ … Divisions remain on how much of a threat the group poses—and how to deal with it. [Nigerian] Information ministry spokesman Sunday Dare says support for the militants’ cause is waning.” [View article]

Mumbai Terrorist’s Trial Continues Despite Confession (Voice of America) Judge M. L. Tahiliyani has ordered Mumbai terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab’s “trial to continue—despite his admission of guilt,” reports the Voice of America. (See last week’s newsletter.) The judge “called Kasab’s confession only a partial admission of guilt, and says the suspect has not admitted to all 86 charges against him.” [View article]

Terror Ties Run Deep in Pakistan, Mumbai Case Shows (New York Times) “Five men—all members of the Islamic militant group described by the United States and India as the organizers of the terrorist rampage in Mumbai last year—were brought before a makeshift court in Pakistan’s first steps to bring them to justice,” reports the New York Times. “… Pakistan says [the case] shows its willingness to prosecute the group, Lashkar-e-Taiba,” and “that the case will demonstrate that [Pakistan’s] military, which once backed the group as a surrogate force against India, has severed all ties.” (See the July 17 newsletter.) However, “sympathies for Lashkar-e-Taiba and its jihadist and anti-Indian culture run deep in this country … The membership of Lashkar-e-Taiba extends to about 150,000 people.” [View article]

Four Moroccans Convicted of Terrorism (Doha, Qatar, Al Jazeera) “A Moroccan anti-terrorism court has sentenced Abdelkader Belliraj, a Moroccan-born Belgian national to life imprisonment for leading a terrorist network,” reports Al Jazeera. “The court in Sale, near Rabat the capital, found Belliraj guilty of committing six murders in Belgium in the late 1980s and early 1990s, of committing theft, smuggling arms into Morocco, supplying weapons to the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front, and threatening state security. The court also sentenced on Tuesday three political leaders to 25 years in prison each.” [View article]

Tunisian Law Targets Terrorist Funding and Money Laundering (Magharebia) “A new Tunisian law will boost investor confidence and facilitate a crackdown on terrorist financiers and money launderers, say the country’s legislators and financial sector experts,” reports U.S. Africa Command’s Magharebia. “The law, enacted by Parliament” on July 21, “aims to harmonise Tunis’ legal framework with UN resolutions and treaties designed to freeze flows of money used to bankroll terrorism.” [View article]

Five Somalis Sentenced to Death for Bombs (Reuters) “A court in breakaway Somaliland sentenced five men to death in absentia on Wednesday for masterminding suicide bomb attacks in 2008 that killed at least 24 people,” reports Reuters. “The synchronised blasts in October 2008—at Ethiopia’s embassy, the local president’s office and a U.N. building—were blamed on Somalia’s militant insurgent movement al Shabaab, which has links to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network.” [View article]

Foreign Investment Affects Food Crisis in Developing Countries The food price crisis of 2007-2008 led to “the proliferating acquisition of farmland in developing countries by other countries” attempting to boost the security of their food supply, argue Joachim von Braun and Ruth Meinzen-Dick in a report for the International Food Policy Research Institute, “‘Land Grabbing’ by Foreign Investors in Developing Countries: Risks and Opportunities.” Africa is by far the continent most invested in, with Asia second. [View press release] [View “Land Grabbing” website]

State and Local News

Most States Move Toward Real ID Compliance (Federal Computer Week) “More than half of the states are making good progress toward meeting all 18 Real ID Act benchmarks by the December deadline,” reports Federal Computer Week. “Although many states have passed nonbinding resolutions that express concerns … many governors—even those in states perceived as not welcoming the program—have moved forward with compliance.” [View article]

7 North Carolina Men Planned ‘Violent Jihad’ Abroad, Says FBI (MSNBC) Daniel Patrick Boyd, “his two sons and four other North Carolina men are accused of military-style training at home and plotting ‘violent jihad’ through a series of terror attacks abroad,” reports the Associated Press. They are “charged with providing material support to terrorism.” However, “an indictment released Monday does not detail any specific terrorist plans or targets overseas,” although “two decades ago, Boyd, who is a U.S. citizen, trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan and fought against the Soviets for three years before returning to the United States.” (Two decades ago, “the United States provided material support to Afghan rebels—known as the mujahadeen—helping them end Soviet occupation of their country,” according to the State Department’s web page “Reagan Doctrine, 1985.”) [View article] [View State Dept. page]

Scouts Help Racine, WI, Prepare for Emergencies (Government Technology) “Emergency managers in Racine County have partnered with Scouting over the past 19 years,” reports Government Technology. (See the Quote of the Week.) “… From conducting merit badge seminars to helping Boy Scouts with their Eagle Projects, local emergency managers and other public safety officials can utilize scarce resources while promoting emergency preparedness in their communities. Since 1994,” Racine County has held “annual training for the Boy Scouts … and since 2002 [has] included the Girl Scouts.” It “began as a half-day safety merit badge seminar, but that has since been replaced by the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. Not only do the Scouts complete CERT, but they also make headway on several merit badges, including emergency preparedness, safety, first aid and fire safety. In addition, they complete one of the requirements for the Boy Scouts Emergency Preparedness” award. [View article]

DHS Tears Down Massena, NY, Customs Sign (New York Times) Customs and Border Protection is dismantling the “United States” sign on the Massena customs station on the Canadian border, because “the sign could be a huge target and attract undue attention,” the New York Times quotes Customs spokeswoman Kelly Ivahnenko as saying. “The metal letters spelling out ‘United States’ are painted the yellow of a yield sign,” writes Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff. “Their top halves are tucked underneath a translucent polycarbonate screen that encloses the second floor of the building, giving them a blurry quality and imbuing the sign with a sense of mystery.” The agency is gutting “a design whose playful pop aesthetic is an inspired expression of what America is about,” complains Ouroussoff. [View article]

Hizb ut Tahrir, Meeting in Illinois, Proclaims ‘Fall of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam’ (WBBM Radio, Chicago) The Islamic “group Hizb ut Tahrir” met “in Oak Lawn Sunday,” reports WBBM. “… The group dismisses democracy, and hopes to elect one worldwide Muslim leader.… The group is in favor of implementing Islamic doctrine worldwide” but “dismisses claims by some that the group associates with terrorists.” However, WBBM quoted “Junaid Afeef, the executive director of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago,” as saying that Hizb ut Tahrir’s ideology is “180 degrees opposite to what the mainstream Muslim community’s views are on civic engagement.” [View article]

Katrina Cleanup Workers Recover Wages Migrant workers who said they were forced to work for months without pay and endure squalid living conditions as they repaired apartments in the New Orleans area will finally be paid for their work under a settlement the Southern Poverty Law Center has reached with their employers: $175,000 will be divided among 39 workers who repaired apartments for Audubon Communities Management following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. [View press release]

Man Indicted for Holocaust Museum Shooting (Washington Post) “A federal grand jury indicted an elderly white supremacist Wednesday on charges that could earn him the death penalty in the fatal shooting of a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington [DC],” reports the Associated Press. (See the June 12 newsletter.) “Hate crimes charges were added to the case against James von Brunn, who has been in a hospital since the shooting last month. Officials say the 89-year-old shot and killed museum guard Stephen T. Johns on June 10. Von Brunn was shot in the face by other guards but survived.” [View article]

Operation Cassandra Simulates Terrorism in South Florida (Miami Herald) “Miami Beach appeared to have a disaster on its hands Wednesday, but it was just a drill: The city’s police and fire departments, as well as Mount Sinai Medical Center, were testing their response to a mock terrorist attack,” reports the Miami Herald. “The drill was part of a regional exercise called Operation Cassandra, which tests other South Florida departments with similar scenarios.” [View article]

Biohazard Drill Tests Johnstown, PA, Post Office (Johnstown Tribune-Democrat) “An exercise to test the biohazard detection system at the U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center in Richland Township” was held on Tuesday, reports the Tribune-Democrat. “… Dozens of emergency responders with the Richland Township Fire Department and Cambria County’s hazardous-materials team joined local postal officials and postal inspectors from Pittsburgh in conducting the drill” that started “with a simulated alert of the system, which is installed on mail-processing equipment at the facility and samples the air … the Postal Service periodically conducts drills at all processing and distribution centers to protect its employees and give them the experience of working with the emergency responders.” [View article]

National News

Siddiqui Is Competent to Stand Trial, Judge Rules (Contra Costa [CA] Times) Judge Richard Berman ruled “Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan” that Aafia Siddiqui—“a U.S.-trained scientist accused of being an al-Qaida operative”—is “competent to stand trial” after all, reversing his November 2008 decision, reports the Associated Press. (See the Nov. 21, 2008, newsletter.) “… Siddiqui was charged with shooting at U.S. soldiers and FBI agents after her capture in Afghanistan last summer.” Her trial “is scheduled to begin Oct. 19.” [View article]

U.S. Cyber Challenge Offers Scholarship Competition (NextGov) The U.S. Cyber Challenge is sponsored by “a consortium led by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that counts the Defense Department, National Security Agency, SANS Institute and several supporting universities and aerospace companies as participants,” reports NextGov. The challenge “pits young adults against one another in competitions to determine who has the best cyber defense skills, with the most talented becoming eligible to receive college scholarships and employment with federal agencies and security firms.… The consortium kicked off the three national competitions using online virtual gaming and in-person challenges to test students’ skills. The Air Force’s CyberPatriot Defense Competition tests competitors’ ability to defend a simulated corporate network from cyberattacks. Defense’s Cyber Crime Center Digital Forensics Competition tests their skills in cyber investigations and forensics, and SANS Institute’s NetWars Capture the Flag competition tests applicants’ ability to identify vulnerabilities by penetrating a computer network.” [View article] [View Cyber Challenge web page]

Wanted TV Program Pursues Terrorists (Washington Times) “NBC’s new program ‘The Wanted’ aims to” entertain “audiences while bringing the accused to justice: Its team of terrorist trackers hops the globe collecting evidence about its targets in order to persuade extradition-shy countries to stop dragging their feet,” reports the Washington Times. “… Though sometimes juiced up for dramatic purposes,” it “takes care to show the mundane nature of most surveillance and investigative operations.” [View article]

‘Secure Communities’ Program Overwhelmed With Illegal Immigrants (New York Times) In the Secure Communities program, “local officials check every set of fingerprints taken at jails against those of people who have had a brush with federal immigration authorities,” reports the New York Times. “… If a person turns out to be an illegal immigrant, the case is turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for possible deportation proceedings in addition to the criminal charges.” But there are not “enough agents to deport all of those identified.” [View article]

‘National Level Exercise’ Promotes Information Sharing (United Press International; New York Times) The Homeland Security Department on Monday “launched a five-day national exercise to focus on terrorism prevention,” reports UPI. The exercise—“which includes federal, state, local, tribal, private sector and international partners—is designed to promote information sharing.” Information was a major theme of a speech by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Wednesday: she called “for closer collaboration with foreign partners, more intensive cooperation between the federal government and local law enforcement officials, and greater involvement by civilians in watching for and responding to terrorist threats,” reports the New York Times. [View UPI article] [View Times article]

Delays in Anthrax Vaccine Dispersal Would Risk Mass Hospitalization (Global Security Newswire) “Floods of patients could quickly overwhelm U.S. hospitals after an anthrax attack if a government effort to distribute vaccines experienced delays” beyond the planned 48-hour distribution timetable, according to Global Security Newswire, citing a new article in Medical Decision Making, “Predicting Hospital Surge After a Large-Scale Anthrax Attack.” “With each additional 24 hours, the number of untreated exposed people requiring hospitalization would rise by 2.4 to 2.9 percent.” [View article] [View report]

Sentence Increased to Life for Would-Be Bush Assassin (Washington Post) Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was “convicted [in 2005] of plotting with al-Qaeda to kill President George W. Bush [but] was resentenced to life in prison Monday,” reports the Washington Post. He “had been given a 30-year prison term.” (See the June 13, 2008, newsletter.) [View article]

Private-Sector News

Two More Disaster-Monitoring Satellites Launched Surrey Satellite Technology Limited on Wednesday launched the UK-DMC2 and Deimos-1 satellites from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, expanding the capability of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation of satellites. [View press release]

Virginia Preschool Chooses Vein Readers for Secure Access (Washington Post) Lola’s Place, a private preschool in Sterling, VA, guards its doors with “a vascular recognition system—a machine that uses infrared light to read a hand’s veins,” reports the Washington Post. The Identica machines typically “secure nuclear facilities, ports, power plants and sensitive data at universities.” Lola’s Place is “Identica’s first preschool client.” [View article]

Dual-Benefit Solutions

Sandia Lab Uses Virtual Machines to Study Botnets Computer scientists at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA, can now run more than a million Linux kernels as virtual machines, allowing cyber-security researchers to more effectively observe behavior found in malicious botnets, or networks of infected machines that can operate on the scale of a million nodes. [View press release]

Dual-benefit news archive

Education The HOMELAND SECURITY STUDIES AND ANALYSIS INSTITUTE lists these education programs as a service to readers who may be interested; it does not endorse them or their courses. New education listings are posted for four weeks. Tank Car Training: Safety and Incident Response (August 3–September 4; Johnson City, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, TN) Two 4-hour classes each day combine classroom and hands-on training in safety when working around tracks and rail equipment and responding to incidents involving hazardous materials transported by rail tank car. Each Friday there is an exercise with the local hazmat response teams. All emergency responders are invited to these free classes presented by DuPont, Transcaer, and Norfolk Southern. [View class website] Special Needs Shelter Planning Basics (August 12; Arlington, VA) This class discusses how to leverage existing capabilities and resources to care for the medically fragile shelter population in a disaster, focusing on pre-identifying locations to be used as special needs shelters. [View class website] Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties (August 23-28; Aberdeen, MD, and Ft. Detrick, MD) This course is conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense. It is designed for Medical Corps and Nurse Corps officers and physician assistants, Medical Service Corps officers, and other selected medical professionals. It comprises classroom, laboratory, and field training. [View course website] Incident Management: A Practical Approach (September 15; Arlington, VA) This overview of incident command and management systems is designed for those working in the private and public sectors. It covers the principles of incident preparedness, response, and recovery, for both natural disasters and man-made events. This workshop uses group interaction and hands-on, scenario-based mechanisms for practical, comprehensive learning and organizational sharing. [View class website] Field Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties (September 20-24; Aberdeen, MD) This course is conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense. It is designed for Medical Service Corps officers and noncommissioned officers in medical or chemical specialties. It comprises classroom, laboratory, and field training. [View course website] Photo courtesy of Norfolk Southern Norfolk Southern Whistle-Stop Tour (Hazmat Training) (September 22-26; Buffalo, NY; Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo, OH; Charleston, WV) The tour brings emergency preparedness training to response organizations and educates communities near major rail routes about rail equipment, chemical transportation, and the importance of planning for potential hazardous material transportation emergencies. State and local emergency planning committees, emergency responders and government officials can participate in free hands-on drills and training sessions. [View class website] Hazmat Training for Firefighters and Police (October 2-3; Fort Worth, TX) Free parallel classes for firefighters and police will cover topics such as self-protection, accident investigation, and fire and foam. Continuing education credits are available. [View class website] All-Hazards Regional Evacuation Plans (October 20; Arlington, VA) Using proven planning methodologies, this interactive workshop will provide guidance on how consensus can be developed around a regional vision and provide creative and innovative solutions in support of the region’s goals and priorities for an evacuation plan. [View class website] Transcaer Chlorine Response Training (October 28; Memphis, TN) Sponsored by the Chlorine Institute, Union Pacific Railroad, and Transcaer, this will be a free full-day training session for first responders and others seeking information on response to chemical emergencies with specific emphasis on chlorine. The activities will combine classroom training with hands-on segments. [View class website] CARVER Methodology: Target Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment (December 7-9; Arlington, VA) Participants in this workshop will conduct an actual vulnerability assessment at a government or private-sector facility with active cooperation from local law enforcement, using the criticality, accessibility, recuperability, vulnerability, effect, and recognizability methodology. [View course website]

New Upcoming Events (Events are listed for four weeks; after that, they are still on the Upcoming Events page) 10th Annual Hazardous Materials Conference (August 11-13; Provo, UT) This conference covers numerous specific hazmat topics and offers a hazmat technician refresher course and 8 hours of hazmat awareness with certification. [View event website] International Swine Flu Conference (August 19-21; Washington, DC) Top leaders and key decision makers of major companies representing a broad range of industries will meet with distinguished scientists, public health officials, law enforcers, first responders, and other experts to discuss pandemic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. [View event website] Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals National Conference (August 30–September 2; San Diego) This year’s theme is “Environmental Health, Safety, Security—Steering a Course for Sustainability.” Besides professional speakers and insider tours, the conference will offer an educational emergency response scenario involving bomb, chlorine spill, and sarin dispersion incidents at the USS Midway. [View event website] (September 2-3; Reston, VA) This learning and networking event offers an opportunity to gather with peers across disciplines and responsibilities to study and share lessons learned and to honor heroes who risk their own lives using the helicopter to save lives. [View event website] Homeland Security Symposium & Exhibition (September 9-10; Arlington, VA) This year’s theme is “Building a Resilient & Sustainable Homeland—Public & Private Sector Partners Serving America.” The symposium will assemble leaders from the new Administration (DHS, the Pentagon, and other executive branch members), state and local governments, and the private sector, along with leading opinion leaders and experts, to address pressing issues facing today’s homeland. [View event website] Protecting America Against Permanent Continental Shutdown From Electromagnetic Pulse (September 8-10; Niagara Falls, NY) The conference will bring in “the most knowledgeable minds in the world about EMP” (electromagnetic pulse). Scheduled speakers include congressional leaders, Defense Department experts, and other experts on EMP. The conference offers better understanding of EMP’s impact and features proactive, hands-on ideas to protect infrastructure. [View event website] (September 21-24; Anaheim, CA) This year’s theme is “Security Never Sleeps.” The conference will offer innovations, information, and connections. It will present next-generation security technologies and services, along with opportunities to talk directly to the experts, gain new insights and hone skills through the education program, connect with colleagues from around the globe, share new ideas, and build professional networks. [View event website] Virginia Hazardous Materials Conference (October 19-23; Hampton, VA) This year’s theme is “HazMat Synergy: Working Smarter During Tough Times”—hazardous materials incidents are not slowed by the faltering economy, and emergency services are stressed during tough economic times, dealing with budget shortfalls. Workshop content can be applied to the annual training hours required of hazardous materials response personnel. Individual scholarships are available. [View event website] (October 20-21; Long Beach, CA) The theme of the 8th Annual Maritime Security Expo is “Weathering the Perfect Storm: Faltering Economies, Piracy, Climate Change and Maritime Security Regulations.” The expo is co-sited with the All Hazards Forum and Expo. [View event website] All Hazards Forum and Expo (October 20-21; Long Beach, CA) The forum and expo will focus on earthquakes, floods, fires, tsunamis, mudslides, and other natural disasters common to the Pacific coast. They will address emergency planning and preparedness, response and recovery, public safety communications, information sharing and intelligence, critical infrastructure protection, law enforcement, and health and medical readiness. The event is co-sited with the Maritime Security Expo. [View event website] (October 22-23) This conference will focus on how to fight unlawful acts (such as piracy) without penalizing the economy. It will identify the operational priorities for progress and investment that will help in developing maritime and port economies. [View event website] (October 22-25; Houston) Hotzone will train and equip local, state, and federal responders for safe, coordinated, and efficient response to releases of hazardous materials that threaten public health and the environment. The target audience is local fire, police, emergency management personnel, emergency medical services, health care providers, and state and federal response personnel who participate directly in the incident command system or in its immediate support at the scene of a hazmat response or terrorist event in Federal Region 6, but it is open for anyone to attend. [View event website] Conference & Exhibition (October 28-30; The Hague, Netherlands) The annual CBRNe Convergence conference and exhibition brings together chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives professionals from around the world to discuss and learn best practices. [View event website]