International News

Three Londoners Get Life Sentences in 2006 Airliner Bomb Plot (BBC) “Three men”—“Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Khan and Waheed Zaman”—“have been jailed for life for plotting to murder as suicide bombers” in the 2006 plot to bomb transatlantic airliners, reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. (See the Aug. 11, 2006, newsletter.) View article

Bin Laden’s Cook and Driver Pleads Guilty (United Press International) “Osama bin Laden’s former cook and driver”—“Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi”—“pleaded guilty” on July 7 “at Guantanamo to terrorism charges,” reports United Press International. “… He admitted providing material support to al-Qaida and conspiring to commit terrorism and to provide material support.… He said he was aware bin Laden was committed to terrorism.” View article

Al-Qaeda Kills 76 in Uganda (Washington Post; New York Times) The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab was responsible for the suicide attack bombings in the city of Kampala “in Uganda of soccer fans watching the World Cup final” on July 11, reports the Post. Ugandan authorities “said they had arrested at least six people, including foreigners, in connection with Sunday’s attacks, which left at least 76 people dead,” reports the Times. View Post article • View Times article

Declassified Documents Show British Complicity in Torture (London Guardian) The British “government’s involvement in the illegal abduction and torture of its own citizens after the al-Qaida attacks of September 2001 has been spelled out in stark detail with the disclosure during high court proceedings of a mass of highly classified documents,” reports the Guardian. “… they paint a picture of a government that was determined not only to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States as it embarked upon its programme of ‘extraordinary rendition’ and torture of terrorism suspects in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, but to actively participate in that programme.” View article

Afghanistan Approves Program for Local Defense Forces (New York Times) “The Afghan government on Wednesday approved a program to establish local defense forces that American military officials hope will help remote areas of the country thwart attacks by Taliban insurgents,” reports the Times. “… Many parts of Afghanistan have no soldiers or police officers … the forces would be under the supervision of the Afghan Interior Ministry, which will also be their paymaster.… They would be … a lightly armed, trained and, significantly, paid force in a nation starving for jobs.” View article

Israel Blames Intelligence for Gaza Flotilla ‘Mistakes’ (Jerusalem Haaretz) “The Israel Defense Force committee investigating the navy’s deadly raid on a Turkish-flagged aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip [see the June 4 newsletter] found the incident to be the consequence of failed intelligence and a lack of proper preparation for the operation,” reports Haaretz. View article

U.S. and Canada Plan Joint Critical Infrastructure Protection The “Canada-U.S. Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure” is designed to strengthen the safety, security, and resilience of critical infrastructure in the United States and Canada. It is part of ongoing cross-border collaboration between the two countries’ governments. It identifies partnerships, information sharing, and risk management as the three key elements. View DHS press release • View plan

United Nations News

International Criminal Court Charges Sudan’s al-Bashir With Genocide (Washington Post) “The International Criminal Court’s judges on Monday charged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with orchestrating a bloody campaign of genocide against Darfur’s three main ethnic groups,” reports the Post. He was charged with “the crime of targeted mass killing, the causing of serious bodily or mental harm to members of a target group, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction.… The United Nations estimates that as many as 300,000 civilians died as a result of violence or hardships brought on by the forced displacement of nearly 2 million Darfurians.” View article

DHS News

DHS Needs Better Control of Virtual Border Fence Contractors, Says Inspector General (Federal Computer Week) U.S. Customs and Border Protection “must clamp down oversight of its contractors, led by Boeing, hired to build an information technology–enabled, security fence along the U.S. border with Mexico, according to” Homeland Security Department Inspector General Richard Skinner, reports Federal Computer Week. “… officials overseeing the program haven’t ensured that contractors maintain up-to-date information needed for project management, complete tasks before moving to the next event, or adequately document their review and acceptance of accomplishments and criteria of the program, according to … Skinner.” View article • View report (1.2MB PDF)

DHS Inspector General Faults Financial Management (NextGov) The Homeland Security Department’s “latest attempt to consolidate key financial management systems is running into serious problems, according to the department’s inspector general,” Richard Skinner, reports NextGov. In a July 9 report, “Skinner said department officials have not developed appropriate planning documents for the complex effort that would integrate financial, acquisition and asset management technology, nor have they fully accounted for life-cycle cost estimates or staffing requirements.” View article • View report (2.1MB PDF)

DHS Gets Lead Role in Federal Information Security (Federal Computer Week) “The Homeland Security Department will take primary responsibility in the executive branch for the operational aspects for the security of civilian agency federal systems covered by the Federal Information Security Management Act,” reports Federal Computer Week. The Office of Management and Budget “will be responsible for reporting to Congress on FISMA annually, for developing and approving cybersecurity portions of the budget, and for coordinating with the cybersecurity coordinator on all related policy issues.” View article

Cybersecurity Awareness Challenge Winners Named (Homeland Security Today) At a White House cyber-security meeting on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano congratulated “companies for participation in the National Cybersecurity Awareness Challenge” (see the March 5 newsletter), reports Homeland Security Today. “Seven proposals out of 80 submissions received recognition …

• “Best Iconic and Overall Structure, Deloitte, ‘Think Before You Click’
• “Best Local/community Plan, eCity San Diego and MyMaine Privacy
• “Most Creative, Beekeeper Group and LegalNetWORKs, ‘Trot Against Bots’
• “Best Individual Plan, Melissa Short, ‘Cybersecurity Starts Here’
• “Best Educational plan, Penn State, ‘CyberLink Games’
• “Best Publicity and Marketing, CISCO, ‘Cybersecurity is Everyone’s Responsibility’”

Other Federal News

No Sensors Used in ‘Perfect Citizen,’ Says NSA (Wired) The National Security Agency “is denying a report from the Wall Street Journal that a secret program code-named ‘Perfect Citizen’ will be monitoring civilian networks,” writes Wired “Threat Level” blogger Ryan Singel. (See last week’s newsletter.) An agency “spokeswoman [said that Perfect Citizen] ‘is a research and engineering effort. There is no monitoring activity involved, and no sensors are employed.’” (See the Quote of the Week.) View blog

National Nuclear Security Agency Issues New Rules (Global Security Newswire) “The U.S. National Nuclear Security Agency” on July 8 issued “new rules for securing information and facilities in the U.S. atomic weapons complex,” reports Global Security Newswire. “… two lengthy policy letters … lay out detailed procedures that will allow the national laboratories, nuclear production and dismantlement facilities and other organizations under NNSA purview to use security procedures that are more consistent with ‘national standards,’ according to Brad Peterson, the agency’s chief of defense nuclear security.” View article View NNSA press release

Obama Says U.S. Won’t Sue Sanctuary Cities (Washington Times) “A week after suing Arizona and arguing that the state’s immigration law creates a patchwork of rules, the Obama administration said it will not go after so-called sanctuary cities [see the Sep. 7, 2007, newsletter] that refuse to cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement, on the grounds that they are not as bad as a state that ‘actively interferes,’” reports the Times. View article

Agencies Work on Supply Chain Security (Government Computer News) “A working group from civilian agencies is expanding a part of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative on supply chain risk management to the unclassified community through a set of proposed best practices,” reports Government Computer News. “The working group … includes members from the Homeland Security and State departments and the National Institute of Standards and Technology [and] is building on work that DHS and the Defense Department have already done for” the initiative. View article

State and Local News

California Forms Disaster Volunteer Corps (Emergency Management) California is forming “Disaster Corps, a group of highly trained and vetted volunteers tied closely to the state’s mutual-aid system,” reports Emergency Management. “The corps provides a network of volunteers ready to respond to emergencies.… About 1,000 volunteers will be categorized by capabilities, and … they will be certified in Red Cross [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] and first aid. A new statewide Disaster Volunteer Resource Inventory (DVRI) will house the volunteers’ contact information, affiliations and training information to facilitate their utilization during disasters.” View article

Health Care in New Orleans Still Depends on Federal Help, Says GAO “The greater New Orleans area continues to face challenges restoring health care services disrupted by” Hurricane Katrina “and flooding that followed,” reports the Government Accountability Office. “In July 2007, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services” awarded a $100 million Primary Care Access and Stabilization Grant “to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals … to restore and expand access to primary care services in the greater New Orleans area without regard to a patient’s ability to pay.” That funding expires September 30, and “all of the officials” the GAO spoke with “were concerned that the primary care gains made in the greater New Orleans area may not be sustainable” without the federal money. View GAO summary

Florida Requires Training for 911 Call Takers (Emergency Management) “In June, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill requiring that 911 dispatchers and call-takers in the state participate in 232 hours of classroom instruction to become certified to answer calls in public safety answering points,” reports Emergency Management. “… Previously the certification was voluntary and required 208 hours of training.” View article

‘Illegal Immigrant’ List Circulates in Utah (New York Times) “A list of 1,300 Utah residents described as illegal immigrants has sown fear among some Hispanics … and prompted an investigation into its origins and dissemination,” reports the Times. “Each page of the list is headed with the words ‘Illegal Immigrants’ and each entry contains details about the individuals listed—from their address and telephone number to their date of birth and, in the case of pregnant women, their due dates.… A memorandum accompanying the list said it was from Concerned Citizens of the United States. It urged immediate deportation proceedings against the people listed, as well as publication of their names by the news media.” View article

Private-Sector News

‘Applying OSIPS to ICAM’ The Security Industry Association has published an application white paper that relates how the adaptable Open Systems Integration and Performance Standards align with the federal government’s Identity, Credentialing and Access Management document, which provides federal agencies with architecture and implementation guidance. View report (4MB PDF)

National News

‘Institutional Barriers to Resilience in Minority Communities’ Local conflicts between communities and governmental and nongovernmental agencies, of law enforcement and the justice system, and social and political isolation are among the barriers that impair the ability of some minority communities to withstand disasters, according to this new research brief from the Institute for Homeland Security Solutions. It examines the literature of the civil rights of emergency response at a new scale—that of the institution and the community—and suggests ways we can broaden and deepen our knowledge in this area, and thus our ability to quantify and overcome these barriers. View report (511KB PDF)

Education & Training The HOMELAND SECURITY STUDIES AND ANALYSIS INSTITUTE lists these education and training 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. Mass Shootings Planning and Response for Public Safety (August 2, Winston-Salem, NC; August 18, Greenville, NC) This is a four-hour planning and response course for law enforcement, special response teams, fire, emergency medical services, emergency management, and school and college officials. View course website Transcaer Whistle Stop Tour (September 20, Mobile, AL; September 21, McIntosh, AL; September 22, Selma, AL; September 23, Jasper, AL; September 24, Muscle Shoals, AL) This event increases community understanding of the importance of emergency planning and hands-on training. Demonstrations and presentations focus on rail, truck, and chemical-specific information. The tour helps emergency responders to dialog about transportation topics such as tank car recognition and managing a hazmat incident. View event brochure Rail Tank Car Responder Training (November 16-17; Oakland, CA) This half-day training sponsored by Transcaer and Dow Chemical focuses on rail tank car anatomy and leak mitigation. View event website

New Upcoming Events (Events are listed for four weeks; after that, they are still on the Upcoming Events page) Governor’s Campus Preparedness Conference (August 3; Richmond, VA) The conference’s goal is to empower students, faculty, and administrators with the tools and knowledge of proven techniques in order to promote a culture of preparedness on the campuses of Virginia’s colleges and universities, addressing the need for a high level of readiness for all potential hazards, including hurricanes, tornadoes, pandemic flu, and terrorism. View event website Australasian Hazards Management Conference (August 10-13; Wellington, New Zealand) This conference for emergency managers, planners, risk assessors, asset and utility managers, natural hazards researchers, and scientists provides a forum to discuss the integration of hazard information into effective risk management. Among the topics to be discussed: applying hazard information to best-practice planning, developing effective warning systems, improved response and recovery from events, and creating resilient communities through integrating science into practice. View event website Social Media 4 Responders (September 13-14; Charlotte, NC) Practitioners from the fire service, law enforcement, public health, and crisis and disaster response will present how and why their agencies and others are going directly to their communities using the Internet. They will walk participants through the latest developments in high-tech Web 2.0 tools such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and blogs to help participants’ organizations communicate with their target audiences. View event website California Emergency Services Assn. Conference and Training (September 14-17; Monterey, CA) This year’s theme is “Emergency Management—The Next Generation.” The gathering includes representatives from government agencies, utilities, academic institutions, and businesses of all types, nonprofits and faith agencies, as well as media, funders, and elected officials—leaders and practitioners in preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation, and protection in California. People with diverse expertise and interest in law, fire, public information, care and shelter, animal care, finance, logistics, public works, utilities, public policy, medical, public health, and volunteers are all welcome. View event website (October 11-12; Sydney, Australia) This year’s program is based on “Building Solutions for a Global Community.” It offers sponsors showcasing their products and solutions, 10 hours of peer-to-peer networking, and over 20 hours of dedicated education focused on business continuity, emergency management, business resiliency, risk management, pandemic planning, natural disasters, emergency response, and emergency health. View event website Water Contamination Emergencies International Conference (October 11-13; Mülheim-an-der-Ruhr, Germany) The conference will deal with four principal themes: monitoring, understanding, acting, and lessons learned, with particular emphasis on prevention and how water companies prepare a strategy, and on unusual or unpredictable emergency situations. View event website Virginia Hazardous Materials Conference and Expo (October 18-22; Hampton, VA) This year’s theme is “Moving Forward With Renewed Commitment.” Workshops will cover topics such as unified command, ethanol and hazmat operations, radiological and nuclear awareness, homemade explosive production signatures recognition, and hands-on training with the Safety Train (see “Safety Train Takes Hazmat Training to a New Level,” by Amy Clymer and Heather Rose, in the Journal of Homeland Security, March 2010). View event website 4th National Bio-Threat Conference (December 7-9; New Orleans) This conference will provide a forum for dialogue among government, industry, academia, and first responders to address critical issues in environmental sampling and bio-detection as well as special focus sessions on biosurveillance and microbial forensics. View event website

Calls for Papers (Calls for papers are listed for four weeks; after that, they are still on the Calls for Papers page) Virginia Hazardous Materials Conference and Expo (October 18-22; Hampton, VA) This year’s theme is “Moving Forward With Renewed Commitment.” The conference is soliciting proposals for presentations. View call for papers IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence for Security and Defence Applications (April 11-15, 2011; Paris) The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is soliciting papers on these security topics for this symposium: surveillance; suspect behavior profiling; automated handling of dangerous situations or people; stationary or mobile object detection, recognition, and classification; air, maritime, and land security; and network security, biometrics security, and authentication technologies. The submission deadline is October 31. View call for papers NDRExpo & Conference (May 2-5, 2011; New Orleans) The conference is soliciting papers on a variety of topics involving emergency response, continuity, recovery, and mitigation. A complete list is available on the conference website. The deadline for submitting papers is July 30. View call for papers